The Ultimate Goal is to Follow Jesus
Goals, we all have them, and if we don’t, we want to have them. This recent trend in the form of a hashtag is still largely used by the people of the internet.A goal is defined as the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result. We all have the desired result that we want to achieve, sometimes it’s an easily achievable thing, while other times, it may take time and patience.
Having a goal is important, yet sometimes we allow these goals to start controlling us, or our happiness.
Here’s a scenario; You know that you want to have kids, but at this stage, you aren’t married or in a relationship, but your goal is to one day be a parent. If one focuses too much on this goal, it can lead to much frustration and despair.So how does one handle the type of goals that you can’t exactly ‘make happen’? Well, trusting God in this process is key to acquiring peace, while waiting for things to unfold. There are some things in life that you cannot control. Trying to control them, ends in much heartache and disappointment.I was reading the Book of Philippians and Paul said in verse 14, “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Here the scripture referenced 2 Timothy 4:7 NIV, so I went on to read that as well. This is still Paul's writing, a letter to Timothy, and in verse 7 he says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
This really got me thinking…
I have always tried to create goals for myself, for my life, things that I could achieve, and to what end? Mostly to feel better about myself, like I had achieved something? Well, after reading this scripture I began thinking that Paul’s goals were met, yet probably not the way he had thought they would be achieved. The guy spent most of his life as a prisoner, preaching to prison guards and fellow prisoners. Yet when he writes to Timothy towards the end of his life, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he had achieved his ultimate purpose. “…I have kept the faith.”
Related Post: Teach Me How to Trust
Is this not the ultimate goal for us who follow Jesus? To say at the end, that we too have kept our faith. It is easy to start well, but finishing well takes supernatural ability, by walking in the Spirit, daily. Receiving fresh revelation daily, through communion with God, is what keeps our faith renewed, by the renewal of our minds. (Romans 12:2 NIV)So today let's make this the goal of our walk with God. Not #goals, but the ultimate goal, to maintain our relationship with God, by faith and to trust Him daily, even for those other goals that sometimes seem out of reach.