Doing God's Will In 2006

10When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”

11One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. 12Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?”

14The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.”

15When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well.

(Exodus 2:10 – 15)

20“At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for in his father’s house. 21When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. 22Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.

23“When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his fellow Israelites. 24He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. 25Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. 26The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?’

27“But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? 28Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons. (Acts 7:20-29)

“For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. (Habakkuk 2:3a)

Set Some Goals in 2006

Your life in 2006 is a gift from God. To believe otherwise is to sell your soul to a future of mediocrity. But unless you set some goals the chances of achieving all God has for you is zero. The reason we set goals is because we want more from life in our performance, health, and our walk with God. The great miracle of goal setting is that it delivers improvements every time, regardless of age, intelligence, gender, or spirituality.

You are hard-wired to seek tangible accomplishments. Every day you look for benchmarks that measure your efforts, drive, and investments. Unfortunately, scales, trophies, “to do lists,” and mirrors are pitiful measuring tools for identifying success. It is our efforts to achieve that keep us alive, cause our pulse to spike, introduces us to new dreams, and gives us hope when confidence is shot.

Mark my words, this year you will run and chase after something. An African proverb says:

“Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest lion or it will not survive. Every morning a lion wakes and it knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle or it will starve. It doesn’t matter if you are the lion or the gazelle, when the sun comes up, you better be running.”1

Get moving friend. You have a limited number days left before the year is out. Before you know it the tulips will be blooming, Labor Day will send vacationers scurrying to campgrounds, and the leaves will be turning colors. Don’t get left behind. Life is short; making goals extends your success. No matter your age or condition, there are unmet goals living within your soul. They are screaming to be released. The only person worth emulating is the “do or die” person. Goals and concentration are the keys to success. Start today. Set some goals that are personal, practical, possible, and provable. I’ll be the one cheering you on as you strive to accomplish your goals.

Is there any goal more important in 2006 than doing God’s will? I think not! Scripture is clear about God’s will in many places. The Christian life is about learning to get on the same page with God and do His will His way. The problem comes when we try to do God’s will our way.

Moses offers us a ready illustration of mistakes to avoid when doing God’s will. Let’s visit the Legend of Egypt, The Deliverer of the Israelites. Moses was the most humble man on the planet. What Jesus is to deliverance in the New Testament, Moses was to the hour of freedom for the Old Testament.