In our last article/podcast, A Plan To Be More Like Jesus, we laid out a reasonable plan using twenty-five helpful action points to keep you matched up with Scripture. You’ve likely formed many plans over the years with strategies to carry them out. Subsequently, it makes sense to develop a plan and long-term strategies to be more like Jesus.

Strategies To Be More Like Jesus

Today, we explore five strategies that help you “stay the course” over the long-term as you practice those twenty-five action points.

1. Come Close To God

This is a “faith step.” Trust His love with all your heart. Don’t lean on your own understanding. (Prov. 3:5) Importantly, refuse to let your difficult questions form a barrier with God.

Additionally, as you come close to God:

1. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him – as you come close to Him. (Ps. 37:7)
2. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans – as you come close to God. (Prov. 16:3)
3. Ask God for wisdom to apply His Word – as you come close to Him. (Jas. 1:5)

 

In these ways, find your true self and discover more about your individual design.

You may need to leave questions unanswered as you walk close to God. 

2. Love God Back

Love God by faith with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. (Mk.12:30) That means with your actions. Jesus says it best. “If you love Me, you will do what I say.” (Jn. 14:15)

As you apply the twenty-five helpful action points from “A Plan To Be More Like Jesus,” the next step is to – “. . . work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” (Col. 3:23) Essentially, it’s a practical way to love God.

Incidentally, you can’t make progress as a Jesus follower in your own strength. Simply put, points of a plan can become empty – void of power. You need God’s love and power. So, engage your plan using strategies –

1. Operate from your heart.
2. With resolve and discipline.
3. Because you love God back.
4. Essentially, as a gesture of gratitude for all He’s done for you.

 

Loving God back in word and deed becomes a practical strategy to be healthy.

3. Ask God To Help You Be More Like Jesus

Simply, trust Him for this. Then work hard to match your character with Christ’s character. Simultaneously, rejoice at what God is forming in you.

This will be a “faith step” – especially in hard times. Nevertheless – ask God to help you be more like Jesus.

4. Partner With God

God values partnership. Matter of fact, He invites teamwork. So, partner with Him.

Here’s how this looks:

• First, come close to God.
• Second, love Him back.
• Third, ask for His help.
• Radically, believe He’ll help as you actually start down the path. Essentially – join Him with your choices.
• Finally, bring your whole self to partner with Him.

 

This is the original design. Incidentally, it fits you like a hand in glove! (see “How Well Do Your Gloves Fit?“)

5. Rest In The Lord To Be More Like Jesus

Jesus says, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Mt. 11:28)

Job 22:21 says, “Submit to God, and be at peace with Him.”

In good or troubled times – you need rest. Subsequently, let God be your first stop for rest all through the day – and for the rest of your life.

Some Challenging Life Examples

Let’s look at some possible scenarios that might happen.

1. Someone mistreats you. What should your response be?

Pray a blessing into their life. There’s no greater blessing than to pray someone will have more of Jesus.

2. Good things happen for others, but not for you. Your response?

Rejoice with them. It’s a point of character to celebrate someone else’s joy when your heart is broken – – or when you’ve waited a long time for an answer. Confidently, know God has not forgotten you.

3. When someone is grieving, selflessly mourn with them.

Be thoughtful, careful, sensitive, and gentle. Focus on their needs and hurts. As you interact, refuse to preach or give recovery points. Incidentally, those may come later. But when a person is in a gut-wrenching season – just “be there.”

4. Live in harmony with difficult folks – as much as you can.

Focus on solutions. Err on the side of love. Simultaneously, be courageous to bring accountability and set appropriate boundaries.

Serving God in such scenarios proves you are practicing the five strategies to be more like Jesus. 

The Hard Stuff

Hard times are challenging to get through. Especially if you intend to be like Christ. Generally, you make it through. But how effectively?

“Hard stuff” in life can –

• Undo you.
• Discourage you.
• Confuse you.
• Cause you to stumble.

 

Consider – it’s the “hard stuff” on a daily basis that wears you down.

A wise believer does the following things when they go through “hard stuff.”

1. Come close to God.
2. Love God back.
3. Ask God to make them more like Jesus.
4. Partner with God.
5. Rest in the Lord.

 

There they are again. The five strategies help you “stay the course” to be more like Jesus! 

Remember – check out the twenty-five action points to match you up with Scripture: “A Plan To Be More Like Jesus.” These two articles fit together.

But It’s Still Hard!

Determine to be like Jesus. Rise to the challenge. Die to self, and be a living sacrifice. Yes, it’s hard.

Actually, the strong impulse is to protect and preserve self at all cost. Regardless, a wise believer yields to God in those responses simply because they love Him. Incidentally, this means –

1. First, let go of everything, including fear and pride.
2. Then, trust God completely, including for self care.
3. Next, open your eyes, ears, mind, and heart to hear God’s voice.
4. Solidly, sink your teeth into Scripture. Apply it with resolve.
5. Stubbornly, choose to please God more than yourself.
6. Finally, realize your life purpose is wrapped up in “doing life with God.”

 

You discover you can do the “hard stuff” when you love God first-most-best-only . . . and when you enjoy His love for you.

More Examples of “Hard Stuff“

These kinds of scenarios are challenging to navigate.

 1. You may have been deeply wronged.

Publicly put down, spitefully treated, judged, abused, received the poison of another person’s bitterness.

You can still be free in spirit and at peace. Interestingly, suffering at the hands of others while resting in God’s love for you helps you become more like Jesus. Even though it hurts, remember these action points –

• Let God avenge. He does it beautifully.
• Let go of unhelpful interactions with trouble-makers. Afterall, it just pulls you down.
• Remain in prayer for abusive people in your life.
• Courageously and wisely, put boundaries in place to protect your heart.
• Return good for evil.

 

2. Difficult family or community situations?

It takes awareness of culture and others’ maturity level to have peace. Yet, to be a loyal follower of Jesus, this is challenging, thoughtful work as you seek to build relationships in difficult scenarios.

• Set aside your wishes and bend farther than ever before to gain the highest good.
• You may need to go against the flow or any traditions to stand your ground in godly conduct.
• Exercise God’s wisdom, love, and be surrendered.

 

3. Keep peace in complicated issues that are hard to navigate.

As much as you can, live peacefully with people. Often, it helps to side-step conflict. Nevertheless, life gets complicated and sticky. Situations you never dreamed can arise because of different denominations, races, languages, value systems, and even sin. These are important to ponder:

• How will you handle opposing views of politics?
• How will you relate to scoundrels?
• What about people who have chosen to be your enemy?
• Always be careful about what you think, say, and do.
• Plus, stand firm in Scripture even as you work for peace.

 

Remember: A life of peace takes courage and kindness.

4. Some people position themselves as your enemy.

You may never figure out why it happened. Regardless, you still need to know how to respond to someone who chooses to be your enemy.

• Pray for more of Jesus in their life.
• If possible, focus on any good qualities you may know about that person.
• Practice kindness and truth.
• Heap burning coals of God’s love over their angry heart.
• Trust God to provide opportunities for healing. Wait for His timing.

 

Application Thoughts And Questions

1. Do you have a plan to be more like Jesus?
2. Additionally, what strategies have you adopted?
3. Do you come close to God?
4. In what ways do you love Him back?
5. Do you ask God to help you be more like Jesus?
6. In what ways do you partner with Him?
7. Are you resting in God?
8. What kind of “hard stuff” is in your life right now?

 

* Portions of this content came from our book – It’s Your Move – a devotional book that takes you through Romans and powerfully challenges you to live with perspective and purpose. You can find this book in our bookstore: www.aliveandactivelife.org/store.

 

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