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This is the daily devotion from the book, “Holding On and Letting Go” and the companion audio from the July 23, 2021 live social media broadcast of encouragement and prayer by Impact Prayer Ministry’s director, Tom Lemler.

Here is day fifteen with an important reminder to keep your eyes fixed beyond the temporary as you hold fast to the eternal goal.

Hold On To the Goal

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”
Philippians 3:12 (NIV)

What are your goals in life?  What is your primary goal?  What are you doing to reach your goals?  Have you ever had a goal that was important to you at one time but you have quit pursuing?  Why?  As you look at your current situation, what is your goal for today?  Why?  What goal do you need to hold on to in order for you to have hope in the midst of your current chaos?

Life is full of distractions for everyone, but for those in the midst of the chaos of disaster, the temptation to lose sight of life’s goals becomes even greater.  In fact, sometimes it is critical that we develop daily goals that are manageable, even while we keep an eye on the eternal goal that ought to guide our life.  If our ultimate goal is to take hold of the eternal life to which God has called us, then perhaps we ought to consider what the pursuit of that looks like each day in the midst of our disaster and recovery.  Cutting through the fog of chaos often requires a flexibility that makes it easy to lose sight of not only the eternal goal, but the short term goals that get us beyond the disaster and into recovery.  When our plans are changed by situations and circumstances beyond our control, it can be easy to question whether any of our goals are even attainable.  The answer to that question will have a lot to do with the source of those goals.  Disaster has a way of refining our goals like little else can.  When so much is lost, it can be difficult to have a goal beyond just getting through another day.  Yet when we hold on not only to the goal of getting through the day but also to the eternal goal we most long for, we find the hope needed to keep going.

As you pray, ask God to help you examine the goals you think most important.  Pray that you would evaluate all of your goals in light of the eternal goal that God has taken hold of you for.  Pray that you would hold on to the goals that God has for you even as you endure the chaos of life.

In prayer,
Tom