Pursue your goals with wisdom

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

— Hosea 4:6 (NIV)

Something inside of each of us whispers we are destined for something greater than we are. We have a desire deep within our hearts to do something outstanding, but sometimes we just don’t know how to go about doing it.

God created man for great things. Looking back at the past 100 years, we witness how man’s greatness was revealed when we enjoy our modern inventions.

However, our search for greatness oftentimes guides us in all the wrong places. Misled youths might join gangs looking for power, prestige and a sense of belonging. Young girls may abandon their dignity when their search for love gets them entangled with the deceptive notion that they must attract the opposite sex with seductive glamour rather than by being themselves.

Before you know it, their wrong perceptions cause them frustration and they manifest in all sorts of dysfunctional behaviors such as drinking, eating disorders and a host of others.

One of the most prominent figures of the Bible was Moses. As Moses grew, he too knew God was calling him to do something great with his life. Then one day he realized the dream in his heart was to become a leader and free the Israelites from their bondage of slavery in Egypt.

So, when he saw an Egyptian fighting with an Israelite, Moses decided to defend the Israelite by murdering the Egyptian. After that, he realized what he had done was wrong; he hadn’t handled the situation with wisdom.

Fleeing for his own life and searching for a new start, he wandered away and spent 40 years in the desert learning the ways of cultivating a new way of thinking. Then he went back and became the leader God intended him to be.

Oftentimes, in our desire for greater things in our lives, like Moses, we feel the need to express the greater things within our hearts, but go about it all wrong. Without the wisdom of God to hold a marriage together, cultivate friendships, minister to others, our lives are empty and futile.

Handling our desires with Godly wisdom keeps us from destructive mindsets and helps us find the significance we are searching for.

• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author, speaker, life coach and writing coach and retired nurse. She can be contacted at annetteebudzban@aol.com.