Trusting God with Our Unattainable Goals

What would happen if we began trusting God with our unattainable goals?

Every January, people set goals for the new year. Get fit, get organized, get a new job. Buy a new wardrobe, buy a new car, buy a new house. Although our aspirations may be challenging, many times we don’t even take the time to pray about them. We know with hard work we can accomplish them.

But what about our unattainable goals? The ones where the circumstances make it impossible for us to do anything about. We discover a situation we hope will change. We desperately long to do something, but it’s totally out of our control.

Sometimes it helps to hear how others faced impossibilities.

Charles and Esther Mulli

Extreme poverty and hopelessness caused the Kenyan parents of Charles Mulli to abandon him when he was six years old.

Enduring years of physical and mental abuse, Charles persevered. He found his hope through the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. As he grew in his faith, he discovered a passion to help other homeless children.

By 1994, Charles and his wife, Esther, were taking care of over two hundred children rescued from the streets. They worked hard to provide for the children.

However, a day came when they realized they only had enough food to provide dinner that night and breakfast the next day. Their resources had run out. Charles’ wife asked him what they would do, and he replied, “We pray.”

Although a Christian, Esther was skeptical about God creating food for hundreds of children out of thin air. Considering all their own efforts, she feared they had failed the children and disappointed God.

Charles reminded her of God feeding the Israelites in the wilderness and of Jesus feeding thousands with only a few loaves of bread and fish. He prayed for God to meet their needs.

There was nothing else they could humanly do. They had to go to bed, trusting God to take care of their needs.

The next morning, a stranger arrived at the house with a truck load of food! She said as she was going to sleep the night before she sensed God telling her to hire a truck, fill it with food and bring it to them. It was enough to feed the children for another three days.

Charles, his family, and the kind stranger all rejoiced and praised God.

Before the woman left she had given Charles an envelope. Later, he opened it and discovered enough money to buy food for several more weeks.

Charles and Esther Mulli worked hard to accomplish many things. Even though they struggled at times, they had one primary focus—to honor God and trust Him to meet their needs.

Richard Wurmbrand

A former atheist, Richard Wurmbrand, suffered torture because of his Christian faith. For twenty-three years the Romanian was severely persecuted by Communists because he would not deny his faith.

Fourteen years of his life was spent in prison. He came close to dying numerous times before finally being released in 1964.

In 1966, Richard, his wife, and his son immigrated to the United States. They continued to speak and educate people on the plight of persecuted Christians around the world. Richard wrote several books on the topic. One way he helped distribute them was through a ministry he founded called the Voice of the Martyrs.

In 1989, after forty-five years, Romania was no longer ruled by Communists. Richard and his wife went back to visit their homeland.

At the age of eighty-one, Richard traveled Romania speaking about the love of Christ and how that enabled Christians to forgive those who persecuted them.

Amazingly, in a country that once banned Bibles and all Christian materials, Richard was now able to distribute them.

The manager of the Voice of the Martyrs’ bookstore in Romania wanted to take Richard to see the place where the government had allowed them to store books.

The building landscapes had changed drastically since Richard had been there. Buildings had been demolished to make way for new ones.

Richard followed the bookstore manager down into the basement of a building before realizing he was in the basement of the former Uranus Prison.

The books Richard had written on the Christian faith were being housed in the very cell where he had spent three years in solitary confinement for not denouncing his faith.

All of those years of horrendous torture and the lack of freedom prevented Richard from setting the kind of goals most people set.

Because of his freedom in Christ, Richard Wurmbrand had one goal—to honor and glorify his Lord and Savior, no matter what.

Higher Power

Long ago, the disciples witnessed Jesus driving out an evil spirit from a man. They were perplexed why they were unable to do the task themselves.

But Jesus looked at them and said,

“With man this is impossible,

but with God all things are possible.” 

Matthew 19:26 (ESV)

What a wonderful reminder for us to trust God with our unattainable goals.

If you don’t own a Bible, you can find many other scriptures about making plans and trusting God at OpenBible. You’ll find stand-alone verses there, so it’s wise to look up the reference and read more for context.

The Bible speaks of the wisdom in seeking godly counsel, planning, and work.

Because of our love for God, we are not only to talk about our faith but we are to act upon it. We are to do whatever He calls us to do and then trust Him with the outcome.

I know. Sometimes that’s easier said than done.

Obstacles or Opportunities?

When faced with a problem, we often view our circumstances as obstacles. Also, there’s a temptation to keep our goals small in hopes that we might possibly achieve them. Or worse, we set no goals at all and we give up.

Let’s challenge each other this year to be still before the Lord. God can turn obstacles into opportunities. He can help us become overcomers.

Pray for wisdom in knowing how and when to take action. Pray for patience while waiting for God’s timing. He will work wonders we can’t even imagine!

All we need is one goal—to honor and glorify our Lord with all our heart, mind, and soul. Let’s leave all of our “impossibilities” up to Him.