It's not easy to stretch yourself toward your goals if you are satisfied with where you are today. You have to be driven by a faith that where you're going is better than where you are now and a faith that the road ahead is doable. It's not enough to be talented, determined or disciplined to find your purpose in life and/or reach your goals - you need faith as well. Faith carries you when the going gets rough and eventually reveals your purpose here on this planet as you pursue your goals
Faith against all odds
I have a friend from Africa who is living in Sweden. He went through hell and back again before he landed in Sweden and hell continued here as well. As he told us his story, I couldn't believe that he hadn't give up long ago. All the racism, being treated like a slave, being homeless, almost shipwrecked, ignored, tortured, frightened, attacked and beaten, robbed - you name it, he's been through it. I asked him, why didn't you just give up after all this? He answered it was faith. Faith that he would get a better life if he kept moving on. Faith in his ability as a truck mechanic. Faith in his God. He is now living with us, white folks, and all we have is his. He is such a blessing to us! And when he writes his book about his life he is going to be a huge blessing to so many others, too. His goal and his purpose (or destiny) are not the same.
For my dear African friend, his goal was to get a better life in another country. Looking back on his life, his purpose, however, seems to be another - to give others renewed faith in humanity. His life is a testimony of how the Lord has kept him safe and given him love for the ones that have treated him so harshly. Only the love that comes through Jesus and faith in Him can heal in this profound way.
The picture above reminds me of the process of change in life as one travels toward one's goals. Each box is a new day. When you look backwards years later after shuffling around in your mind what you have gone through and attempts at "trying to get it just right", you find out who you really are and start seeing something beautiful appear - your purpose. Almost always you end up at a different destination that you had planned from the start. Your goals are most often not your purpose in life.
Don't confuse you goals with your purpose. Have faith along the way. Look back every now and then and give yourself a pat on the back. Maybe things haven't turned out as you wanted them to, but you know yourself better now and faith brought you through it. Above all else guard your heart for everything you do flows from it. If you stop believing in yourself because you didn't reach your goals, think again. Don't confuse your goals with your purpose here on earth. Keep believing in yourself no matter what. Keep the faith pumping!
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