“No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I

strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.”¹

It has been said that “success is the ability to embrace a worthwhile goal and employ all of your powers to achieve that goal.” An even better way to say this might be: “Success is the ability to discover God’s goal and purpose for your life and then, with God’s help, employ all of your powers to achieve that

goal.” I’m sure that this is the way the Apostle Paul lived his life after he committed it to Jesus Christ and became one of the most effective early Christian leaders.

For you and I to succeed in God’s eyes we don’t have to be an Apostle Paul or anybody else. We only need to

discover God’s goal and purpose for our life and stay committed to that through thick and thin. Fulfilling this purpose may not be easy. Even with God’s help it will take commitment, endurance, faith, and hard work. However, it gives us something to live for that is bigger than ourselves—and in the life to come the rewards will be eternal!

I like the words of the poet who wrote:

I would rather stumble a thousand times
attempting to reach a goal,
Than to sit in a crowd
In my weather-proof shroud,
A shriveled and self-satisfied soul.
I would rather be doing and daring
All of my error-filled days,
Than watching, and waiting, and dying,
Smug in my perfect ways.
I would rather wonder and blunder,
Stumbling blindly ahead,
Than for safety’s sake
Lest I make a mistake,
Be sure, be safe, be dead.
– Author Unknown

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to lift my vision and see beyond the temporal to get a glimpse of eternity and live my life according to your values and in harmony

with your goal and purpose for me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

1. Philippians 3:13–14 (NLT).

<:))))><