“Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, so that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet; so He guides them to their desired haven” (Psalm 107:28–30).
THOSE WHO TAKE THE TIME TO VISUALIZE THEIR GOAL ARE NOT MERE DREAMERS; THEY ARE THE REAL DOERS. It’s not a waste of time for us to contemplate where we’re going. In fact, if we don’t make that a part of our daily devotional discipline, it’s not likely that we’ll get to our destination. If we desire it, we must think about it. We must think about it frequently and fondly.
Thinking vividly about our goal keeps it from slipping down on our list of priorities. If we don’t stop throughout the day to remember and remind ourselves what we want most, the time will come when something else takes the place of heaven in our hearts. There are simply too many distractions around us. It’s dangerous to let a day go by without refreshing our focus on eternity.
None of us has the wisdom to get to our destination without guidance, and although you may not have thought about it much, there’s a link between goal-meditation and guidance. The more vividly we envision our goal, the more open we will be to God’s instructions about how to get there. For one thing, meditating on where we’re going helps us see the great gap between where we are and where we want to be. It humbles us and helps us see the superiority of His plan for getting us across the distance.
Fervently contemplating the end of our journey also has a steadying influence on us. With spiritual goals, it is the same as with earthly goals: the people who can endure the most hardship are those who keep their goal most clearly in mind. So losing our focus is a dangerous thing. It robs us of our perseverance.
But concerning our goal, the thing, above all, that must be kept clear is that our goal is God. He Himself is the end of our journey. Being conformed to His character is what we desire, and being able, when the time comes, to see His face is what we long for. It does not matter (at least not much) whether our passage is comfortable. What matters is that we are making progress and that our progress is toward God. In the end, those who are pure in heart will see God. “He guides them to their desired haven.”
“The clearer your target, the better you will weather emotional storms” (Thomas à Kempis).
Gary Henry — WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
