Do the Next Thing and Fine Tune Your Focus

Do the Next Thing and Fine Tune Your Focus

Posted on by Michele Morin

My friend Joanne was continually clearing off her kitchen table–with little success to show for her valiant efforts. Whenever we talked on the phone, I could hear her moving about, tethered by a 1970s-era phone cord, and I knew what she was doing. She was clearing off the kitchen table.
Again.

Even so, whenever I visited, the piles had returned, and books, mail, groceries, and newspapers would need to be swept to one side, a vivid, visual image of her hospitable heart making room for me in her full and busy life. Joanne has moved on to a blessed, clutter-free eternity, but there have been seasons in which my soul has felt like her kitchen table, weighted down with untidy piles. I shuffled them and moved them around, but the clutter never failed to get in the way of what I was trying to accomplish.

As we learn to clear our cluttered tables and souls, we make room for life-giving activities and create space for listening to the voice of God. A simple, soulful practice that has been life-giving for me is summed up in the words of this anonymous poem:

From an old English parsonage down by the sea
There came in the twilight a message to me;
Its quaint Saxon legend, deeply engraven,
Hath, it seems to me, teaching from Heaven.
And on through the doors the quiet words ring
Like a low inspiration: “DO THE NEXT THING.”
Many a questioning, many a fear,
Many a doubt, hath its quieting here.
Moment by moment, let down from Heaven,
Time, opportunity, and guidance are given.
Fear not tomorrow, child of the King.
Trust that with Jesus, do the next thing.” 

Certainly, Jesus held to a “next right thing” mindset in his ministry among people. Whenever he told someone to hold out a hand, pick up a bed, wash in a pool, or go home, he was offering an object lesson in the importance of small acts of faithfulness.

Doing the next thing in love lightens the decision-making load by fine-tuning our focus. Following Jesus certainly involves multiple and complex choices over the course of a lifetime, but this is accomplished by following Jesus for the next ten minutes. And then the next.

He has promised us light for our path, but most of the time my eyes are darting off the path, worried about eventualities that never materialize. By faith, we can clear away the clutter of indecision and walk with confidence and joy in the light that’s given as we trust God—and then do the next thing.

Holding You in the Light,

Jesus held to a “next right thing” mindset in his ministry among people. When he told someone to hold out a hand, pick up a bed, wash in a pool, or go home, he offered an object lesson in the importance of small acts of faithfulness.

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Published by Michele Morin

Michele Morin is a Bible teacher, writer, reader, and gardener committed to the truth that women can become confident Christ-followers and students of God's Word. She has been married to an unreasonably patient husband for thirty-plus years, and together they have four married sons and a growing fleet of adorable grandchildren. Michele loves hot tea and well-crafted sentences, poems that stop her in her tracks, and days at the ocean with the whole family. She laments biblical illiteracy and advocates for the prudent use of “little minutes.” She blogs at Living Our Days, and you can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

31 thoughts on “Do the Next Thing and Fine Tune Your Focus”

  2. Excellent and comforting. By now you are winding down and you’ve led them to the water. Have a sweet way home to rest. God is pleased, no matter our email subscriber list numbers.

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  3. I’ve loved this poem ever since I first heard Elisabeth Elliot reading it decades ago. Thank you for the precious reminder that still holds true all these years later. Blessings to you dear sister.

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  5. Michele, I’m resonating with your words on so many levels. So many lessons from life’s simple tasks, so many memories from friends gone Home before us.

    May our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual piles be few so He can have free reign in our daily lives.

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    1. It’s human nature to scan the horizon for something BIG that will “make a difference.” Sometimes, the best thing we can do is to accomplish whatever small task needs doing in the moment. And then the next…

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  8. I have not heard this poem but what a wonderful reminder today. Small acts all add up over the course of a day, and lifetime. I appreciate you, Michele!

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  9. Michele: This message is encouraging to me. Thank you for sharing it with us. The next thing does not always appear to me unless I have done the basic things. I have learned that doing the next thing is done in faith.

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  11. This is a helpful post, Michele! My mind feels very cluttered right now with many different tasks that I feel I am constantly sorting through trying to bring some kind of order. There is a lot of wisdom in just focusing on the next thing and taking one step at a time.

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  13. A favorite 💕 It’s humbling & satisfying to continually detour onto God’s plan for our day, even if later it means the table needs to be cleared yet again.

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