6/18 Strength for Today

Steps to Great Accomplishments

Philippians 3:13
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,”

A person with any type of drive inside of them will always want to conquer or complete some great task in their life. God made us to be conquerors. God did not make us to sit and do nothing in life; He created us with a desire to conquer tasks and opportunities.

In the verse above, the Apostle Paul made the statement, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended:” He explained to the church at Philippi that he felt he had more things he wanted to do in his life. Though the Apostle Paul had many great accomplishments in his life, he felt he still had more ground to conquer. As he talked about his desire to do more for Christ, God showed us through Paul's life how to conquer great tasks and continue to go forward in life.

First of all, if you are going to conquer goals in your life, you must fight one battle at a time. Paul said that he was doing one thing. Too many people fall into the trap of trying to fight the whole war at one time. You must pick one battle that you want to win, and fight that one battle. Focus on one task at a time instead of many tasks at a time.

Secondly, don't look back; look forward. Paul looked forward at what he needed to do, and not at what he had done. Too many Christians fall for the trap of looking back at their accomplishments instead of looking forward at the tasks they still need to do. You must look forward at what you need to do if you are going to conquer your goals.

Thirdly, set high goals. Paul did not just set easy goals; he set some very high goals that would push him. You must learn to set high goals for yourself if you want to conquer great accomplishments in life. Make your goals worthy of pressing yourself. Make your goals something that will pressure you to give it all that you have. If the goals of your life do not put pressure on you, then you have not set your goals high enough.

Lastly, don't settle for mediocrity. Notice that Paul's goal was to obtain the “…prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” You will never do great things in life when you settle for mediocrity. You will only accomplish great things in life by expecting excellence. Mediocrity is easy; excellence takes hard work. Anybody can be mediocre, but only those who do great things demand excellence.

Don't accept anything less than excellence in everything you do. Whether you want to build a church, Sunday school class, business or conquer some great accomplishment or dream in life, take these steps and follow them. These are the steps toward accomplishing great things. Anything less than these steps will lead to average results.