Today, remember to aim big, aim eternal, and aim at the larger things in life!
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SHAUNA: Hi, this is Shauna on Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. Today Joni asks, what’s your aim for the day?
JONI: And it’s a good question because it’s a necessary question. Like, when you get up in the morning, what are your hopes for the day? And I don’t mean planned appointments, errands you have to run, or responsibilities at work or around the house. I mean, when you look from the beginning of the day to its conclusion, what do you want to happen because you have lived?
Now, I realize most people don’t think like that; they just get up and get about doing what they’ve got to do. But John Piper says, “When we live like that, we are cutting ourselves off from a significant means of grace and a source of guidance and strength for the day. Because according to the Bible, God means for us to aim consciously at something very significant for the day. And Hebrews 10:24 pinpoints that aim. As we start our day, “Let us consider how to stir one another to love and good works.”
I love that. I mean, don’t drift aimlessly through the day, bumping up against one circumstance after the next. Don’t let your appointment calendar dictate what you do. No, aim at something! Focus on a purpose. Because today, God is going to bring all sorts of people across your path: family members, coworkers, classmates, neighbors, friends, teenagers, adults, people who are married, widowed, single. And according to Hebrews 10, we should make it our aim to stir up love and good works among all those we encounter. Make it your goal to help make a difference in their lives, because if you don’t have that as your aim, then you will do nothing but drift through your day.
Zig Ziglar once said, “If you aim at nothing, you will hit the target every time.” And again, John Piper has said that aimlessness is akin to lifelessness. Dead leaves in the back yard may move around more than anything else, but that doesn’t give them life. Sure, they tumble this way and that, they bounce and skip and press up against the fence, but they have no aim whatsoever. They are all full of motion but empty of life. Oh friend, who wants to live that way? I certainly don’t, and I don’t think you do, either.
Look, you are an image-bearer of the God of purpose. It means that youhave a purpose. God did not create humans in his image to be aimless, like lifeless leaves blown around in the backyard of life. No, he created us to be purposeful—to have a focus and an aim for all our days. So, I hope that today you will make it your aim to stir up love and good works in other people. Encourage them; reward their efforts, applaud their generosity; tell them they’re doing a good job, if they are. Cast a vision for them if they are too weak to envision success for themselves. Remind them of who they are in Christ. Remind them that their trials have a purpose. And please help them to remember the big picture.
SHAUNA: And if you need a little encouragement today, go to joniradio.org. You’ll find this program and so much more there. And then make it your aim to share that encouragement with others. Plus, if you need prayer, you can leave us your prayer requests at joniradio.org. And remember, today, aim big. Aim eternal. Aim at the larger things in life. Keep stirring up love and good works in others, and you will always hit the target. Again, visit joniradio.org for your daily dose of inspiration, and as always, thank you for listening to Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope! Be sure to visit joniradio.org today.
© Joni and Friends