7

YOU CAN’T LIVE BEYOND
WHAT YOU BELIEVE

You’ve probably never thought about how much your faith is like driving a golf ball off a tee. But if your faith is off, your walk will be off. If your walk is off, you can be sure it’s because your faith is off. And the longer you hold on to a poor belief system, the more “off” your walk will be. So let’s take a look at your belief system.

Belief Quiz—Parts One and Two. If you haven’t already, take the twopart Belief Quiz.

· What surprised you about the questions on the Belief

Quiz? What kind of questions did you expect?

· Why is it important to look at what you believe will bring you success, significance, fulfillment, satisfaction, happiness, fun, security and peace?

If what you believe about these eight values—success, significance, fulfillment, satisfaction, happiness, fun, security and peace—doesn’t line up with what God says about them, your walk of faith will be off to the same degree that your belief is off. Keep that in mind as you work through this chapter and the next.

FEELINGS ARE GOD’S RED FLAG OF WARNING

God desires His children to experience success, significance, fulfillment, satisfaction, happiness, fun, security and peace. But sometimes our ideas about how to achieve these goals are not completely in harmony with God’s plans and goals for us, and God can use our emotions to let us know that we may be holding on to a poor goal based on a wrong belief.

Anger Signals a Blocked Goal. When we feel angry about a relationship or a project, it’s usually because someone or something has blocked our goal.

· When has anger signaled a blocked goal for you?

Anxiety Signals an Uncertain Goal. When we feel anxious (worried and afraid at the same time), our anxiety may be signaling our uncertainty about the goal we have chosen.

· When has anxiety helped you recognize your uncertainty about a goal you had set for yourself?

Depression Signals an Impossible Goal. Depression is a signal that our goal, no matter how spiritual or noble, may never be reached. Depression is the expression of hopelessness.

· When has depression signaled that you are working toward a goal you have little or no chance of achieving?

· Depression resulting from an impossible goal can also be related to a wrong concept of God. What was David’s wrong concept of God in Psalm 13?

· What did David do to get out of his depression? What truth did he begin to focus on?

If Satan can destroy your belief in God, you will lose your source of hope. But if you can follow David’s example and move away from your wrong concept of God to the truth about Him, you will once again find hope.

Wrong Responses to Those Who Frustrate Goals. When our happiness or success hinges on reaching a goal that can be blocked or that is uncertain or impossible, we may attempt to control or manipulate the people and circumstances that stand between us and success.

· How do you tend to respond to people who block your goals? Do you get bitter, angry or resentful? Do you feel sorry for yourself? Do you take charge and become a manipulation master as Darcy did?

· Which of the answers to the preceding questions are pleasing to God?

Bad goals can mean bad situations between friends. Unless we adjust our goals, we’ll waste months and possibly years living in bitter defeat, hardly the victorious lives God would have us live.

HOW CAN I TURN BAD GOALS INTO GOOD GOALS?

What’s a “Good Goal”? Good question. Let’s take a moment and define a good goal.

· In light of what you’ve just learned about goals from the discussion of anger, anxiety and depression, how would you define a good goal?

If God has a goal for your life, it cannot be blocked; its fulfillment is neither uncertain nor impossible. A good goal, then, is God’s goal for you.

· What was God’s goal for a young woman named Mary? (See Luke 1:26-38.)

· What was Mary’s response?

As impossible as God’s goal for Mary may have sounded to her (she would give birth to a son while still a virgin and her son would be the Savior of the world!), she responded, “Be it done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). That is to be our response to God’s goals for us.

Knowing the Difference Between Goals and Desires. The secret to achieving God’s goals is learning the difference between a godly goal and a godly desire. A godly goal is any specific choice reflecting God’s purposes for your life that does not depend on people or circumstances beyond your ability or right to control—and you are the only person you have the ability or right to control. A godly desire is any specific choice that depends on the cooperation of other people or the success of events or favorable circumstances you cannot control.

