Do you use a to-do list to organize your day’s tasks? I do. Granted, sometimes it turns our to be nothing more than a nagging wish list, but it can help me damper some of my anxiety about having too much to do, it gives me some structure and a plan, and the best part is that at the end of the day I have proof that I did accomplish something. Sometimes I even add something I did just so I can cross it off.

The problem with to-do lists is that they are just that: a list of tasks rather than a focus on just one thing. What would our day look like if we just committed to doing one thing? Could we ever achieve the single-mindedness of a dog looking for her dinner? Now that’s focus!

It would behoove us to think about people, things, and activities around us that derail our energy and dampen our motivation. Think about the things that take you away in a distracting spiral. What would be on your list? Online shopping, checking emails and social media, texting a friend with some juicy gossip, getting lost when you just turn on the news for a moment … all these things are life-draining.

What one thing does God desire of us and for us?

In Luke 18:22, Jesus made it pretty simple: “When Jesus heard these things, he said to him, “You still lack one thing…come, follow Me.”

Paul reminded us that focusing on one thing meant forgoing the past: “Brothers and sisters, I myself don’t think I’ve reached it, but I do this one thing: I forget about the things behind me and reach out for the things ahead of me. The goal I pursue is the prize of God’s upward call in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3: 13-14).

Surely following Jesus by reaching toward his call on our lives is more important than anything else on our to-do list that distracts us.

Have you written your to-do list for today? Throw it out and replace it with this one thing: Follow Jesus today.

Single-Minded Jellyfish