Triumph to Triumph

Reaching beyond your limits to accomplish your dreams so that you can do more

By William R. Cunningham
March 12, 2000

I have a calendar in my den that constantly gets my attention. The picture for the month of February is of a man climbing the side of a very steep snow covered mountain. I initially wondered why anyone would want to put his or her life at risk by climbing a mountain for seemingly no reason at all. I suppose you could ask the same question of those that play professional sports because their health and life are at risk (at least more than those who do not play professional sports). The caption on this calendar reads, "We only learn our limits by going beyond them." That is a very fascinating statement. I can assuredly say at least one thing about the person climbing the mountain. He or she must believe that he or she can climb that mountain and that he or she must be prepared both physically and experience wise to climb the mountain. In other words, he or she must be in sufficient physical condition to climb the mountain and know it and that he or she must have experiences climbing so that this climb is doable.

The individual climbing the mountain must have a reason for doing so even if it is "just because it's there." He or she may have climbed that mountain for the thrill or the challenge. In either case he or she wanted to climb that mountain but really didn't have to. This person probably started much earlier training, climbing smaller mountains and hills, etc. until he or she felt ready to tackle this one.

What about you? What dreams do you have but are not pursuing because you don't think that you can or that you have never done anything like it before? Life is not stagnant so I don't believe that we should be stagnant. I believe that we should always progress in the things that we are called to do, enjoy doing, and desire to do. I believe that the thing God has called us to do corresponds directly with the things that we like to do. Some people like management, others like working with their hands, etc. In either case, we should always progress, accomplishing more and more to live a fulfilled and prosperous life. We should always push our limits further and further out as we accomplish more and more.

We are going to examine what it takes to accomplish the seemingly impossible things in life. What does God want and what part do we have in managing and governing our lives?

What do you want to accomplish in life? What plans do you have and what are you doing about the things that you desire to accomplish? Consider the following verses of scripture.

These scriptures illustrate the concepts of prosperity, obtaining desires, and the abundant life. I would like to talk about the concept of the abundant life as inclusive of the latter two items, namely prosperity and desires. We tend to separate life into the secular realm, spiritual realm, and personal realm in some cases. However, I believe that for a Christian that true life (eternal life) involves the whole person. Therefore, it would be foolish to think that God would want you to have all spiritual consciousness, great wisdom of scriptures and of his Kingdom, and yet at the same time feel unfulfilled, unhappy, and meaningless. I believe that the true life of God means that the whole person prospers; our desires are met, which includes spiritual and godly things.

Many preachers teach that the abundant life means that God wants all of us to be rich or have an abundance of things. This is not the case. Consider the following scripture.

This doesn't mean that we should not pursue the desires of our heart or hold back from pursuing the things that we want. However, it does tell us that in any situation we should learn to be satisfied or content. There is a saying that I used to hear as a child that says, "Count your blessings." Be thankful for the things that God has given you and praise him for it. However, your life hasn't ended with what you have at present so continue to pursue the things that you desire or want. If you make a certain amount of money than don't feel as though its God's duty to give you more. Be thankful for what you have and at the same time continue to strive for the things that you want. That is, continue to pursue progression. Consider the following verse.

Your goal is not to achieve riches. Your goal is to live a fulfilled and abundant life in Christ Jesus. However, this doesn't mean that you should not pursue the things that you desire. Just be certain that mere riches and an abundance of things are not the ultimate goal. This leads us to another very important scripture on this subject.

So my point is that you shouldn't focus on merely material things, rather focus on the desires of your heart while remembering and acknowledging the word, will, and Way of God. In short, live a fulfilled Christian life and don't live for things on this earth.

Another extreme is to think that eternal life means that material things don't matter. This is not true either. Material things should not be the focus of life or the ultimate goal of life because these will not fulfill us or make us happy. Only a life in Jesus Christ can fulfill us and make us happy. God does not desire that we take a vow of poverty and that we settle for less (lack). God desires for us to fulfill our life purpose. He wants us to be blessed and happy. He wants us to have joy and contentment. However, most of all, He wants us (our soul).

It is indeed possible to live an upright life before God and also desire a luxury house, a nice car, or nice clothes, etc. What is important is that these things are not the object of our affections or the goals of our life. You may desire nice clothes simply because you like them. You may desire a nice house because you just like it. Others may be content with a used five-year-old car whereas others feel more comfortable with new cars. What's important is that these things are not the driving force in your life.

Do not be so engrossed with spiritual things that you leave the natural world behind. Spiritual things are necessary and natural things are still part of our lives. We need physical things because we live in a physical world. Even in heaven there are pearly gates and streets paved with gold. This shows us that there are still materials in heaven. Why not brick roads or aluminum gates. After all, God creates them all. I believe that it is simply what God wanted. How can we say that gold is more valuable to God then aluminum when He made them both? God is spiritual yet he still deals with us in the material realm. If He wasn't conscious of our material wants and needs then He would only address them as mere needs or sustenance.