· What are some of God’s goals that cannot be blocked? (You can find three on page 83 of the text.)

· What can you gain by aligning your goals with God’s goals and your desires with His desires?

Darcy would save herself a lot of grief if she changed her goal to make the cheerleading squad into a desire, and set herself the goal of doing her best in the tryouts and remaining a good friend to Brittany no matter what happens. No one can frustrate that goal except Darcy herself.

· What realigning can you do?

· What goals would you do well to change into desires?

· What godly goals can you replace those with?

When we work toward godly goals, we may have to deal with some disappointments, but we won’t have to deal with the anger, anxiety or depression that comes when our happiness or success hinges on reaching a goal that can be blocked or that is uncertain or impossible.

GODLY GOALS CENTER ON BUILDING CHARACTER

God’s basic goal for your life is character development: becoming the person He wants you to be. Because it’s a godly goal, no one can block it but you—although every day you struggle against the world, the flesh and the devil and their opposition to your efforts to become a godly person.

· Read Romans 5:3-5 and James 1:24. What do Paul and James tell us about the opposition we face from the world, the flesh and the devil?

· When have you realized how God has used a trial or tribulation in your life to help shape you into the person He wants you to be?

· What do you think God is doing in your character through a current trial or tribulation?

Uncovering Wrong Goals. One of the great things about trials and tribulations is that they reveal wrong goals.

· When has a trial or tribulation revealed a wrong goal?

· Consider the trials and tribulations you are currently facing. What wrong goal might they be pointing to?

When we’re going through a trial or tribulation, God doesn’t offer us the kind of quick-fix solutions the world holds out. Instead, He uses those dark, difficult times of testing to bring us to the point of recognizing that we can totally rely on Him and Him alone to meet our needs. And that’s a lesson definitely worth learning.

START STOMPING!

World, You’ve Got to Be Kidding! Choose one of the eight goals you looked at earlier: success, significance, fulfillment, satisfaction, happiness, fun, security and peace. Then illustrate—with your own drawing, with pictures from magazines, with details from life on campus—what the world says is the way to achieve that goal. How effective are the world’s ideas? How long lasting is the success, significance, fulfillment, satisfaction, happiness, fun, security or peace that the world offers? Then consider God’s means to that end. What do you think He wants you to do to achieve that goal? (Don’t worry if you’re not sure. Just stay tuned for the next chapter.)

The Fires of Life. Grab some orange construction paper and cut out tongues of flame. Use a piece of brown paper to make the logs that feed the fire. Now, on pieces of white paper, briefly describe those times in your life—those trials and temptations—when you’ve felt as if you’ve been in the fire. Where you can, note how God used that situation to teach you to rely more on Him and/or to shape you more into the person He wants you to be. Let those incidents where you can see what God was doing encourage you that He is just as involved in those other as-yet-inexplicable situations.

Story Time. It’s not always easy to appreciate what God is doing in us when times are tough. Sometimes it’s easier to appreciate the good that God is doing or has done through the hard times that other people have experienced. So get together with someone (a longtime believer like Mom or Dad or a pastor, prayer partner or leader in the church) who will tell you about a fiery time in life and what God did through that trial. Reviewing that time will probably be as encouraging for the person sharing the story as it is for you!

All this talk about godly goals and godly desires can be pretty confusing. I’m glad You make it clear that the basic goal You have for my life is for me to become the person You want me to be. God, help me to cooperate with that goal. Give me patience and hope when life is hard and doesn’t make sense. I need to know that You’re using those kinds of times for my good. I know that You’re using those times to teach me to depend on You. I want to learn that—but please be merciful as You teach me. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

STRENGTH GIVERS

These words are for you and about you! As you read each day’s verse, ask yourself, “How would my life be different if I could live out this truth?”—and ask God to help you do so.

Monday:	Galatians 4:6-7
Tuesday:	Romans 8:14-15
Wednesday:	Romans 8:17
Thursday:	Romans 8:28
Friday:	Hebrews 4:16