“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Philippians 3:12
Movies. They entertain and inspire, right? Tom and I enjoy watching movies to relax. We like Hallmark movies because they are predictable. I am not ashamed! You always know there will be a happy ending and that there will be no jarring surprises in the process of getting there. We enjoy classic adventures like Star Wars, but we also enjoy inspiring true-life stories. One of our favorites is Chariots of Fire.
Chariots of Fire is set against the backdrop of the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. It follows the development of Great Britain’s running team and focuses the story on two young men in particular, Harold Abrams, a Cambridge student who became a journalist, and Eric Lidell, a Scottish preacher who became a missionary to China. They are both runners and contenders for the gold medal in their event. Spoiler Alert: They both achieve gold medals, but their motivations for getting there and their responses to their challenges along the way differ. However, there is a similarity I want to emphasize for your benefit: They kept their goal in focus. They both had a clear vision of what they wanted to accomplish and devoted tremendous efforts to reaching that end.
Harold Abrams and Eric Liddell kept their goal in focus. That enabled them to go further, achieve more, and developed their character. What about you? How clear are your goals? Do they help you go further, achieve more and develop your character?
A clear goal helps you to focus your energy. All runners have the same goal: To break the tape first and win the race. Every runner lines up at the starting line with that tape in focus. No runner lines up and hopes to be last. Every runner devotes all their energy and effort toward that one goal. Cross the line first. All their training before the race is focused on that goal. All their attention on the field is focused on that goal. There is no other goal for a runner. Win the race!
Runners have different specialties. Some are long-distance runners, while others are sprinters. Abrams and Liddell were both sprinters. They were scheduled to run the same race. They were focused on the same goal and spent countless hours of effort preparing to run that race.
What are you spending countless hours on, my friend? Are you focused on achieving a goal? Do you have an end in mind as you spend your limited energy? You may have a general idea of your goal, but unless you clarify it you will be easily distracted and veer off course. It is difficult to accomplish a goal that isn’t clear. “Every runner runs, but only one gets the prize. Run in such a way as to win the prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:24) What goal are you running toward?
A clear goal has a defined end. Every race has a clearly defined finish line. The finish line is in a different location for the sprinter than the long-distance runner, but the end is clearly marked. The runners know how far they must go to get to that end.
As I mentioned, in Chariots of Fire, Abrams and Liddell were both sprinters and were scheduled to run the same race. Through a series of circumstances, Liddell ends up running a longer-distance race instead. The end goal was still clearly defined, just further away. He knew what he had to do and where the end was.
A goal helps you to achieve your purpose by defining your parameters. You can know exactly what needs to be done to reach it and you will be able to know clearly that you have accomplished it. Even if your overall goal is to obey God and live for His glory, you will have specific goals along the way that lead in that direction. Do you have a clearly defined end in mind?
A clear goal is always motivated by a strong why. Why was Harold Abrams running? To prove that being Jewish didn’t make him less of a man. That is a strong why! He was motivated by a need to justify his existence and saw running and winning as the means to that end. That why kept him running and winning. He won his gold medal, but then he had to re-evaluate his why and discover a new goal.
Eric Liddell had a why that was just as strong, and it has motivated many Christians for decades. In the film, there is a scene where he explains to his sister why he must focus on running rather than missionary work temporarily. He says, “God made me for a purpose…for China, but He also made me fast and when I run, I feel His pleasure.” That is an even stronger why! To please the heart of God was his ultimate goal and that goal was expressed in the smaller goal of running in the 1924 Olympics. That why enabled him to win a gold medal in a race he hadn’t trained for. By the way, the circumstances that caused him to shift to another race were precipitated because he chose to honor his faith above winning and would not run the qualifying heat on the Sabbath. He did not separate his what (winning the gold medal) from his why (God’s pleasure).
What is your why? How does that motivate you to stay focused on your goals? How does your why keep you running even when the finish line seems to shift?
Dear Friend, you and I have goals to achieve while we are on earth. Some of those goals may seem lofty, some not so much, but goals serve to keep us moving forward toward achieving our life’s purpose. Keeping the end in mind inspires forward motion. Seeing the finish line and making that your one aim is motivating. Don’t look to the right or the left. Don’t get distracted looking for another way.
What is your why? Set goals that point toward that why. Then focus your energy and work toward those defined ends. They are landing points on the way to fulfilling your divine potential and achieving your life purpose. How’s that for a reason to set goals?
Key Question: How do goals help me achieve my purpose?
A Scripture to Consider: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Philippians 3:12
A YES Challenge: Prayerfully set at least one goal for the remainder of this year. Consider your why as you work through it. Be sure to give it a defined end date. Create a system for regularly reminding yourself of that goal.
Prayer: Father, You have a purpose for my life that is so much bigger than I can imagine. It isn’t so much about doing things. It’s about giving You glory and pleasing Your heart. It’s about developing Christ-like character. Help me to keep that focus in mind as I set goals toward achieving that purpose. Help me to keep the end in mind and to take steps that keep me moving forward. Amen.