To the degree a person is not developing his own ability toward a common objective… he will experience boredom! To offset monotony and to escape a meaningless life and a sense of lack of purpose we find ourselves pleasure seeking. Boredom and pleasure seeking are both signs we have set shortsighted goals or no goals at all.
At the first of the year we set lofty goals and our intentions were good. I Thess. 5: 21 says to “hold on to the good…” but good intentions are not enough to combat the lethargy of our spirit! Verse 22 says to avoid every kind of evil. Verse 23 says , “May God himself sanctify us through and through. May our whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless…Verse 24, and then He says, HE is faithful and HE will do it!
We have no excuse for being bored or having unfulfilled goals!
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong (woman) stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the (woman) who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends (herself) in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumphs of high achievement and who at the worst if (she) fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that (her) place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt
As moms, we are consumed with the desire to dare greatly in the lives of our husband, children and the success of our home. We want to be the wife whose husband is admired and spoken well of at the gate because of our testimony and loving service. We are living in a spiritual war zone and we can’t shelter warriors…we train them to prepare for battle and fight. We have two goals…how do we reach a darkened, lost world and how do we heal a broken world.
We aspire to carry His burden by being equipped to reach the lost and encourage the saved. We teach our children to recognize the enemy and to keep their eyes on the Victor and Savior of our souls. We pray and focus on eternal goals and teach our little prince and princesses to see God in circumstances and struggles with grateful hearts, as we set the example before them. We read the Bible to them and teach them how to hear God’s voice. We teach them to fear God and the consequence of sin.
There is no time to be world-weary or consumed with pleasure seeking. We are pressed to dare greatly for the cause of the cross, following the One who actually knows where we are headed in this maze called life. Inspired by His example we keep busy with the things on His heart and find our lives are filled, full and content.
Where do you find yourself this morning?
Are you bored or are you enthusiastically looking for what God is going to do today? Have your goals been shortsighted or are you on point?
My birthday was last Monday and I am choosing to tackle
the opportunities of another year and dare greatly…
Will you join me?
~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America. Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California. My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights.
