The journey to fulfill your dreams or achieve your goals can take years. Many people start out strong and full of hope, but somewhere along the way — sometimes just short of reaching their goals — they run out of steam and give up on the journey. These people often abandon their stalled dreams, like a car that’s run out of gas, as others speed past them — all the way to the finish line. Why do some give up when they’re so close? What enables others to complete the journey? It all boils down to a few things.
If you’re going to achieve your goals, fulfill you dreams, reach your desired destination, you’ll need to: (1) Stay on course — no veering, no side stops. Stay focused on your objectives in life. If circumstances such as time, money, health, or family obligations force you to take a detour, make every effort to get back on track as soon as possible. Detours in life happen. But detours should be just that: round about ways and slightly longer routes that eventually get us THERE! No one ever intentionally takes a detour and then decides not to get back on the main road … unless they don’t have enough fuel in their tanks.
(2) Fuel up! One fuel we previously discussed is PASSION: an enthusiasm, a zeal, a fervor, a preoccupation — perhaps even a mania — for what you’re hoping to achieve. You Certainly need to be passionate about your dreams and goals. But there’s another, even more important fuel: FAITH. Believe it or not, everybody has faith — in something! If not, no one would ever have the courage to get into a car and go out on the freeway during rush hour. Now THAT’S faith in action: faith in God, faith in the car’s proper functioning, faith in the driver, faith in all the other drivers. People only differ in what they have faith IN. The atheists have faith in science. They don’t believe in a supreme God who created the Universe and all that’s in it, including people; or that God is still in control and that He cares about us.
Some people put their faith in themselves. What a shock these people must get, when they try something and fail. And sooner or later we all fail and come up short — repeatedly. The great Patriarch Abraham chose to put his faith in the Judeo-Christian God of the Bible. And it was his faith in God that kept him fueled on his long, sometimes winding journey to reach his destiny.
Abraham was so gassed up with premium fuel that the Bible refers to him as the “Father of Faith”; not because he was perfect — no, Abraham was far from perfect — but he WAS faithful! When God asked his friend Abraham to do something, he did it.
God made Abraham a promise: that he would one day have a son, and through that son Abraham would leave a legacy to all the world. So Abraham’s dream was to see the promise fulfilled, and reach his destiny. There were, however, two huge roadblocks. First, try as she might, Abraham’s wife Sarah had been unable to bear a child, and now she was so far past the age of childbearing that things were looking scientifically impossible. Second, the journey to the promise took not years but rather DECADES. So Abraham needed to stay fueled, if he was to stay the course, and obtain the promise. Did he make it to the finish line? Did he and Sarah receive the Son of Promise? Yup. After a quarter-century he reached his goal!! And you can read about it in the historical book of Genesis, chapters 18 and 20.
“Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises.” (Romans 4:20-21 NLT) “It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise.” (Hebrews 11:11 NLT)
Sooner or later, we all need a little help in life. We have to put our confidence, our trust, in something greater than ourselves. We’ve put our trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel. We hope you have, too. “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20 NLT)
Coming soon, we’ll explore what faith is and how to keep your tank full. Happy motoring!