HOW DO WE REACH THE GOAL?

HOW DO WE REACH THE GOAL?

 

What kind of goal? Many people are living without any specific purpose and may sing a song that is translated like this: “What happens, happens and I can’t say or do something about that. They have surrendered their lives to fate, but what is fate? It certainly isn’t God. They do not take responsibility over their own lives and do not know exactly where they are headed. Others live with a very strict program and there is no opening for surprises. Famous sport people come into this category. They want to win and they do everything in order to have a chance of winning. They have a strategy and a goal as long as they are active sportsmen and women. In some non-democratic countries they pick small children with talents for sports and train them from very early age. The state might take care of the children and the family might get some financial benefits. The child can’t protest and I guess he or she gets used to the exercises and the diets. Others have set the goals for their future, but the child has lost its freedom.

God knows what is best for us and He has created us with different possibilities and He gives us spiritual gifts that He wants us to use, but He is not running over our will. The Lord has created us for a purpose, but He does not force anybody. You have to choose how you want to use your life, but never forget that it is a gift from God.

Parents have authority over their children when they are small, but I encourage you as parents to help your child making decisions according to the ability of their age. What kind of interests do they have? What do they like to do? I had one loving to play piano. The other one wanted to play handball. I encouraged them to do what they liked. When they got older, they could see more clearly what kind of education they wanted and needed for their purpose of life. One chose to become an accountant. The other one is travelling around the world as a missionary. She loves to travel and so do I. I am also travelling having seminars and ministering to many people in other countries.

We might have different aims in life. We can talk about a calling and one needs to prepare for that calling. Others want to get married and is preparing for a family. Some are aiming to become rich and others want to own many things. They might find their security in that.

A goal is something that is set for the near or far fetched future. We Christians are heading for Heaven. We know that we are temporarily a guest here on earth. We are looking forward to an eternal home together with Jesus and our heavenly Father. How do we prepare for that? It doesn’t start with us, but with The Holy Spirit looking for us. The Bible says that Jesus loved us even when we were sinners. His love is following us till we are united with our heavenly Father. We must receive Jesus as our Savior for our sins. We become the children of God then. Our spirit becomes totally clean and righteous, giving us assurance that we are on our way to heaven. The apostle Paul says in 2.Timothy 4:7 ” I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” It is not good to stop before one has accomplished what one started. There are many kind of races and one needs to know what kind of race the Lord wants us to run. He is our Creator and it is best to ask Him.

                     We run the best when we run into deeds that are already prepared for us.

God needs His children to be spread everywhere. Some are supposed to become teachers, politicians, doctors, economists etc. Others should enter a fulltime ministry. A child that is used to talk with Jesus, might hear from Him and might understand what the Lord wants him or her to do as adult. To choose a profession is a very important goal in life.

I have so far written about the big goals of life, but there are thousands of smaller choices. There might be certain goals for every day. Some people live like they put on an automatic pilot in the morning and live automatically through the day. I think that we should decide how we want our days to look like. We should bring our Lord into our decision-making, but He is not an automatic pilot either. He doesn’t overrun our will. You might say that you cannot make any plans since you have a job and a family. I understand that, but you can still make your own decisions. How do you want to perform your job? Do you want to testify about Jesus to someone today? Do you want to encourage somebody, maybe call or write to somebody? You can decide to be a blessing for someone else every day.

The title is: How do we reach our goal? We must first and foremost have a goal. It starts when we take a decision. We might think of decisions like stopping to smoke, using drugs or too much alcohol. Others decide to lose weight. There are those who saves money for a car or other things that are expensive. People have different interests and hobbies and they might decide to start a course. Everything starts with a decision. If one doesn’t keep to the decision, one will not reach the goal. We should not waver. I know of drug addicts that have fallen again and again. Why? They didn’t stand on a firm decision. Once a goal is set, one needs to think of the way to the goal and how long it should take. Those quitting to smoke might do it drastically by never smoking a cigarette again. Others do it slowly by reducing slowly. Some need some pills or chewing gums to help them. When it comes to losing weight, one usually needs to change to another diet and reduce the amount of food. It might also need some exercise. Other use medical help. Everybody must choose a method functioning for you, not everybody else.

If one needs money to reach the goal, one has to think how to get that money. How much can you save each month? Do I need to stop buying something else to attain the goal? Do I need another job or an extra one?

One needs a plan to follow in order to reach the goal.

What do we Christians do to complete the race and come to heaven? We receive Jesus, but we also need to stay on the road. Some people apostate. They are lured by sins or they become so disappointed by Christians and particularly by Christian leaders that they turn their back to God. Some do not understand that they have to make a conversion and they keep on living as they did before turning to Christ. I personally have a desire to save those five virgins lacking oil on their lamps. They were refused entrance to heaven. (Matthew 25) I encourage all my sisters and brothers to focus on Jesus and not on everything else. Jesus is the Way. We keep contact with Him through reading the Bible and praying. It is never good to do everything alone. We therefore need the companionship of other Christians. We can be a strength to each other. We read in James that we will not receive answers to our prayers if we waver. We need to set a goal in faith. The goal needs to be realistic based on God’s principles and our abilities.

GOD HAS PROMISED TO BE WITH US IN OUR JOURNEY TO REACH OUR GOALS.

Mother Else