to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking
everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups.... Test it
out. If you fail the test, do something about it.”^5
To maintain your physical health, you need regular check-ups
with a doctor who can assess your vital signs—blood pressure,
temperature, weight, and so on. For your spiritual health you
need to regularly check the five vital signs of worship, fellowship,
growth in character, ministry, and mission. Jeremiah advised,
“Let’s take a good look at the way we’re living and
reorder our lives under God.”^6
At Saddleback Church we have developed a
simple personal evaluation tool that has helped
thousands of people stay on-purpose for God. If
you would like a copy of this purpose-driven life spiritual healthamazed at how much this little tool will help you balance your life
for health and growth. Paul urged, “Let your enthusiastic idea at
the start be equaled by your realistic action now.”^7
Write down your progress in a journal. The best way to
reinforce your progress in fulfilling God’s purposes for your life is
to keep a spiritual journal. This is not a diary of events, but a
record of the life lessons you don’t want to forget. The Bible says,
“It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so that we
don’t drift off.”^8 We remember what we record.
Writing helps clarify what God is doing in your life. Dawson
Trotman used to say, “Thoughts disentangle themselves when
they pass through your fingertips.” The Bible has several examples
of God telling people to keep a spiritual journal. It says, “At the
Lord’s direction, Moses kept a written record of their progress.”^9
Aren’t you glad Moses obeyed God’s command to record Israel’s
spiritual journey? If he had been lazy, we would be robbed of the
powerful life lessons of the Exodus.
While it’s unlikely that your spiritual journal will be as widely
read as Moses’ was, yours is still important. The New
The Purpose-Driven Life 308DAY THIRTY-NINE:
BALANCING
YOUR LIFE
assessment, you can email me (see appendix 2). You will be