Joshua 12:9
The king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one;
Israel fought thirty-one battles on their way to conquering the Promised Land, but they fought each battle one at a time. They could have easily become discouraged as they did forty years prior by looking at all the cities they needed to conquer, but they found out that the secret to winning the war is to fight one battle at a time.
This is one of the great secrets to living a successful life. Too many are worried about everything they need to do when they only need to be focused on what they are doing. You live a successful Christian life one day at a time. You fill a church auditorium one person at a time. You reach thousands of souls one soul at a time. Your read through God’s Word one chapter at a time. You conquer sin one sin at a time. You overcome addiction one day at a time. Yes, we all want to get to the victory, but victory is achieved by winning one battle at a time. Let me share a few thoughts that can help you in this critical area that will help you to live victoriously.
First, it is what you are doing that is critical to now. You cannot win the next battle that has yet to come while you are fighting your present battle. The battle that you are presently fighting needs your full attention, and if you don't give it your full attention, you will lose it and likely lose the war that you are battling. Give your whole effort and attention to what you are doing right now and you can accomplish much for Christ. For instance, I cannot worry about next week’s sermons I must preach; I must give my full attention to the sermon I am delivering today. If I am worried about next week’s sermons, I am robbing from today’s sermon; thus, I don't help people today as I should. Likewise, you are hindering your ability to care for what you are doing today by worrying about what you are going to do next.
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Second, the next battle will care for itself if you care for the battle at hand. If I do what I am supposed to do right now, I will do what I am supposed to do when the next battle comes. For instance, I can't live for God tomorrow today, but I can live for God today, so I must give my best today to live for God and tomorrow will care for itself. Stop worrying about what you must do next because what you do next will be easier to handle when its time comes. Therefore, if you care for the now properly, when the next becomes the now, you will care for it as you should.
Third, don't fight the whole war, but fight one battle at a time. Paul said in Philippians 3:13, …this one thing I do… Paul was showing that he cared for things one at a time. Israel conquered Jericho one battle at a time. You will conquer whatever you need to get done by caring for one thing at a time. The way you clean a house is to clean the house one room at a time. The way you accomplish a busy day is by caring for one task at a time. The way you build a building is by doing one job at a time. The way you conquer sin is by conquering one sin at a time. Stop trying to do everything at one time and do one thing at a time. Most people do a halfway job at what they do because they are trying to do everything at the same time, and they end up being overwhelmed by what they are doing. Make a list of what you are trying to do, start working at the top of the list and finish it before you go to the next thing. This is how you conquer whatever you are trying to do by tackling one thing at a time.