Setting simple, clear goals is a step in every “how to be successful” book out there. No matter the author or niche in which someone speaks of, goals are at the top of the list.
They’ll go on to speak of different levels of goals we need to set. We must have an ultimate goal, a prize at the end of road if you will. And in order to achieve that prize you must set smaller, shorter-term goals which can be measured in some sort of fashion.
For example, if I want to set a 10-year goal then I need to have a 5-year goal. If 5-years, then 1-year. From here I need to have a 6-month, 1-month, 1-week, and most importantly a daily goal. Once the goals are set, I need to adjust my life style and schedule so that these goals are attainable.
If my ultimate goal is to make 10 million dollars in 5 years that means I need to make 2 million dollars a year. Which in turn equates to just under 5,500 dollars a day. This means I need to make 229 dollars an hour, if I’m willing to work 24 hours straight non-stop for 5-years. But since that is a physical impossibility, I need to, more realistically, be making 550 dollars an hour and willing to work 10 hours a day nonstop for 5-years. Which means I need to quit my job at Burger King and find a better paying job.
A goal is more easily defined then kept. “A goal is a desired result.” Easy enough. However, keeping a goal requires determination, ambition, patience, perseverance, and dedication. Much more difficult.
Hope on the other hand, is a little more difficult to define making more difficult to “achieve”. I’m curious, without looking it up how would you define hope? Are you finding it a more complicated task then you thought? Maybe it’s just me but I had to study it before I was able to actually define it.
There are two main reason why it is difficult to define hope.
- Hope is a feeling
- Not many of us have it
Feelings, especially for men, can be hard to define. They’re abstract and foreign. They’re seemingly uncomfortable and have a mind of their own. They come and go as they please and seem to be, more often than not, dependent upon our circumstances.
Honestly, when was the last time you can specifically remember being hopeful and describing it as such? During a 21-day water fast I was laying prostrate on the floor before God in prayer. In that moment this overwhelming feeling flooded my body and I remember saying, “ so this is what hope is”. It encouraged me so much that I got through the rest of my fast with ease. It was in that moment that I also realized I hadn’t experienced true hope before that moment.
It energized me. It gave me passion and great desire. It reassured me in my expectation of having more or Jesus. It gave me a better understanding of Paul’s seemingly unquenchable passion for the gospel. How he was able to work tirelessly despite shipwreck, snake, beating and imprisonment thrown at him.
Hope creates a weightiness inside of us. It is the fuel to our faith. The greater our hope, the hotter our faith will burn. And the hotter our faith burns, the more we ignite the world around us- the greater our light shines. Just as the depth of God’s presence we carry equates to the amount of joy we have, the quality and fruitfulness of our works equates to the amount of hope we have.
If our hope is on “E” it’ll be evidenced by the poor or lack of fruitful works in our lives. It is only through genuine faith (which pleases God) that we can experience bountiful harvest of our labor. And it is only by expectant hope that faith can move the mountains in our life.
The prophet Jeremiah had hope because of the good plans God had in store for him. When things seemed bleak for him, he could remind himself, I have hope because the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness!
David was able to press on despite all his enemies because God was his hope, his only rock, salvation and fortress.
John was encouraged in hope as the end of days were revealed to him. He was strengthened to not give up and looked forward to the day when Jesus would wipe away every tear; a day when there would be no more mourning, crying or pain because the things of this world were no more.
And Paul and the rest of the apostles flipped the world upside down despite great persecution because their momentary suffering could not be compared to the future glory that awaited them. They were filled with all joy and peace because the God of hope filled their hearts with hope. They knew that because God had started a good work within them He would also finish it.
God is the God of hope. As we abide in Him, He fills us with a feeling of expectation and a desire for something to happen. A trust is built because we know that the eternal life that He promised us will come to pass. Our hope can be rooted in His promises because He is faithful and if He has said it, so shall it be.
Our hope should be anchored in Jesus. He is the yes to all of God’s promises. He is the source of our salvation and life. He is the only non-changing constant that ever was and ever will be. He is the only thing worthy and trustworthy enough for an unshakable hope to be founded on.
May our hope be in Him and Him alone!
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