An Encouraging Word

Have you ever had a dream or a goal in life that you desired with all your heart but it just wasn’t meant to be? You strived and strived but the doors kept closing in your face. You don’t know why God didn’t allow you to have it, but you do know that it wasn’t in His plans. When I was in college, my one dream was to become a successful Christian businessman. I promised God I would honor Him, I would serve Him, and I would give Him all the praise and glory if He would allow me to be a successful businessman. I had plans to be a positive witness within the business community. My motives were pure. My dream was noble. But it just wasn’t meant to be.

I graduated in accounting and quickly got a job with a CPA firm. It didn’t take long to figure out that I wasn’t a very good accountant. I was an auditor and we would go into businesses and go over records and try to find mistakes that people had made. I didn’t like that. I didn’t want to find mistakes. I wanted to encourage people and not discourage them. I had a partner named Woody who loved to “question costs” and find mistakes. He was a good auditor. He had an auditor’s mindset and I did not. After two years of trying to pursue my noble goals, God made it clear to me that I was not going to make it as an auditor. Through a series of events, I found myself using my vacation to go on a mission trip and was asked to preach a Sunday sermon at a church in Jamaica. I was a nervous wreck but agreed to give it a try. Once I finished that sermon, I knew without a doubt that God wanted me to be a preacher. I went home, quit my job as an accountant, and entered seminary to train to be a pastor.

When I look back on my life, there was nothing wrong with my desire to be a Christian businessman. That was a good goal. And although it was good, it was not God. Two simple words: Good and God.  At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be much difference between them. In reality, there is a world of difference. The difference is settling for good when God has something much better waiting for you. What I learned from my life is this: Never settle for anything less than God’s very best for your life.

As you think about your dreams and goals in life, I want to encourage you not to settle for good, but to strive for God. There are a lot of good things you can do with your life but there is one plan that God has designed specifically for you. It doesn’t matter if you are age 15 or 75, God still has a plan for you. And if you settle for good, you might possibly miss out on Gods very best for your life. I love the words of God in Jeremiah 29:11-13 when He 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 a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.’”

Be encouraged,

Pastor Rob