Daily Devotional Nov. 15, 2022

Posted on Nov 15, 2022 in Pastor's Blog |

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20, ESV).

To boldly go where no one has gone before. This is the mission of the Enterprise, the fictitious starship of the Star Trek television and film series. One of Star Trek’s most memorable actors was Nichelle Nickols, a.k.a., Lt. Nyota Uhura.

Ms. Nichols died last July. Yet her mystical journey into outer space continues. Nichelle’s ashes will travel into deep space aboard a Vulcan rocket through a private company. Her dream is taking her literally to the stars.

Frank Sinatra had a dream that would send him to faraway places:

Fly me to the moon, let me play among the stars. Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars.

People like Frank Sinatra and Nichelle Nickols were big dreamers. They set their sights on achieving great things.

For many of us, however, we dream too small. We think that if we set our goals low, we will be more likely to

achieve them. Mark Twain claimed this approach to be a mistake. He warned:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by
the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Twain’s concern was that by dreaming too small many of us are settling for less. By aiming our sights higher we stand a better chance of accomplishing greater things.

I’ve always wondered why it is so many of us fail to achieve the goal of losing weight. Perhaps it’s because the better goal is to live a healthier lifestyle of exercise and to eat more nutritious diet. The same principle holds true for the student who struggles getting excellent grades. A greater ambition would be to learn as much from a course of study as possible. For those of us who struggle with perfectionism, the optimal objective should not
be to make everyone happy, but to please God.

The writer of Ephesians believed that each of us is capable of doing far more than we think through the
power of God’s Spirit. The capacity of achieving great things then hinges less on our aptitude and more on the amplitude of our faith in God. In other words, when we have a great goal that depends on a great God, we place ourselves in a better position to make greater gains.

So, be courageous. Aim for the stars. And may the force be with you. (Sorry, wrong movie.)