Dreams & Aspirations

I want to add to what Matt said at Life Group this past Monday. (He said it’s OK.)

I believe that honorable aspirations and dreams are a gift from the Lord (James 1:17):

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow.

As we know, dreams require faith to be seen manifest. It's easy to get discouraged when we look at our lives today....

What have we learned about faith over the past few weeks? :) True faith is shown through action* (James 2:17-19):

Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself. Yes, a man will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith.

I find that it’s way too easy for me to let time hurry by, when I can easily be accomplishing more than I am. It’s that “little more” that can make the difference between just hoping for a goal to be met, and seeing it fulfilled. That’s powerful, when you think about it!

*As far as our relationship with God goes... action (or faith) means doing what He reveals that we need to do. That includes waiting on Him and trusting for that which is beyond our control (Psalm 37). The enemy would have us succomb to frustration over what is out of our hands. I do this every day. God wants us to maintain joy and peace, through the acknowledgement of His character (Philippians 4:4-7, Jeremiah 29:11).

What I want to share has to do specifically with what we can control: the steps of proactive movement that God has placed within our reach, today. I’ve gleaned what follows from mens' ministry at church, but it could be useful to anyone. (For some reason, I think that men may have a harder time doing this.)

When you have quiet time with God, He’ll often lead you to write down things that He gives you. Well, if you aspire to do anything that honors God in some fashion, He gave you that! (That doesn't necessarily mean that God plans for it to be done through you alone, or even in your lifetime, but any idea that brings glory to God is worth looking at.) Here’s a good thing to do if you haven't before (I'm currently doing this, myself):

List those things that you want to accomplish before you die (type them on the computer or write them down). If you're unsure of anything, you can seek God about it, and He'll help you.

Now, here’s the really interesting part; something you can try:

Think of specific steps you can take to reach the goals, and write those down, too. Envision where you are now as point A, and your goal as point B, and ask yourself (and God) if there are any things He might have you do to help connect the two. What makes it so hard for us is that we want to bridge A & B in one huge step, instead of trusting God to lead us one step at a time. God may show you one intermediate step for now, or He may show you six. (He may not show you any; you might be right where you’re supposed to be for now.)

Now give yourself "deadlines" for the steps (whichever ones you can). Yes, put actual dates! If you don’t meet them it’s not the end of the world, but by setting dates you hold yourself accountable to doing something.

Lastly, share your plans with close friends or someone who can encourage you and hold you accountable to doing what you can. The goal isn't legalistic perfection, but steady progress. As the saying goes, "do your best, and God will do the rest!"

As far as my personal "action plan" (it's funny and sad that I need a written plan to get myself to move) :) one specific goal of mine is to have three video game songs completed before Christmas. Now that you all know that, I'm obligated to get movin'!