Many good intentions will die in the next seven days.
It’s not that they were bad ideas. They might have been the intention to exercise more, lose weight, get out of debt, or pray on a regular basis.
Starting with a bang and ending with a whimper.
While there might be several reasons for the whimpering, often it stems from the lack of a compelling why. Why should I stick with this? Why does this matter? What will happen if I don’t follow through?
One of the most driven individuals in the early church was the apostle Paul. Few accomplished as much as he did – starting churches, baptizing people, and enduring hardship and hostility. But why?
Some might say that Paul was simply acting out of guilt, that he was trying to overcome his years of persecuting the church. Or, it could have just been his personality. Some people are naturally driven and competitive.
Or, could it have been something else? Paul himself seems to think so …
“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” – 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
Paul believed someone had died for him. Not only that, but he believed that he was to no longer live for himself but for the one who died for him. And this one who died for him – well, he’s alive now.
The end result? “For Christ’s love compels us …”
Paul understood his why and his why was so compelling he had to keep going.
If you want to stick with goals that will move you forward, you have to stay connected to a significant why.