From Here to There

 I can't believe we're more than halfway through January!  A lot of us have probably started doing the goals we have set to accomplish for this year.  Or maybe some are still procrastinating.  Or some have no plans to make any at all.  For me, I personally do goal setting.  It motivates me to move from where I am to where I dream to be,  "from here to there," borrowing the phrase from our Pastor Bill Hybels. I believe God plants seeds of dreams in our hearts to do something for His purposes and glory. God wants us to grow.  He is a visionary God.

          In one of my daily quiet times with God, there was a revelation from Philippians 2:13 that I take hold on with regard to setting my heart focused on the dream I so long to pursue, goals I dearly desire to accomplish.  The verse says: "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him." God puts those longings in His children's hearts for His purposes, His plans, not for us but for His glory and honor.  Not only does He give us the desire, but He also gives us the power to accomplish what He has planted in our hearts.

          As a mom, this is one of the things I try to train my son to do.  At ten years old, I show him how to set goals.  And then I ask him what he wants to be when he grows up.  I try to give him a vision, just like how God asked Abraham to look at the sky and the stars, giving him a vision of what his future will be like.  We both don't do it perfectly.  There are days we forget to plan our activities and goals.  Or not all the goals are done, but what I'm planting in his heart is the concept of writing down the blueprint of what is in his heart.  I teach him to pray first so that it will be God's plan and not his own that he will set his heart to do and that He will accomplish God's purposes in his generation (Acts 13:36).  And this is the same prayer I have for myself; that I will accomplish God's purposes, God's goals, God's plans in and through this life He has given me, in this generation.

         God is a planner.  He has plans.  He has goals. He has a vision.  For His people. For His Kingdom. Jeremiah 29:11 says "For I know the plans I have for you,"declares the Lord,"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  God wants us to move "from here to there."  And let us also remember Proverbs 19:21: "You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail."