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Have
you ever wanted something out of life but didn't quite know how to attain it?
Perhaps it was to start your own business, or to become a songwriter, author,
or missionary. Whatever it was, there was and still is a dream in your heart to
be that person. Deep inside you is a desire to become all that God desires you
to be. For me, this is something that I have been struggling over for some time
now. Besides being a wife, mother, blogger, writer, I am also the owner of a
small pet care business. I started taking care of dogs for some friends of
mine, and then one day had the idea that I could do it for a living, and from
there it has grown into a small pet care company. But inside me there is still
this dream to be a successful author and writer. Deep in me there is a desire
to spend my days writing and studying and sharing all that God has given me.
This dream of being a writer has never left me. But I also want to be
successful in my pet care business. I want to grow the business and make our
company the one people call for all their pet care needs. My loyalties sometimes feel divided.
This morning
I went before the Lord and I laid all this down at His feet. I asked Him to
show me what it was that I needed to be doing. Do I focus more on the pet care business
right now, or do I focus more on the writing? Because, to be honest, I haven’t
been giving much attention to either one of them, but instead I have been
filling my time with useless things. As I was praying I was reminded of Daniel.
I was reminded of a particular scripture passage that has made me see that both
of these things- the business and the writing- are important to God, and I must
be determined in the things He has called me to do.
“But
Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion
of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he
requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” Daniel
1:8
Through
this single verse I found the motivation I needed to set my heart upon the
things that God has called me to focus on. First of all, Daniel “purposed in
his heart”. The word “purposed” means to place, set, or direct toward a
specific thing or area of life. It means to set the mind and the heart; to
place our inner man on a specific path. It refers to setting a goal for your
life. Daniel set his heart upon a goal. That goal was to not eat the king’s
delicacies or drink his wine. Daniel determined in his heart that this was an
area of his life that he was not going to compromise in.
The Lord
has shown me through prayer and seeking Him that this pet care business is an
area of my life that He wants me to focus on. He reminded me that even Paul was
a tent maker. He still had a job and a career. God had Paul working with his
hands, to help put food on the table, as well as sharing the Gospel. Can I just
say that it is okay to do both? There is nothing wrong with having two purposes
in life. God called Paul to be an apostle, but he was also a man who held down
a job every day. Sometimes I think we get into our heads that if we do ministry
full time, we can’t have a full time job. But I don’t think this is true. I
think God has us doing His work everywhere- even in our careers.
One of
my biggest concerns about focusing on the pet care business as well as on my
writing is the amount of time it will require from me. But, when we look at
Daniel, we see that he had to make certain sacrifices to fulfill the goal he
had set for himself. Scripture tells us that he purposed in his heart not to
defile himself. He determined that to meet the goal of keeping himself pure
before the Lord he would have to forgo any meat or wine that might be offered
to him. He determined in his heart to set his feet upon a path and to not deter
himself from it- no matter how tempting that juicy steak might have been. He
also most likely chose to do this because these things were offered to idols in
worship before being consumed. Daniel’s goal was to remain faithful and pure
before the Lord, eating and drinking these things would have caused him to
defile himself, and therefore not kept him towards his goal.
For us,
the sacrifices we must make to reach our goals can be anything from putting
down that extra piece of chocolate cake to sacrificing our downtime. I have a
tendency to get complacent when it comes to walking towards the goals God has
for me. I get stuck in a rut, so to speak, and eventually it becomes a routine.
For instance, one of the areas of my life that cause me to waste time is
watching television. After I spend my morning studying and writing, I go and
take care of some dogs. After I return from caring for these dogs, I plop my
hind end on my recliner and take a nap. Yep, its true- I nap. (Not something I
had the luxury of doing until I became an empty-nester though!) Unfortunately
this routine leaves wasted opportunities for me to focus on the tasks God has
laid before me. Instead of coming home from taking care of my dogs and spending
time writing on my next project, I turn on the TV and fall asleep. Instead of
coming home and working on advertising, marketing strategies or building our
client base, I turn on the TV and take a snooze. This leaves me with no
motivation because I wake up feeling disappointed that I wasted away another
afternoon.
Daniel
set his heart to focus on the Lord and what He was asking of him. I need to do
the same. I can do both. I can be a writer and a pet care business owner. I can
write and I can promote my business. I can give to both of them the time and
the focus they deserve, because I have a God who tells me I can. The other
thing that I noticed in Daniel’s purpose was that he asked someone else to help
him in this area. Scripture says that he “requested of the chief of the eunuchs
that he might not defile himself.” Daniel asked someone in his immediate reach
to hold him accountable to the goal that he was setting for himself.
As
Christians it is imperative that we have accountability partners. Someone who
shares our desires to be better Christians and will be there for us to help us stick
to the purposes we have set for ourselves. This person needs to be as in love
with Jesus as you are. They need to know you, know God and be willing to tell
you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. I have a few people in my
life that are willing to be this person for me. So today I am going to ask them
to come
I pray
today that you find encouragement to follow the dreams and desires God has
given you. I pray today that we would purpose in our hearts to focus on the
areas of our lives that God is calling us to focus on and to make the
sacrifices necessary to reach the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. We have
all been given a goal and a purpose from God- I pray today that we would
recognize it and purpose in our hearts to follow Him to the very end. In Jesus
Name, amen and amen.
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