So don't get so spiritual that you think that you shouldn't desire material things. Live an abundant life pursuing all that God has for you and live a fulfilled life in Christ. You will grasp spiritual things, be a blessing to those that want to know Christ, and acquire the things that you want and enjoy. I have found that things don't necessarily make you happy. Accomplishing something may bring joy. The greatest joy that you can acquire is to know that you are living an abundant life and fulfilling God's purpose for you. This transcends the natural and our concept of what is spiritual living.

What are you doing about the dreams that you have? Are you so content in your situation that you use that as an excuse not to pursue more? Do you have aspirations of being a doctor, lawyer, business owner, etc.? If so, what are you doing about it? You have a whole life everlasting before you if indeed you have born again. It doesn't matter if you are ninety years old. You can still do something to accomplish your goals and desires.

Christians have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to LIVE. What are we waiting for? Why don't we live! This life in the Holy Spirit is not just some spiritual force that will get us to heaven one day. It is the life of God living within us empowering us to the abundant life. Pursue your dreams and your goals and the Holy Spirit will help you. Of course, we have to operate within the realm of God (God's Kingdom) because God will not bless anything outside of his righteousness. Living within God's Kingdom does not mean that the only concern should be spreading the gospel or living a "holy" life. Living in God's Kingdom means that you are governed by the operation of God's WAY instead of the world's way or your own way.

Jesus said that if we seek first God's Kingdom and His righteousness that all of our needs would be met (Matthew 6:33). The Bible also repeatedly tells us that if we abide by God's word (obey His commands) that we can enjoy the desires of our hearts, our prayers will be answered, and we will be a blessing to many others. It is good to have goals and dreams but it is also necessary that we abide by God's Way. Consider the following scripture.

I think the principle revealed here applies to us today even though Jesus was talking specifically to his disciples. Abiding by the word of God will bring blessings on us. Blessings are upon us if we live according to the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. I should also add that these blessings are not necessarily riches and great wealth. These blessings are in accordance with the Kingdom of God as taught by Jesus Christ. For example review Matthew 5:3-12 to see how Jesus defines or illustrates the concept of blessing according to God's Kingdom.

My point is that above all of your desires, dreams, and aspiration, be sure that your ultimate goal is God and His Way. Make it a priority of your life to obtain a close active relationship and fellowship with Jesus Christ. Where your treasures are is where your heart is. Don't have an earth bound heart else you will receive earth bound blessings. True blessings are from above. Once you realize this, then you can be free to dream as much as you want and to pursue as many of those dreams as you want. You will do this knowing that your greatest goal or priority is to please God the Father and to live your life according to his Way. Then you can truly be blessed and fulfilled.

The Kingdom of God operates by a principle known as the "seed principle" (see Matthew 13:3 and Mark 4). The seed principle basically illustrates the growing activity of the things of God, which also applies to just about everything. You begin something or initiate an activity (plant a seed) to accomplish a particular goal or desire. Next you begin to work at what you desire to bring to pass. After a while and in due season (when the time is right), you will acquire what you have begun to do. You planted your seed, nurtured your idea and aspiration, and later you reaped what all of your work accomplished.

The first thing that you will have to do in order to accomplish anything is to START. If you don't start or initiate what you want to accomplish then you shouldn't expect to receive anything. Too many times people treat God as though he is a genie in the sky or like a grocery store. They think that they can just pray for something, sit back and relax, and expect God to do all of the work so that they can reap a harvest. What dreams do you have? What goals do you want to meet? Well, what are you doing about them? Have you done anything about these goals or desires so that one day you will accomplish them or have you just continued to dream? Unless you initiate activity then you won't move.

You will get no closer to your dreams if you don't do something about them now. Just start. Consider the following scriptures.

The first thing that you notice is the "God component." Remember that you are operating within the Kingdom of God so trusting God is absolutely necessary. Next you notice that if you acknowledge God (and trust Him) in YOUR ways then He will direct YOUR path. Yes I do believe that God has a plan or calling for each of us. See my study on "Your God Given Ministry" for more information about this. You have a path that you have established. God is not your puppet master guiding your every move. The Spirit of God, the word of God, and the ethics of God are all available to help you guide your life. First it is your choice to live according to God's way and secondly it is your choice to do something with your life. God is there to empower you to do it and He has. As a matter of fact, you have all that you need to accomplish what God wants of you and the things that you desire. Our problem sometimes is that we wait for God to do something-when he already has!

So the first thing that you must do is to start. You will never get to the finish line if you don't begin preparing for the race. That's right, before you can even get to the starting gate with any expectation of victory, you must be prepared, which means you would have started on your path to win the race long before the actual race. We must plant seed if we expect to reap a harvest.

Now you must keep your seed alive and growing now that you have planted your seeds and started on your way to victory. This is the work phase. Consider the following verses.

