Let’s face it. We all have dreams and goals. Maybe it is to teach children. Maybe it is to become a professional musician. Have a book published. Pilot an airplane. Travel to Italy. It is our nature to dream, and dream big we do. Sometimes that dream is so big that it seems unattainable, and therefore, we dare not to chase it down and make it a reality.

As a Christian, we also see how God works in our lives, presents “doors” of opportunities before us, and as we go through life, our ultimate calling is to “be in God”s will”. We also know that our God is a loving father and delights in our heart’s desires.

It is, therefore, safe to say that for many of us, we take our goals and dreams and ponder whether it would be God’s will for them to become a reality.

I love to sing and play guitar. A dream would be to become a recording artist. As I have seen God use the talents He gave me in this area to bring Him glory through leading worship in church, I can’t help but wonder if one day He would allow the path He has me on to lead to some form of a recording and touring career. Hmmm…maybe. One day.

And so, the notion of God”s will for our lives somehow fusing with our goals or dreams is what we hold onto.

But this is where we tend to go wrong in our thinking. God’s will in my life is not the means to an end, the end in this case being the dream or goal acheived. The End in this case is being defined by us. God on the other hand, has a completely different view on what the End is. The End is really the means, or the process.

Let’s recount a familiar narrative from the Book of Matthew where the disciple Peter is called by the Lord to come to Him by means of walking on water. For those of you who don”t know what I am talking about, Jesus appears to his disciples while they are in a boat. He, however, is standing on top of the waves and summons Peter to come to Him by stepping out of the boat and walking on the water to Him.

Now the end result or end purpose of this act by God wasn’t so much that Peter got to Jesus, but rather the act of his journey to Jesus. Actually taking that first step. Trusting Jesus when all logic and worldly rational dictated that he would fall right through the watery surface. After his first few steps, continuing to believe that he would accomplish all that God said he would. This was the end product. This was the reason for the Lord calling him. This was the point of the whole thing. It was the journey that was God”s will for Peter”s life at that moment, not actually arriving at Jesus” side.

And so it is for our lives. Yes, we have our dreams. Yes, we have goals. And, yes, maybe God does intend to see those become a reality. But we need to not simply go on the path laid before us with just our eyes on the goal in sight. We need to realize the emphasis for God’s will in our lives is the very path we are on at this very moment. That is the end result. That is God’s goal. For us to focus on the moment to moment in our days. Especially through some of our more frustrating moments in our days. How we respond to them reflects whether we are keeping our eyes focused on God and allowing Him to get us through it. Remember: the will of God is to bring glory to Himself. The Will of God never changes. Just the circumstances around it.