To Accomplish Your Dreams, Don’t Drift Through Life By Rick Warren
“This is my request. I will ask one of them, ‘Please give me a drink from your jug.’ If she says, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’—let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s wife.” Genesis 24:14 (NLT)
In Genesis 24, Eleazar provides an example for how to be successful as you pursue the dreams God has given you.
So far you’ve learned that you need to —
Determine your present position
Describe exactly what you want
Find a promise from God
Ask God for help
You must also identify the barriers between you and your goal. Ask yourself, “Why don’t I have it already? Why am I not who I want to be? What’s between me and this goal?”
Write down the roadblocks. Are the obstacles—financial, educational, emotional, relational, or something else?
Look at the roadblocks honestly. Faith does not deny reality. Faith says, “Yes, I see the problem, but I believe God is bigger than the problem.”
Once you identify the barriers, create a step-by-step plan. That’s what Eleazar did.
The Bible says, “Then he loaded ten of Abraham’s camels with all kinds of expensive gifts from his master. . . . He made the camels kneel beside a well just outside the town. It was evening, and the women were coming out to draw water. . . . ‘O LORD, God of my master Abraham,’ he prayed. ‘. . . This is my request. I will ask one of them, “Please give me a drink from your jug.” If she says, “Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!”—let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s wife’” (Genesis 24:10-12, 14 NLT.)
What is Eleazar doing? He’s looking for a woman of character, and he’s got a plan:
1. Go to the watering well where the women hang out.
2. Set up the test to see if she will offer water to his camels too.
3. If she passes the test, give her expensive gifts.
4. Ask about her family.
5. Get invited to her home.
6. At her home, share his purpose.
7. Pop the question.
He had a simple, step-by-step-by-step plan that he thought out in advance.
You need to do this too. You need to think through a course of action to address the roadblocks you wrote down. If your obstacles are educational, how can you get the training you need to reach your goal? If your obstacles are relational, how can you heal a relationship to achieve your goal?
Achieving a goal is a lot of work, but the alternative is to drift through life. If you drift, life will be determined by other people—it will be done to you rather than you directing it. Create a plan today to reach the godly goal God has given you.
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
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