Work for Your Goals in Faith, Not Fear
By Rick Warren
“Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” Deuteronomy 31:8 (NLT)
Setting a big goal can be exciting at first—and overwhelming. In fact, looking at a big goal in front of you can make you afraid. So, how can you respond in faith instead of fear? Here are four ways.
Acknowledge God’s presence.
You can be confident that God is with you and that he is working through every circumstance and situation in your life, including your big goals. The Bible says, “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you” (Deuteronomy 31:8 NLT).
Watch for signs of God’s work in your life.
The bigger the dream, the longer it may take you to accomplish it. You may not see the fruit of your labor at first, but look for the little shoots sticking up out of the ground. God is working, even when it’s not obvious. Trusting that God is working will help keep you from fear and discouragement. Keep working toward your godly goal, and in time, you will see God’s blessing.
Stand on God’s promises in the Bible.
When you set a goal, don’t focus on the problems; instead, focus on the promises. Find a promise in God’s Word that will take you to your goal.
Genesis tells the story of Abraham giving his chief servant a big goal: to travel to a faraway land to find a wife for Abraham’s son. When the servant begins to wonder if he can accomplish it. But Abraham reassures his servant by telling him about a promise Abraham received from God: “The Lord will send his angel before you to help you get a wife for my son there” (Genesis 24:7 NCV).
When you have a God-given goal that’s tied to a promise in the Bible, you can wait with in faith, not fear, trusting that God will honor his promises.
Believe in the goodness of God’s plans.
How do you know that God’s plans for you are good? The Bible includes more than 7,000 promises of God’s goodness towards you, because he wants you to learn to trust him, to have faith instead of fear.
God may not send an angel to go before you as you work toward your goal, but that’s okay—you don’t need an angel! Dozens of times in Scripture God has said, “I’ll be with you, no matter where you go.”
Whatever big goal God has put in front of you today, choose to respond with faith instead of fear as you watch for signs of his work in your life and believe in his goodness to you.
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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