There is certainly a time and place for backup plans. But not when it comes to big life goals!
Too often, we straddle the fence and hedge our bets when it comes to these audacious projects. We say, “Well, I really would like to become a farmer…start my own business…live my dreams…. But I don’t really know if it will work out, so I guess I’d better stick with my routine, keep the day job, and do what I’m ‘supposed’ to do.”
The problem with this approach? Divided attention. As long as our attention is focused on the should-dos and guaranteed-to-works, we will never have the time or energy to pursue the really-want-to-dos.
By allowing ourselves that backup plan, we admit that we don’t really believe in our goals. We undoubtedly enjoy daydreaming about them, but aren’t really committed to them.
Oliver Wendell Holmes once wrote:
Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out.
The Bible promises that, if we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4). That means that if we are committed to carrying out His will, He will put the right desires into our hearts so that we want to do the works He has prepared for us. It therefore follows that, assuming we delight in Him, those big goals and dreams we have come straight from Him and are part of His plan.
With this in mind, there is absolutely no room for a backup plan in our lives. We must stop preparing to live, and get about the business of living. We must allow ourselves one option and one option only—to go for our goals wholeheartedly. There can be no holding back.
Homestead on the Range 