Proverbs 21:5
The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.
Pressing Ahead
Paul loved the analogies of the athletic competition and frequently referenced our life in Christ as a runner running a race and pressing forward to reach that prize of our high calling (Phil. 3:14). Paul asked the rhetorical question: Do we know that we’re in a race and that we’re to run and press ahead for the goal of the high calling we all have in Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 9:24)? Sometimes we are running behind of what our goals are and they are out of reach, and sometimes we are running ahead of God’s prescribed will for our lives. But if our goals seem out of reach, why don’t we ask God for help in stretching out to grab hold of them? In the first place, we must make sure that our goals are what God desires for our life, and that goal must certainly include glorifying God and being active participants in the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8), for if our goals are outside of the parameters of trying to glorify God and reaching the lost, then we might need to reassess them.
Delighting in God
God has promised in His Word that if our delight is in the Lord, He will grant us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4), but the key is that we must delight in Him. If we delight in Him, we will seek to live a life of obedience. We cannot say we delight in God and not live in a biblical way. It just can’t be done. If our goals are not within reach, perhaps we are living a life that is not pleasing to Him; if so, He will not likely help us reach our goals. Our goal should always be to seek to please Him, and our goals should be something that is within the will of God because we don’t want our goals to be contrary to what God’s will is for our lives. If our goals seem to be out of reach, then maybe we need to examine our goals in light of Scripture.
Walking on Water
Peter’s goal was to go to Jesus, but the problem was that Jesus was walking on water. In our natural world, we can’t walk on water due to the laws of nature. Peter had to stretch his hand out toward Christ to reach the goal of walking on water, but Jesus also had to reach out to Peter because he, like we, needed help (Matt. 14:31). It was only when Jesus reached out to take Peter’s hand that Peter was able to walk on water. In a similar fashion, if we can’t reach our goal even when we are reaching out to take hold of it, why haven’t we simply asked Jesus to help us stretch out and reach it? I ask myself this same question. If my goals are out of reach, why haven’t I just asked for His help to stretch for them?
A Closing Prayer
Oh Creator God in heaven, I need Your help to reach the goal that I cannot take hold of myself. Please help me to know if my goals are those goals that You desire for my life, for if not, then I need to readjust my goals and adjust them to what You would have them be for me, and in Christ’s precious name I pray.
Amen
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