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“What makes ambition good or bad?”

A thought by Rick Warren from his book, God's Answers to Life's Difficult Questions (Living with Purpose) (p. 72). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

We’ve been looking the past couple of days at ambition.  This is a good follow up question, isn’t it?

Here is Rick’s answer.  He says, “One thing: the motive behind it.”

He goes on, “… God never honors an unworthy request. Consider this: God dares you to ask for big requests. What do you ask God for when you pray? God encourages you to ask for things: ‘You do not have, because you do not ask God’ (James 4:2). The Lord said to Jeremiah, ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know’ (Jer. 33:3). Paul says that God ‘is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us’ (Eph. 3:20). This means that you cannot out-ask God. You cannot out-dream God. If you could stretch your imagination to the greatest limits of what you think could possibly happen, God can go beyond even that.’

Rick continues, “He can go beyond your imagination. God says, ‘Trust me. Ask things. Find a great ambition, then get a growing faith, then bring them to me in genuine prayer.’

“What do you want God to do in your life? Heal a bad marriage situation? Ask him. Help you with a problem at work? Ask him. Help you fill a bigger niche in your church? Ask him. God is not some big policeman up in the sky waiting for you to make one wrong move so he can pounce on you; he wants to bless your life.”

He wants to bless our lives in this day, in this month, and in this new year.  Will you reach out to him and let him bless you?  Will you?

Yes, yes!

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