“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."
Romans 12:11-12 (NIV) In order to reach your goals, you have to figure out how to maintain your enthusiasm over the long haul. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” You’ve got to have passion and enthusiasm, or you’re never going to make it to the finish line. How do you do that? How do you stay enthusiastic day after day in spite of delays, difficulties, dead ends, problems, pressures, and criticisms? How do you stay enthusiastic for years on end? Positive thinking is not enough. Pulling yourself up by your psychological bootstraps is not enough. Talking yourself into optimism is not enough. The way you stay enthusiastic for a lifetime is found in the word “enthusiasm,” which comes from the Greek word en theos. En is the Greek word for “in.” Theos is the Greek word for “God.” So en theos means to be “in God.” When you get in God, you will be enthusiastic. It’s the kind of enthusiasm that isn’t affected by the economy or the weather or your circumstances. It’s eternal, because you are tied to the eternal God. You are in Christ. Paul tells you how to be “in God”—enthusiastic—in Romans 12:11-12: “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (NIV). If you want to reach your goals, you need to get God-given enthusiasm by being joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
All
Archives
July 2024
|