We can all have the desire to achieve. We want to do well in exams, perform in our jobs and be the best we can be. We crave success. This is often seen as a bad thing. But the key is to make sure we’re desiring to achieve at the right things. In the Bible, we can see that Paul was someone who was very motivated by achievement. He said: ‘My life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned to me by the Lord Jesus’ (Acts 20:24 NLT). God didn’t take away Paul’s desire to achieve; He used it so that Paul could fulfil God’s plans for his life. Being driven and motivated, along with having a desire to learn and achieve, can be good. The Bible says: ‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters’ (Colossians 3:23 NIV). So it’s good to put our whole heart into something. But it’s not good if it leads us to overworking, neglecting God, and manipulating other people. When we realise that’s begun to happen, we need to re-evaluate our motivation. But we can use our motivation and desire to achieve to help us grow in God. We can use our skills to accomplish good things for others. We can be like Paul, and be completely focused on doing what God’s called us to do. The Bible says: ‘God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.’ We’re made to do good works. So let’s use our motivation and our desire to achieve, to achieve things for God.

What Now?

Before every task you have to do today, spend a minute talking to God. Pray for strength, focus and opportunities to glorify Him in whatever you’re doing.