JANUARY

JANUARY 1

VISION EYES

Where there is no vision,

the people perish.

PROVERBS 29:18 KJV

Craig MacFarlane is blind, but he has great vision. At age two, a tragic accident left him completely blind, but he turned his defeat into victory by becoming a world-class athlete who won over one hundred gold medals in sports like wrestling, track and field, and downhill skiing. Craig has a powerful inner vision that fuels his drive to overcome. He has motivated millions with his vision to be the world’s greatest blind athlete. Craig may be blind, but he can see.

It has been said, “One person with vision in their eyes can multiply and change the world.” Since the beginning of time, men who have eyes with vision have shaped and changed history. They saw things differently. There was a vision that was born deep in their soul, and it changed the way they lived— and the way others lived too. They had vision eyes.

A vision without action is a daydream, but action without vision is a nightmare. There are some great ways we could define vision. John Maxwell defined vision as “a desired future; a picture of something that I don’t possess right now, but it is something I want to see and experience, and something I want the people I am leading to experience.”1

Vision is not simply a goal, an objective, or an item on your to-do list. Vision is both seeing and doing. It makes the impossible become possible. As blind and deaf writer Hellen Keller is credited with saying, “It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision.” Vision is a dream God has put on your heart that is bigger than yourself and, if accomplished, will bring glory to God and change people’s lives.

Father, give me vision eyes so You can use me to impact the world. Amen.

1 John C. Maxwell, “Turning Vision into Reality,” interview by Ron F. McManus, Enrichment (Winter 2000): 21, https://enrichmentjournal.ag.org.

JANUARY 2

SEEK DISCOMFORT

As servants of God we commend ourselves in every way:

in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses.

2 CORINTHIANS 6:4

Life is good, but it can be hard too.

Resilience is the ability to go through a lot of really hard stuff and bounce back. It’s a mix of grit, toughness, and confidence. It’s one of the most important qualities we can develop. Resilience isn’t a one-time thing but an all-the-time thing. We’re wired to desire comfort, pursue the easy path, and avoid pain. But resilience requires that we seek out discomfort. We see adversity as an opportunity to grow and get better.

As you take on greater challenges, you will increase your capacity to face trials and to handle, get through, and use failures. They will make you stronger and help you overcome even bigger obstacles.

Paul knew discomfort and hardship very well, and he didn’t see them as things to be avoided. Paul saw discomfort as refiner’s fire: a way of becoming everything he was made to be.

Spartan Racing, which involves challenging obstacles, has become a perfect way for me to develop resilience. It drives me outside my comfort zone and forces me to prepare for the pain and suffering of the race. The more I avoid discomfort, the less discomfort I can tolerate. The exact opposite is true too. To be your best, seek discomfort. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Do hard things and use those challenges to get ready for and capable of growing despite every storm.

Father, help me seek discomfort on the way to becoming a resilient man of God, able to weather all storms of life. Amen.

JANUARY 3

NEVER GET GOOD AT

“People look at you and think you’re saints,

but beneath the skin you’re total frauds.”

MATTHEW 23:27–28 MSG

We have witnessed the exposure of the moral failures of key Christian leaders and pastors. Every time I learn about what was happening behind the scenes, my heart breaks for the leader, their family, their organization, and the body of Christ. We all suffer when someone falls.

Brennan Manning said it best: “The temptation of the age is to look good without being good.”2 When we value behavior over being, we’re driven to look good without being good. This is plain old hypocrisy.

There is wisdom in creating a never-get-good-at list. If we get good at these things, we will fail at living in Christ. So never get good at

1. •learning without transformation,
2. •repenting without brokenness,
3. •leading without humility,
4. •giving without sacrifice,
5. •speaking without blessing,
6. •praying without listening,
7. •worshiping without passion,
8. •loving without commitment,
9. •dreaming without action, or
10. •living without Jesus.

Let’s commit to being walking, talking, living examples of what God can do in and through us. As men of God, let’s be the real deal.

Father, no more faking it. No more hiding sin. Reveal to me where I need to stop looking good without being good. Amen.

2 Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel (Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah, 2005), 126.

JANUARY 4

HARD VERSUS IMPOSSIBLE

“What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

LUKE 18:27 CSB

There’s a difference between hard and impossible. What we think is impossible is usually just hard. The Navy SEALs say when you feel like quitting, you’re only 40 percent of the way there. Having gone through leadership training with SEALs and my leadership team, I experienced this firsthand. Now their 40-percent rule rattles around in my head whenever I work out.

Many times in life, we feel like we have nothing left only to discover we had more than we thought. It may be with a difficult relationship, a challenging health issue, or a deep financial crisis. When we are in the middle of it, it often seems impossible to fix or get through. We may feel like quitting or giving up. But almost everything we face in life is just hard, not impossible, even when it doesn’t work out the way we hope.

We have the power of the Holy Spirit living in us, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. And while there are no promises that life will be easy, we know nothing is impossible with God. Our greatest limitation is often in our head. We don’t think we can do it or that things will change. We often give up before a breakthrough. Next time you’re facing something that seems impossible, remind yourself it’s probably just hard. And then rely on Jesus to get you through it—no matter how the story ends.

Father, remind me that no matter how impossible it seems, with You it’s just hard. Amen.

JANUARY 5

STOP THE ME MONSTER

Each one of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

ROMANS 15:2 CSB

My favorite comedian is Brian Regan. In one of his routines, he talks about running into a “Me Monster,” a guy who talks for everyone else and tries to top everyone’s story. Identifying Me Monsters is easy because they’re completely consumed with themselves. Me Monsters lurk in sport teams, schools, businesses, communities, and families.

The first full-blown Me Monster I encountered was a teammate in college who was excited after a tough loss just because he scored his goals. Despite the team’s performance, his excitement about how well he played and what he did on the field was vividly evident. What bothered me the most was I realized I had the same selfish tendencies, but they were hidden in my heart. I was consumed with my own play, not wanting to celebrate other players’ successes or join with the team to mourn our loss.

We need to kill the Me Monster daily. We need to crucify our old self so Christ can live in and through us. When we become a living sacrifice, we crucify the Me Monster.

Do you have too much pride and not enough humility? Too much selfishness and not enough servant attitude? Too much self-promotion and not enough celebration of others? Commit to celebrating the successes of others regardless of your own success. Stop the Me Monster in you.

Father, reveal my pride and selfishness. Heal me of my pursuit of self and teach me how to die to myself every day. Amen.

JANUARY 6

GREAT POWER, GREAT RESPONSIBILITY

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

EPHESIANS 4:1

In the Spider-Man comics and movies, Uncle Ben delivered an iconic line when he reminded his nephew, Peter Parker, that “with great power comes great responsibility.” He knew power could be used for good or bad, for selfish pursuits or...