Plan and Execute

Sounds military, doesn't it? But we got our military structure from God, didn't we? We also got our Judicial system from God, just look at the old testament. The strategy of planning and executing also applies to our individual lives, right here in the 21st century. Here's an excerpt from Wide Awake by Erwin McManus.

"If you're going to create the life of your dreams, eventually you have to stop thinking about it, dreaming about it, imagining it, hoping, scheming, planning, or even praying, and you have to actually do something. You have to act. You have to execute. You have to step into the real world and bring the change that you can only see through the eyes of faith."

"Do whatever you must to be prepared for the future you desire. This requires not only foresight but also discipline.

If you begin to capture a picture of the life you dream of but do not prepare for the challenges you will face to make them reality, you will not see it happen. Your future will haunt you like a restless ghost of the dreams whose death you caused through neglect. I see this all the time: people who have huge dreams but are unwilling to pay the price to see them through."

I think Erwin is speaking mainly of those folks in the entertainment industry. They come to L.A (where Erwin is located) and want to be movie stars or singers or dancers or actors on stage. He gets a lot of those in his church. But those of us in the Central Valley can have big dreams too, and that's all they ever end up being. Please don't confuse a dream with a call. I believe dreams are sometimes planted in our hearts by God, giving us a passion for something that we want to pursue. Sometimes, however, they're of the flesh. Something we want for ourselves, like becoming a millionaire. We have to seek God to see what His will is for our lives. He usually reveals a passion, then gives a call to go do something with it. A passion is what drives us. It gives us energy to pursue something when our flesh says, "I'm exhausted!" It encourages us to pick ourselves up when we've been knocked down.

What is your passion? If you could do anything for God and knew you couldn't fail and you had all the money, resources, time, and freedom to pursue it, what would it be? I'd love to read your comments on this. Blessings on this warm, sunny Thursday.