In Touch 05-17-04
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- 2004 May 17
In Touch Daily Devotional
by Dr. Charles Stanley
Monday, May 17
InTouch Early Light Devotional
How To Reach Your Goals
1 Kings5:1-12, 6:38
Last week we looked at some questions to ask ourselves when setting goals. Here are five other areas to consider.
- To reach our goals, cooperation is required. First, we cooperate with God by agreeing to His plan. In agreeing, we are surrendering our way in order to do it His way. Secondly, we enlist the cooperation of others, starting with prayer support.
- To achieve our aim entails consistency- a steady effort toward the objective. Because God helped us to establish the goal, we can remain fixed on accomplishing it. Even if others discourage us, we stay the course as God has asked.
- Clear focus means having our eyes fixed on the purpose ahead of us and not allowing ourselves to be distracted. By remembering that the Lord set the goal for us, we will not allow others to change our course.
- Often the goals we are given by God require courage to act on them. Courage here is the willingness to take action without knowing the outcome - we can do that because it is God who asks. As we deepen our trust in Him, courage will come.
- Developing a lifestyle of conscious dependence on God is important. It is too easy to put our own strength into achieving goals and forget about depending on God. True success requires dependence.
These items are not a standard by which to measure ourselves; they are pointers to help us move in the right direction. If you haven't set goals, seek out someone who has and learn how. Be open to a new way of working.
Make sure you tune in for this week's message from Dr. Stanley. For expanded studies and outlines of this week's sermon, visit the In Touch Web site. http://www.intouch.org/myintouch/broadcasts/index_76108.html
Do your teenagers know about Teen Connection - the official teen outreach of In Touch? The latest interviews include Philip Yancey, Point of Grace, ZOEGirl and Rebecca St. James. Visit Teen Connection at www.teen-connection.info.
