Step 10 - Taking A Look At My Life Today

It’s a useful practice to take regular inventory of our lives and to continue to make any needed adjustments to our thoughts, motives, or actions.  This helps us maintain spiritual, emotional, and relational health.  That’s the purpose of Step 10.

Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.

The Bible fleshes out this connection between knowledge and action with these words:

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever.”  James 1:22, 25 NLT, 1 Timothy 4:7-8

Let me mention a couple of ways we can put these principles into practice throughout our day.

SPOT CHECK INVENTORY: In each situation where we begin to experience things not going well, we need to pause and note what’s right and what’s wrong.  What are we feeling? What’s going on beneath the feeling?  What are we expecting?  What is God’s direction in what is going on? 

DAILY INVENTORY:  At the end of each day we talk with God about the events of our day and listen for His encouragement, His correction, and His instruction.  Where we need forgiving, we ask for and receive it from God.  Where we notice our good intentions, good thoughts, good actions, we note them and give thanks.

The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. Psalm 37:23-24

Heavenly Father, help us to see ourselves as you see us. Help us to rejoice in what is going well and promptly admit what needs to be confessed and changed. 

When we examine our ways and admit the wrongs we have done, please help us  to humble ourselves and seek Your forgiveness.   Our desire is to follow You in all our ways.  Please help us! 

Thank you for being with us in every circumstance and for teaching us Your principles for living life well.  Amen

God has a fantastic plan for our lives which will bring meaning and joy.  As we plot our course, God will direct our steps and we will be enriched by goodness and love through each step of the journey.  Regularly taking inventory helps keep us on the path as we work out God’s good plan for our lives. 

So today’s challenge: don’t just know this is a good idea but actually take inventory and make any necessary adjustments.