ALIGNING YOUR LIFE AND PLANS WITH JESUS

“Your priorities must be God first, God second, and God third, until your life is continually face to face with God.” – Oswald Chambers.

Alignment is a term frequently used in business circles. It mainly involved around shared goals, values, and purpose. When things are in alignment, they work together, often making a process smoother or ensuring that something works as intended.

When it comes to alignment in our lives, we work together with God to pursue His call and purpose. Like anything else, we can try to pursue our own purposes instead of God. However, when we are not aligned with His will and His call, we’re not operating as we were designed or intended.

Aligning with God always means becoming more like Christ. To align with God is not only to agree with His will or to follow His commands — it is to be transformed into the likeness of Jesus. God’s goal for every believer is not merely correct doctrine or outward compliance but a heart and life shaped by Christ’s character: humility, love, obedience, compassion, and sacrificial service. As we fix our eyes on Jesus — studying His words, watching His example, and walking in dependence on the Spirit — we are gradually changed to be with Him, become more like Him, and do what He did. Alignment is a lifelong formation process guided by the Holy Spirit, where our desires, thoughts, and actions increasingly reflect Jesus.

To do that requires some practical rhythms in our lives. One is to abide in Scripture daily, essentially meditating on Jesus’ life and teachings and allowing them to reframe our thinking. Another is to pray for the Spirit’s help. If we want the Christlike virtues (love, patience, gentleness, etc),  and for the power to practice them, we need the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Then there is practicing obedience in small things: faithfulness in little choices becomes the pathway to becoming more like Him. We need to serve others sacrificially by putting their needs before our own. And finally, we need to live in Christian community so we can allow other believers to encourage, correct, and model Christlikeness for us.

Two verses in Romans describe the process of alignment. Romans 8:29 says, God predestined us “…to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” But then Romans 12:1-2 says, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Both verses discuss how we can become more like Jesus.

Thankfully, because of Jesus, we are not expected to perform flawlessly for God. God’s plan and will are perfect, but we don’t have to be. That is the purpose of grace. We won’t always be aligned with God’s plan and purpose, and we won’t always make the right choices. We will make mistakes. We need to keep working at being with Jesus, becoming like Him, and doing what He did.

Discussion Questions:

1. What does “alignment with God” mean to you personally? How does this differ from simply following rules or traditions?
2. What are some of the world’s values and priorities that are contrary to a life aligned with God? How can we identify these influences in our own lives?
3. How does understanding that God’s ways are perfect and ours are not impact your desire for alignment?