Work for Your Goals in Faith, Not Fear By Rick Warren
“Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lordwill 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 sprouts 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 began to wonder if he could accomplish it, Abraham reassured him by sharing a promise he 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 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 his 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. Then watch for signs of his work in your life, and believe in his goodness to you.
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