My wife is such an amazing woman. When she sets her mind on something, there is no stopping her. For just over the past year, she has been on a journey, a weight loss journey….a journey to better her health. For most of us, one day we hit that day when our body starts fighting against us….the pounds keep adding on, no matter what we seem to do to combat it. But at some point in our lives we have to put our foot down….we have to drop the cookies, get off the couch, and do something about it.
This woman, I can’t even tell you in words, how proud I am of her. There is no quit in her, and she continues to crush her goals…everyday she is one day closer to where she wants to be. Just this morning we were out running in the blistering South Carolina heat. I know she wanted to quit. I could hear her talking to herself. I don’t know what she was saying, but she never stopped. She never gave up. She pushed through until the end.
She has goals. She has a destination she sees for her life. What are your goals? Is it to get a better job? Is it to be able to pay the car payment? Is it just to be able to walk 2 miles without quitting? Goals are the small steps we take along the way towards what we really want in life….Goals are nice, but when it comes to real satisfaction, dreams are where it’s at.
Now what are your dreams? What are you fighting for……fighting with everything you have? When the devil keeps pushing and pushing and pushing you back, and you are doing all you can to keep moving in a forward direction…..what is it he is trying to stop you from?
I have a dream for my life….I want to never have to work a real job again….not because I’m lazy….but because I don’t ever want to hear my kids say, “Why can’t you go on that field trip with me?” or “Why do I have to go to aftercare today?” And all along the way the devil is telling me, “Get back in that car and go to work!!! You will never be good enough to spend all of your time with your kids.” The devil will never win!!! We know the end of the story….its in Revelation, it’s just a matter of time.
God has great plans for our lives. God wants us to prosper. God wants us to achieve. There is nothing that can get in our way if we turn to God for strength, for encouragement, and his Divine Intervention. In Jeremiah it says, ” For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for the welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all of your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile (Jeremiah 29:11-14).”
Do you ever feel in exile, like God is keeping you from where you want to be? He’s not. He is there…..He is always there, waiting for you to come to Him for that guidance. I pray every day that God opens my eyes, to let me see what his plans are for my life. I’m never going to see the big picture…..I may not even see the next step I’m supposed to take, but I have faith….faith that WHEN I take that step that He is pushing me towards, I will go where I’m supposed to go.
Don’t give up. Don’t stop fighting for that plan that God has placed in your heart. Don’t let the devil tell you that you aren’t worthy…..because that is just a pure LIE.
Jesus Christ died on the cross to give you that hope and that everlasting life. That cross wasn’t just a piece of wood that he was nailed to. All of your fears, your despair, your anxieties, your negative thoughts, your “I can’t do this today” are all on that cross. They all died with Jesus Christ that day. And when He rolled that stone away three days later….guess what? All that mess stayed in the tomb. It never came back out. It didn’t follow Jesus. It’s gone.
I’m not saying days aren’t going to be hard, because they are sometimes. We all have bad days. But in those times of doubt, those times when you don’t think you can achieve your dream……with all your might you yell at the devil…….you tell him, “I’M NOT DONE YET!!!! I’M NOT WHERE GOD WANTS ME TO BE!!!!!” And then you keep going…you keep pushing forward….you keep fighting for that dream that God has placed in your heart.
God wants you to win. God wants you to succeed. So I leave you with this last thought of encouragement for those times you may not see that your dreams are just a few steps away. “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6.)
Tetelestai 