A Life Litmus Test

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.––Ephesians 2:10

Dear South Cities Family, 

The longer I walk with Jesus, the more I want to make my life count for the sake of his Name, and the more I realize that if I’m not intentional then I’m likely coasting in a way that’s not likely to produce good stewardship of the time I’ve been given. So, a few years ago I developed four categories of a life litmus test for myself that I ask myself once/month to use to lead me into a time of prayer. These categories aren’t infallible and maybe you’ll email me with some better ones. But my goal is not that you’d copy me (though you’re welcome to) but that you’d consider how you ask yourself good questions and have others in your life ask you good questions about your walk with Jesus and the impact it’s having on the rest of your life. 

Note two other things about how I use this: 1) I’m making it a habit to rehearse God’s grace to me in Christ and my identity as a son of the King before diving into this. I don’t want this to become performance-based––earning of some kind of merit. 2) Rather, it’s an honest evaluation of growing maturity (worth rejoicing over and thanking God for!) or of needed growth for maturity (worthy repenting over and trusting God for!). So, here are the categories I use to lead me into prayers of thanksgiving, repentance, and petition. I’ll try to be pretty brief in this letter, but if you have more questions—let me know! I love talking about these things. Yes, they’re alliterated. 

Faith (fellowship with God, hope, spiritual vitality, sin, etc.)

In this category, I’m simply trying to honestly evaluate my walk with Jesus and the condition of my heart. I start here because where there are struggles or joys here they will likely show up in the other areas as well. I’m confessing sin, thanking God for recent sweet fellowship, recalling recent insights into my heart from the word, and thinking through my routines (how do I plan to be with Jesus) and inclinations (where does my heart tend to drift on its own). I’m almost always ending by praying through the prayer from Ephesians 3. 

Family/Friendship (dynamics, areas of focus, joys & sorrows)

In this category, I’m trying to evaluate the areas of strength and weakness in my family first and then my friendships next. Sometimes this category mixes with the next one as I think about my relationships with staff and elders as well and how I want to grow with them or talk to someone about something. How am I doing as a husband to Kelly? A daddy to the five I have? A friend to others? Do I have 3–4 people who really know me and can speak into my life? 

Again, my aim is to leave this time with some takeaways of people I need to lean into, forgiveness I need to ask for, relationships that need more time, or questions I need to answer. This is a good place to check for pain or bitterness that I didn’t still know was there. Again, this time often ends with prayer of thanksgiving for the ups and pleading for the areas that need help. 

Fruitfulness (vocational vision, energy, successes & failures, fatigue, finances)

In this category, I’m often seeking to evaluate the actual health and fruitfulness of my vocation and the impact I have on South Cities Church as a whole. Am I seeing growth toward yearly goals? Do I still help people in my preaching? Do I still love to study, prepare, and preach? Am I still helpful to the staff and elders as a leader? Are there areas I need to do more or better in? Do I see the church moving in healthy directions theologically, relationally, and practically? Do I have energy to keep moving towards areas of need? Am I worn out in some particular area I need to ask for help or prayer for? How is our church financially and how is our family in that area? 

Obviously, your vocation won’t be the same as mine, but I think it’s good to sit down and honestly evaluate, ask for help, and let it lead to prayer for my work and the impact it has on those around me. 

Fitness (physical disciplines of eating, exercise, etc.)

We are embodied souls, so how we move our bodies and what we put in our bodies matters. I’m not looking for perfection in this area, but a healthy, faithful direction of wise choices in eating, intentionality in exercise, and patterns of rest and rejuvenation built in. One thing Kelly and I have developed as a saying over the last few years is, “we can’t give what we don’t have.” So, if we don’t have rest or energy because we’ve run ourselves ragged, then that means we won’t have anything left to give. As finite beings, we want to walk wisely towards health. Yes, we want to work hard––that’s godly! But, we should also work hard at healthy patterns for our bodies and work hard to find places of rest for our bodies and minds. Again, this often leads to praising God, planning for new patterns if they’re needed, and petitioning him for more help. 

So, that’s an idea of how it looks for me. It will look different for you. But I know that those in Christ want to make their lives count for the sake of Jesus, and I know for me, personally, it’s a struggle without intentional times of evaluation and prayer.  

Walking with Jesus with you, 

Pastor Dave