Aim or Accident?
My junior year of college I received a letter inviting me to join the honor-society for my major. I was caught off guard. Not because I didn’t know my grades, but because it was never my intent. I liked getting good grades, I studied and worked hard but mostly because I enjoyed what I was learning. I graduated with honors but that was never my purpose.
Have you ever found yourself somewhere unintentionally?
A rudder is what the captain uses to steer a ship. Where the rudder is aimed, the ship will end up. The captain can choose his destination, but he won’t end up there unless he aims the rudder in the right direction.
I’m not a naturally goals driven person, often I find my outcomes (good and bad) are by accident, not aim. Several years I ago I began to see though, while scripture doesn’t call us to set goals (in those exact words), it does call us to live with intention. The greatest commandment Jesus gave us is “Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.” I found that I wouldn’t grow in that by accident. Left to my own aimless desires, I would grow in my love of Netflix over scripture.
Jesus says to us, “seek first my Kingdom and all these things will be added”. What a glorious aim we’ve been given, with a promise we can put our confidence and hope in. Yet, I find that my default is pursuing my own kingdom, not his. The rudder of my heart will naturally turn towards my plans, not his, unless I set my aim.
We can live our days by default and still come out ok, but if we intentionally set our aim toward Jesus our days will unfold by his design.
What is your aim this year? Let’s intentionally set our aim for the next 344 days toward pursuing Jesus’ kingdom over our own.
If you are like me and aren’t naturally goals driven, here are a few things I love that help me intentionally set my aim:
Word of the Year: Spend time with Jesus and the Word asking him to bring to mind a word or scripture passage to set your aim on for the year.
Vision Journal: A sweet friend of mine designed this and I love how it helps me prayerfully process and set my aim on pursuing God’s Kingdom over my own each year.