Seize the Moment!
By Rick Warren

“Be careful how you act; these are difficult days. Don’t be fools; be wise: make the most of every opportunity you have for doing good” (Ephesians 5:15-16 TLB).

Everyone has a dream. Maybe you’ve had it since you were a child. Maybe it came to you more recently. Desires, wishes, and ambitions should be a part of all of our lives. You may have hidden it deep inside of you, but you have a dream.

The question isn’t whether you have a dream. It’s “What are you doing with your dream?”

Most dreams never come true. It’s not that we’re not smart enough, not outgoing enough, or not spiritual enough. Usually, our dreams don’t come true because we’re unwilling to take the necessary risks to reach them.

The Bible shares a sad one-sentence commentary about a king who failed to achieve an important ambition in his life: “[King] Jehoshaphat built a fleet of trading ships to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail — they were wrecked at Ezion Geber” (1 Kings 22:48 NIV).

While it’s a tragedy for your ship to never come in in life, it’s a greater tragedy for you to build a ship and never set sail. Imagine the energy and expense expended by King Jehoshaphat. He built an entire fleet of ships to go after the gold, and not one of them set sail. They never got out of the harbor. Evidently a storm came up and, while these ships were in the harbor, they slammed against the rocks and were destroyed.

Some people spend their whole lives waiting for their ship to come. But God isn’t waiting for your ship to come in. He’s waiting for you to sail your ship out of the harbor.

I know a man who for 30 years had a dream of starting a ministry. He talked about it, dreamed about it, and planned it. He spent a great deal of time on this dream, but he never took the risk to do anything more about his dream. He never got his ship out of the harbor. Eventually, the man died — and so did his dream.

The Bible’s antidote to that kind of tragic procrastination is as simple as an overdone catchphrase but excruciatingly difficult to apply at times: Just do it. The Bible says, “Be careful how you act; these are difficult days. Don’t be fools; be wise: make the most of every opportunity you have for doing good” (Ephesians 5:15-16 TLB).

The Bible urges us to seize the moment and act now. To live a life with unfulfilled dreams is a tragedy. Ships aren’t made for the harbor. They’re made to set sail.           

So are you ready to set sail?

Playtoday’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

Talk It Over

• For what dream have you planned but never taken action?
• What resources have you been waiting on in order to make your dreams reality? What resources are already available to you through God’s provision?
• What are the opportunities that you need to make the most of today?

For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit rickwarren.org

The Daniel Plan Book

During an afternoon of baptizing over 800 people, Pastor Rick Warren realized it was time for change. He told his congregation he needed to lose weight and asked if anyone wanted to join him. He thought maybe 200 people would sign up, instead he witnessed a movement unfold as 15,000 people lost over 260,000 pounds in the first year. With assistance from medical and fitness experts, Pastor Rick and thousands of people began a journey to transform their lives.

The Daniel Plan is an innovative approach to achieving a healthy lifestyle where people get better together by optimizing their health in the key areas of faith, food, fitness, focus and friends.

This devotional © 2016 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

You can also listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.