dream, pray, do

Week 6 of dream, pray, do - Questions to ponder from "An Enemy Called Average" by John L. Mason

Am I running from something, or to something?

This question seems to be a little redundant from previous weeks. Running from fear and towards our goals and dreams.....running from mediocrity towards something marvelous....running from what is holding us back and striving toward a better life.
 

I look at this question as inspiration for setting goals. First and foremost, make sure your goals are in alignment with God's plans for you. How do you discern if your dreams and goals are of your own thoughts or from God's guiding hand?

The answer......through prayer....lots of prayer. You will soon find out if what you are working towards is God's plan for you or your own plans. If it is God's plan you cannot fail....you may stumble,  you will make mistakes along the way and at times you may be terrified, but with God, you cannot fail.

Setting goals will get you from point A to point B, then onto C, D and so on. By doing this you are surely running towards something or at least moving towards something. Gods dreams for you can be intimidating if you are only looking at the end result.

I am sure you've heard the saying "How do you eat an elephant? ....one bite at a time." It is the same with goals....have God's "ultimate" goal in mind but set small goals along the way...break it down....create a road map. Work one day at a time towards that "ultimate" goal (ask for God's guidance and believe it can happen) and surely you will get there.

Following is an excerpt from Earl Nightingale's "The Strangest Secret". It is a beautifully written explanation of how important goal setting is to your life.

"People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going. It’s that simple. Failures, on the other hand, believe that their lives are shaped by circumstances … by things that happen to them … by exterior forces.

Think of a ship with the complete voyage mapped out and planned. The captain and crew know exactly where the ship is going and how long it will take — it has a definite goal. And 9,999 times out of 10,000, it will get there.

Now let’s take another ship — just like the first — only let’s not put a crew on it, or a captain at the helm. Let’s give it no aiming point, no goal, and no destination. We just start the engines and let it go. I think you’ll agree that if it gets out of the harbor at all, it will either sink or wind up on some deserted beach — a derelict. It can’t go anyplace because it has no destination and no guidance."

God has a plan for each one of us.....the least we can do is work that plan....with our best efforts.