July 20, 2009

The Bonuses of God

“Marvelous is the love of God in providing those things for which His children pray.” — Dr. R.A. Forrest

Do you have dreams for your life—goals that you have secretly written down or ones that you have held within your heart for quite some time? Some people say they really don’t have goals. They plot and plan their days based on what unfolds. While you can be prepared for a lot that comes your way, there are times when trusting God with raw faith is the best thing to do. However, He still wants you to consider the future and what you would like to achieve.

Setting goals is actually an act of faith. No matter how great or small they may seem, the moment you pray to reach a certain goal or aspire to see your dreams become a reality, you have stepped over onto holy ground where God waits to answer your call. It is interesting that Dr. Forrest often spoke of the “dreams” he had for Toccoa Falls College. No doubt, he would have said this term could double for the “goals” he set for the school. There was a visionary aspect to his life that demanded him to look up and dream great things and you can do the same.

In Achieving The Impossible with God, he wrote, “Marvelous is the love of God in providing those things for which His children pray. More wonderful still is the fact that He does “exceeding abundantly above” what they ask or think. In the miraculous goodness of God, He fulfills our dreams—dreams that, humanly speaking, seem almost impossible to bring to pass, but to God it is His normal way to conduct business. When we trust Him, He always proves faithful.” Faithfulness is the sole reason we can trust Him to provide for every need and . . . even every dream and goal we have that falls within His will for our lives. (1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:24)

“Dreams that He fulfills,” wrote Dr. Forrest, “are bonuses—given by God to faithful laborers as rewards for duties well done, for lives consecrated to His service, and for prayers and sacrifices made in His work.” If your dreams can be reached by human effort, then you are not dreaming high enough. A. B. Simpson wrote, “Dare to trust him, and you will see what He will do on your behalf.”

Taken from the online devotional book A Present Peace © 2009 tfchistory.com