As we turn the page on 2021 and enter 2022, it’s important to focus on what matters. Brett James, a Hall of Fame Songwriter, summed it up best when he described what he wanted his legacy to be: love!

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” – Matthew 22:37-39

Love matters. It matters to those around us, it matters to our innermost being, and most of all, it matters to God. If love is the finish line, what are the guideposts along the way? How do we get there? In the New Year, we hope to encourage you that in the race for love: 

1. Goals Matter

2. Time Matters

3. Relationships Matter

Brett’s story shows us all that God puts each of us in a time and a place for a purpose. Sometimes it may be a trial we’re in, where leaning into Jesus can provide us the way out and an invaluable lesson. Often it is in the deepest valleys when we can draw nearest to the Lord. Sometimes it’s in the every day – handling your career to provide for your family, keeping up with your small children who require so much of your energy, or maybe it’s an area of ministry in which God has called you to use your gifts. Brett speaks about his path to a songwriting career and how so many try for years without success. Sometimes He places the most unlikely person in your path to show you a different way. 

Brett tried to make it for seven years before moving on and going back to medical school. But as much as he felt prompted to do this for the greater good of providing for his family, God moved in an unexpected way when he continued to use his gift. He persevered in his passion of songwriting while attending classes. God showed him (in record time) that this passion and gift would be rewarded as He carved out his own path for Brett’s life.  Look around – there is plenty of evidence that you don’t have to work in ministry to fulfill God’s plan for your life. We are all gifted in certain areas and each job, task, or career can be a mission field. If we keep our identity deeply rooted in Christ, we can find meaning in our lives, which is far greater than needing to find meaning in our careers. 

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” – Colossians 3:23-24

As we encouraged you to close 2021, this race is much easier to run with brothers, fellowship, and the accountability we can find when we don’t go alone. Give the podcast a listen this month and follow up each Friday with a different focus on our Goals, Time, and Relationships to help you achieve what really matters this year and beyond.