Goals and Dreams
Some goals start out as dreams. At least that is how I see many of mine. When I was a little girl sitting on the little wooden chairs in Sunday School, I daydreamed about going to other countries to “teach people about Jesus.” That is why I saved all my Sunday School papers! How that would all come about and where I would end up, I did not have a clue but evidently Holy Spirit had it all mapped out because years later (37 years ago) I headed to the Philippines with my family to “teach people about Jesus”. Amazing! What a privilege!
A goal or objective is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan, and commit to achieve. People endeavor to reach goals within finite time by setting deadlines. Obviously, I did not do that! A lot of regular life happened between my dreams and the goal. There were definitely times where I shelved the dream, but Holy Spirit did not lose track.
“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
There are things we dream and plan and then there are opportunities that God just puts in our path. We get to choose to go with it or not. I have learned that it is best to follow the paths that Holy Spirit opens for us and that they always take us to more opportunities than we thought possible. Some of our greatest adventures have been unexpected opportunities that Holy Spirit opened to us.
We are halfway through 2024 now. I did not really set any New Years Resolutions, but I have had some goals for a while. Some very natural ones like “go through the totes that are stacked in my shed” and “clean out the filing cabinet.” Plus, I have some more personal ones such as “write down some memories from our years overseas and Scripture promises God has given me over the years.” I have not gotten very far on any of these goals yet this year, it is time to kick in!
So, I decided to look up a few quotes to inspire and motivate me. Here are a few short ones that I like:
“Goals are dreams with deadlines.” Diane Short
“A year from now you may wish you had started today.” Karen Lamb
“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” John Wooden
“In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it.” Alistair Begg
It is encouraging to know that God has plans (goals) for us, and He is able to make it happen. He does not get sidetracked.
“For I know the plans I have for you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
Are there some dreams that have gotten buried in the busyness of your life?
Do you need to roll up your sleeves and dig into some goals before the year is gone?
It is not too late, go for it!!!
