Which is more Important: Doing the Next Thing right or Next Right Thing?

Not that I have already attained, [a] or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have [b]apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12-14

If you were asked the following question, ‘What is more important, doing the next right thing or doing the next thing right?’ what would your answer be?

Very recently I ran a poll on social media, asking the above question. It was very interesting the feedback I received; 58% choose ‘doing the next thing right’ while 42% went for ‘doing the next right thing’. I discovered that doing the next thing encourages excellence, almost perfection really, and doing the next right thing enables us to overcome procrastination. So, they both have their place.

I am reminded of a very good friend of mine by the name Florence Ngoma (the godmother of my son), she usually runs the half-marathon race and one of the things she mentioned was that her Trainer always encourages her by saying “don’t think about the whole race, just think about the next tree. When you are training and jogging, and get tired, think about the next tree and say, ‘I will run to the next tree”. This also reminds of the Chinese proverbs that says, ‘the journey of a thousand miles begins with a step’.

Whatever it is that God has called you to do, don’t wait for it to be most conducive or the best timing, or the best location, just go ahead and do it as long as you know it’s the right thing to do.

In coming back to the original question ‘what is more important, doing the next right or doing the next thing right?’ They both have their place. For me personally, I always go for ‘doing the next right thing’; as long I know it is the right thing, I go ahead and do it.

Now, you could ask the question, how do I know what the next right thing is? Well, as a child of God and a Diamond Believer, one of our greatest assets is listening to the Holy Spirit; and there are ways in which know what God is telling us to do.

1. Confirmation:

Whatever God tells us to do, will confirm something or something will confirm it; a scripture will confirm it, the message you hear from God will confirm it, a dream could confirm it, or even a message from another Christian could confirm it. There will be lots of other things that could confirm it and that’s how you will know what God is telling you to do.

2. Peace of Heart and Mind:

How do you know if it’s the next right thing? The next indicator for knowing what the ‘next right thing’ is, peace in your heart about it. The bible says let peace reign in our heart as umpire (Colossians 3:15). Peace is an indication of the presence of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus is called the ‘Prince of Peace’. Whenever you are faced with the question ‘is this the next right thing for me to do?’, and you don’t have peace in your heart, you’re anxious and agitated about it, then you need to check it.

3. Empowerment of The Holy Spirit

The above pointers are the indicators of knowing what the ‘next right thing’ is. However, this is not an exhaustive list. What matters is how you relate to God and how God talks to you. Whatever, the case, as long as you know what the next right thing is, go ahead and do it even if you feel that you do not have all it takes.

Now, if someone tells you to travel from one side of town to another, you don’t wait for the traffic light to be all green before you start your journey do you?, You will usually start your journey and continue in faith, trusting that from one traffic light to the other you will eventually get a green light until you reach your destination.

Therefore, whatever it is that God has called you to do, I want to encourage you, go ahead and do the next right thing.

When we look at the bible from Genesis to revelation, many of the people that did exploits for God did not see the full picture of the entire journey, but they took one step at a time in faith. Looking at the life of Joseph, a Diamond Believer, he didn’t know everything, he just took one step at a time; even when his father told him to go and feed his brothers (Genesis 39:12-36), he took a step at a time and did the next right thing. Yes, he got into trouble, but it led him to destiny fulfilment; Same thing with David, and the same with our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, whatever it is that God has called you to do, go ahead and do it.