PSALM 138:1-2 – I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.
THEME OF THE DAY. LIFE’S TWO SIMPLE GOALS. Let’s start today’s nugget with three things about the theme – goals and then build off the last one as the “meat” in today’s nugget. First, everyone has goals in life. Not everyone fulfills their goals for various reasons but goals exist. It is part of our desires as human beings; to achieve, to accomplish. Next goals are good. They are compasses to ensure we don’t just travel through life on a highway called “meaningless.” Next, goals can be distractions meaning they might not be good, and very costly, if they are focused on the wrong things. Allow me to explain with two illustrations. The first one applies to Christians and non-Christians; the second to only Christians.
For Christians and non-Christians alike, let’s say a goal might be to work so hard in our vocation or a talent we want to develop but the cost we pay is shallow relationships with our spouses and children. We might achieve much in our vocation and talent development but sacrifice the most important relationships we have apart from that with the Lord Jesus – our family. So warning time. Work hard. Practice to be the best. Honor the Lord at work, but don’t dishonor Him by making work an idol and thus grow distant from our spouses and our kids. If we don’t and the empty nest comes, don’t lament over a shallow marriage and kids now gone in whom we have little depth of relationship with them. In those cases, we reaped what we sowed. Oh, we accomplish our goals but we will painfully pay for it.
The other things about goals applies to Christians only. Speaking of, what are your spiritual goals? Grow in Christ? Serve Him more effectively? Know God more intimately? Great goals. How are they coming along in your life? When it comes to spiritual goals, we may rattle off many, but be careful. Don’t be unrealistic nor too vague. For instance, let’s say my goal is to grow in Christ. Well, what does that look like? Left to itself, that is vague. It lacks substance and direction. It would be better for me to say, “My goal is to grow in Christ by daily seeking Him in His Word and prayer; being faithful to the public preaching of the Word, and striving to put into practice the known commands He shows me in His Word.”
In today’s scripture, there are two simple, not easy, but simple life goals for every Christian. They are the goals the Lord sets and accomplishes for Himself – to exalt His Name and Word. What if they became our daily goals? That we woke up each morning with the prayer of intentionality to the Lord something like this, “Father, thank You for new day mercies and grace. Help me throughout my day to exalt Your name and Word in all my conversations, all my actions, all my thoughts, and in every place I go, in Jesus’ name, amen.” And then whisper that prayer throughout the day. I believe we would see radical spiritual change in our lives. Perhaps that is what we all need; a little simplifying of life to where we live with two goals – exalt God’s name and Word in everything. Think about it – “see ya” tomorrow!
PRAYER: “Lord, help me simplify my walk with You to simplify my walk in life to two things; exalt Your Name and Word.”
QUOTE: “Do all things, say all things, and think on all things with two goals – to exalt the Lord’s Name and His Word.”