Reach - The Power of Effort

The effort you give in your life will make a big difference in your results. Give big effort, you will get big results. Give small effort, your results will be small. It all has to do with what you decide to do in your heart. When you decide in your heart to change how you approach life, wonderful things can begin to happen. All it takes is a decision to "reach" further. What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them (New International Version. James. 2.14)? Your reach has to do with your effort, and your effort has to do with your faith. If your effort is weak so is your faith. Straight A students give a large amount of effort to their studies and understanding their material to stay at the top of their class. Professional athletes give substantial effort to their conditioning, study time, and physical strength to remain at the top of their game. All of this has to do with your faith. Your effort has all to do with reaching farther than you are right now in the area you want better results in. Ask yourself this question. Can I give more effort in my life? This question is for you to analyze yourself and your efforts in how you are living your life. It is to challenge you to go to the next level -- to do more. You will not be able to go to the next level without deciding in your heart that you want more in life. Faith, effort, and reach all work together. It's simple math, but you must have the guts to do so or you can become idle.

Staying idle is not good. It is actually a sin. Why? Because when an individual is idle he or she is not growing. Laziness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle man will suffer hunger (New International Version. (Proverbs. 19.15). God designed you to grow everyday in some way, shape, or form. Being idle creates spiritual death. And anything that is dead has no value. Reading the Bible daily will help you continuously grow. It will nourish you. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones (New International Version. Proverbs. 3.8). Continuing your education through webinars, online courses, books, and taking classes in person will nourish you as well. Gaining your education is a wonderful way to enable yourself to reach farther than you ever have. Plus, it will give you confidence. There is always more to learn in life. The most successful people are always challenging their mind to improve and grow. This is why they remain at the top. You can do it as well! Do not be stuck in the wilderness like the Israelites in the book of Numbers. They were stubborn and stuck in their ways, refusing to grow. Their idle ways kept them in a dry place for 40 years. Reading the Bible and pursuing education will keep you from dry places, or being stuck in life your life.

Your next step starts with your faith. Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see (New International Version. Hebrews. 11.1).  Faith is focusing on what you know, and have complete confidence it will happen in your life.  Not what you think will happen, but about what you know will happen. Faith is knowing something is going to happen because you made it happen in your mind first. This can be difficult because what you desire is pending. It also can be difficult because there are a lot of people who carry doubt around us. Faith takes strength to fight off external forces trying to push doubt into your mind. Fight the good fight of faith (New International Version. 1 Timothy. 6.12). Faith is a fight. That is why 1 Timothy 6:12 says to fight the good fight! In order to get what you want on earth, you must fight for it. Those who are willing to fight for their dreams and desires will be successful. This fight will allow you to reach further and further again. It will allow the domino effect of faith, effort, and reach to happen in your life. Once you understand this concept and are willing to pay the price to reach farther, you will begin to see your entire world change. This is when you can begin to pull the promises God has for you in the Bible.

Environment is also critical to your reach. What you hear; Who you talk to; and the things you watch and read are important to expanding. How you were raised has gotten you to a specific point in your life whether it might be good or bad. That all has to do with the environment you were in. Have you ever heard the phrase, "he/she is a product of their environment?" If you are  not in the right environment, your chances for true success will be very limited. Jesus speaks about this when he shares his parable about planting seed in good soil.

Nothing in life is free. If you want to gain something you must give something first. God wanted you and I, so he gave Jesus. It started with the God's faith, His effort, and His reach. Start today. Put your faith on what you desire to have in your life, keep the faith, giv maximum effort, and you will definitely be able to reach farther than you ever had.