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THE COST OF A GOD-GIVEN DREAM (1)
‘…I consider everything a loss…compared to…’
Philippians 3:8
Your dream will never be fulfilled unless you’re willing to pay the price that comes with it. And that price is paid not once, but over a lifetime.
First, there’s the initial cost. You will have to make personal and sometimes painful sacrifices. You may have to walk away from attractive options and valued relationships because they don’t fit into God’s plan for your life.
Leaving things that have given you your security and your identity will require grit and grace that only God can provide. Paul’s résumé included being ‘…of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews…a Pharisee’ (v. 5 NIV).
Paul once had wealth and status. Scholars reckon that when he committed his life to Christ, as was customary, his friends and family would have held a funeral service and considered him ‘dead’ to them from that point forward. Paul’s calling was to cover Asia with the gospel and write half the New Testament. But great assignments call for great sacrifice.
And Paul wasn’t alone. ‘By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward’ (Hebrews 11:24-26 NIV).
So the question is: Has God given you a dream? Do you have the faith and fortitude to fulfil it? Have you counted the cost and are you ready to pay it?
written by Bob Gass
‘…I consider everything a loss…compared to…’
Philippians 3:8
Your dream will never be fulfilled unless you’re willing to pay the price that comes with it. And that price is paid not once, but over a lifetime.
First, there’s the initial cost. You will have to make personal and sometimes painful sacrifices. You may have to walk away from attractive options and valued relationships because they don’t fit into God’s plan for your life.
Leaving things that have given you your security and your identity will require grit and grace that only God can provide. Paul’s résumé included being ‘…of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews…a Pharisee’ (v. 5 NIV).
Paul once had wealth and status. Scholars reckon that when he committed his life to Christ, as was customary, his friends and family would have held a funeral service and considered him ‘dead’ to them from that point forward. Paul’s calling was to cover Asia with the gospel and write half the New Testament. But great assignments call for great sacrifice.
And Paul wasn’t alone. ‘By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward’ (Hebrews 11:24-26 NIV).
So the question is: Has God given you a dream? Do you have the faith and fortitude to fulfil it? Have you counted the cost and are you ready to pay it?
written by Bob Gass