These and other similar verses of scripture emphasize the component of work in obtaining "things." It is good to dream but these dreams mean nothing if you don't work at accomplishing them. A workingman is a prosperous man and a man of honor. A workingman is much more likely to live a fulfilled life than a non-working or lazy man. Now please understand how I am using the word "work." I am not referring to someone that goes to work five days a week to earn a paycheck. Though that is also very important and is part of this overall concept, it is not the end. I use the word "work" as activity necessary to obtain a goal. This could mean sacrificing personal time to work overtime on your job. It could mean sacrificing some personal time to go to school at night, or to spend time during the week to learn a particular skill. It could mean researching for a new home or car. Whatever it is, it is work or activity necessary to accomplish your goal.

Many Christians tend to live in a fantasyland because of the Word of Faith movement. We tend to believe and would love to believe that all we have to do is to pray and "believe God" and God will work everything out. Just say it and believe and you will have it is how we are taught by this movement. I'm sure by now that many of you realize that this just doesn't work. Why? It isn't necessarily because of a lack of faith. According to the Bible you only need a small amount of faith in order to affect change. As a matter of fact, I recall where a man asked Jesus to help his unbelief (help him to have faith) and Jesus healed his son even in this, what we may consider to be, a faithless condition. Look at the scripture below.

This man was talking to Jesus Christ concerning his son being healed from demons. Jesus healed the man's son.

The reason that we don't have is that we don't do anything about it. We ask God and we ask God more. We pray and pray and we sit and sit. We don't bother to get off the couch and do something about our desires. Some people are so negative that not only do they infect themselves with negative energy, they also affect those around them with that same negative "I can't do it" energy.

We would love to just pray and wake up one morning and the money we need to pay our bills is under our pillow. We would love it if we could pray for food and someone knocks on the door and lo' and behold, there is food at the door. Though God may implement his blessings in such manners, there is nowhere in the Bible that tell us to wait for the miracle or the extravagant. Instead Jesus teaches us how God's Kingdom operates and expects us to abide by that WAY.

So don't expect God to drop a loaf of bread out of the sky. Do whatever you can to acquire the things that you want or need. Stay close to God and acknowledge him at all times. Sometimes all you can do is wait on the Lord because there is nothing that you can actually do. However, there is always something that you can do. Pray without ceasing, talk to people that you trust, and continue to cry out to God and God will deliver you and bring it to pass.

I learned a long time ago that God is very practical. It is not necessary for him to prove himself with great miracles and signs. He does what he has to do or more precisely what he wants to do to meet our needs and desires. The interesting thing is that He has already done it all to the very point of sacrificing his only begotten son so that we can obtain the ultimate blessing of salvation. While on this earth stay away from fantasyland.

You've planned, started implementing your plans, and you have been working at accomplishing your goals and desires. Now you will reap the harvest! One evening you will go to bed with such a feeling of fulfillment because you did what you started out to do. You have accomplished your goal. This makes life more exuberant whereas deferred hope has ill affects on a person.

What is very important about the reaping phase is not so much the accomplishment. Your reaping now becomes a seed for future goals, desires, and projects. The fact that you worked this thing through, builds confidence for things that you need and want to do in the future. This triumph leads to more triumphs.

As you accomplish more and more things while governing your activities according to the Kingdom of God, you will become more confident in God and you will begin to have more excitement about future plans because of your confidence in accomplishing them. Also, not only will this triumph encourage you for future tasks, it will also encourage others that hear your testimonies of what God did for you and how all things worked together for the good (sometimes just for your pleasure).

No I don't believe that God wants everyone to be rich. The Bible doesn't support such claims. However, I am of the persuasion that God desires us to live a prosperous, abundant, and fulfilled life. It really doesn't matter to God one bit whether you live in a small home or a large home. It doesn't matter to God one bit whether you live in the suburbs or the city. These things are up to you, though some may be more convenient for your specific calling. The Bible doesn't stipulate that God controls every minute detail of our lives. The Bible doesn't instruct us to wait on God to see what type of car, job, house, or furniture we should attempt to purchase. God has provided every good and perfect (mature) gift for us. The earth belongs to God so it is quite all right to enjoy the works of your hands starting now. However, if your hands aren't working then there is little you should expect to enjoy.

Let me summarize what I have presented in this lesson. I will list them below.

1. The truth about the abundant life not being defined by material things nor by totally spiritual living

2. Your dreams and goals and what you are doing about them

3. The necessity of operating according to God's Way (the precepts of his Kingdom)

4. The seed principle: plant, nurture, harvest, and more seed to plant

Live your life according to God's way and enjoy the results of your labor. Don't be weary about your desires and don't be restrained by what you desire. Just live according to God's Way and by His word and your desires will fall in place with God's Way. Dream big and let all that is within you come out so that you can fully accomplish what God placed in you.

Initiate action to accomplish your goals and work at accomplishing them. One day your work will produce a harvest, which has more seed (confidence, trust, and faith) to use to do more things. Your individual triumphs will lead you to greater triumphs for yourself as well as others. Amen.