Peace in TransitionSample

#LISTERSGOTTALIST

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And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be a prophet in your place.

-1 Kings 19:15-16

Reflect

The “#listersgottalist” tag line on Instagram got my attention. After a little digging, I discovered a huge group of folks who have made a hobby out of creative listing. The concept is to create lists about things you love, goals you want to achieve, and memories you want to keep by creating a decorative journal filled with lists. Over twenty thousand people have downloaded the journal prompts and accept the creative list challenge.

I admire anything that facilitates creativity and promotes goal-setting and memory-keeping. My list-making efforts tend to be more practical. I would hate to admit how many times I get home from the grocery store only to realize I did not purchase the very thing that prompted me to shop! Yes, I need a list to keep me on track.

We’ve mentioned before the helpful nature of lists during a PCS. When you are under the type of stress brought on by a PCS, forgetting important details is easy.

Elijah was under stress, but what did God do? He gave him a list of what to do next. Elijah did not have to think deeply or be in a super-spiritual state of mind. He just had to follow the checklist. The tasks focused his energy on something other than his circumstances.

Elijah did not respond with renewed strength or vigor, but he did take a step in the right direction. He functioned and moved forward to journey to three different places and accomplish three critical tasks. He put into practice the adage for success: “function whether you feel like it or not.”

During a PCS, we do not always have to do everything with excitement and enthusiasm. We just need a good list of what we need to do, and then- as the Nike motto implores - "Just do it"!

Respond

What are the benefits of acting on the advice to “function whether you feel like it or not”? Be a “lister” and make a list of the things you need to do today. Take the details of your day to God in prayer.

Prayer

Lord, grant me the strength to accomplish the tasks set before me today. Help me to “fix [my] eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV). Amen.