verticallife

“I do not run like a man running aimlessly. I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:26-27)

This time of year it’s natural for us to look back at what happened and look ahead to what’s coming. As you look to the year ahead of you, what are you aiming at?

Paul was a man of great ambition, and yet, when you see men and women of faith aiming their lives, they do so having a sense that God is pointing them in a certain direction. What direction are you pointing in?

We’re all pointing in a direction. Some of us are more prone to set goals and take the steps necessary to see them fulfilled. Whether you make goals or not, you’re still aiming your life in a certain direction.

It was pretty clear to Paul the direction God had pointed his life in.

“It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation.” (Romans 15:20)

Ambition is an earnest desire for some type of achievement … and the willingness to strive for its successful completion. It can be an aspiration, a longing or yearning. Having ambition means you’re goal-oriented. You aim your life in a certain direction. You’re driven.

I find it interesting “my ambition” was God’s ambition. I think we fear sometimes that what we want for our lives won’t line up with what God wants. Granted, we all have our Jonah experiences, where God tells us to go in a certain direction and we run the opposite way. I think, though, that we’re wired in a certain way in life – to be wired that same way in ministry.

There are men who like to work on cars that have a mechanics ministry. There are women in our church who like to knit, and they create prayer shawls for people in need. Don’t be so quick to think that since you have an ambition for something that God hasn’t planted that desire in your life. “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart,” David said in Psalm 37:4. Find your satisfaction in a relationship with Jesus Christ and he will give you what to desire.

What desires has God given you? That might be a great place to start to find out the direction He is aiming your life in. Ask Him. Seek Him out. (Luke 11:9-13) Get direction from His word. Those words will light where you place your feet and guide you in the path you should take. (Psalm 119:105)

Take AIM. If you haven’t done so already, set aside some quiet time to allow God to give you direction for this next year. Ask Him what goals He wants you to set. Where will He drive you this next year? Then, initiate. Take the initiative. If it’s an individual goal, tell someone to hold you accountable. Or even find others who want to excel in that area as well. If it’s a goal that will take more people to accomplish, find others who are like minded. Then measure your life and your goals against God’s direction.