A Long-Term Goal
It was quite an achievement and, although small, one that she was proud of accomplishing.
Reference: v.1 Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty- two years.(TNIV Bible)
Explore: A distinct memory of my husband’s is his mother talking about driving. When Cameron was young, he was driving in the car with her and he recalls her saying something that has stuck with him forever.
His mum had realised that she had had a car licence for longer than she had not had a licence. She had lived the first 16 years of her life without being able to drive.
Therefore, when she turned 33, it meant that she had been able to drive for 17 years. At that point in her life she had her licence longer than she didn’t have it.
That was a milestone in her life. It was quite an achievement and, although small, one that she was proud of accomplishing.
My husband remembered this moment and looked forward to the day when he would reach the same achievement. As a young child, I’m sure Cameron thought that it would take an eternity until he was able to make the same statement.
Application: There are times when we look to the future and it seems that it will take forever to reach our goals. Even the simple task of holding a licence for longer than not having it, takes patience and endurance.
If Cameron had have thought that it would take too long to get to the same point as his mum, then he could have thrown in the towel right there and then. However, if that were the case, he would never have got anywhere – literally and figuratively!!
While it took awhile for him to be old enough to get his licence, and just as long to keep his licence, there have been many great opportunities along the way. And sure enough, just a couple of years ago, Cameron was able to make the same statement as his mother.
It certainly did not happen straight away, he had to go through the test of time, but at the time of writing this post he has had his licence for over 20 years.
King Saul was alive for 30 years before he became king. It was such a daunting task for him to begin with. And yet, in the end he ruled for 42 years.
So often we look at goals and desires in our lives and they seem so unachievable. Maybe you feel that God has a plan for your life but it seems so huge and beyond your capabilities.
Well, we need to remember that our goals don’t all come to pass straight away. Most of the things worth doing take time, patience, endurance and discipline. When you’re just beginning, the task seems overwhelming. But when it comes to the conclusion, we wonder why we ever doubted ourselves.
Although some goals take many years to complete, if we stay focused on what God has in store for us, we know that we wont just complete a task; we’ll learn a great deal along the way.
Prayer: Lord, give me the patience to endure great challenges and to be willing to learn many things along the way. Amen.
What journey are you on at the moment? What are you learning along the way?
This article was written by Linda Bailey
Linda started theological studies in 1999 in Australia. After working for ten years in various church ministries, she now works as the breakfast producer at 89.9 LightFM - the Christian radio station in Melbourne, Australia. She writes blogs every day about passages she is currently reading in the Bible. Follow her on Google Plus +Linda Bailey or Facebook by clicking the like button on the right of this page.