There will always be the giant of envy that looms large before us. As we see others accomplishing great things for God, how easy it is to allow the green-eyed monster called envy to take possession of our soul, dissipate our energies and distract us from our own goals.

In life, hard work always precedes success. For us to reach our goals will take effort on our part.

God Will Help

There is a fourth truth that grows out of our text. To our effort God will add His power which will enable us to reach our goals.

Caleb said, "You yourself heard then that the Amalekites were there, and their cities were large and fortified, but the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said" (verse 12, NIV).

"The Lord helping me ..." That is the key phrase. The factor which will determine whether or not we reach our goals is not our strength or weakness. The answer lies ultimately in the use of God's power. In the Bible, those who reached their goals seemed to do so in spite of their own weaknesses.

Moses, tongue-tied shepherd, stood up to Pharoah and won!

Gideon, supported by an army of 300 armed only with trumpets and empty jars, fought the Midianites and won!

David, untrained and unprotected, challenged Goliath and won!

Jesus, who on the cross looked like history's greatest loser, stood up to Satan and won!

The early disciples set out to conquer the Roman world with nothing but the Gospel and they won!

Caleb, 85 years old, confronted the giants in Hebron and won!

Why did all of these apparent losers turn out to be winners? It was because of the power of God that flowed into their lives as they moved out for Him. "The Lord helping them," they reached their goals.

When Herkomer rose to great fame as an artist in London and built his studio there, his first thought was to have his father, a simple woodchopper, come and spend the rest of his years with him. The old man came, and was very fond of molding clay. All day he made things out of clay but as the years passed his hand was losing its skill and cunning. He often went upstairs at night to his room with the sad heart of an old man who thought his best days were gone by.

Herkomer's quick eye of love detected what was happening so, when his father was safely asleep, the gifted son would come downstairs and take in hand the pieces of clay which his old father had left with evidences of defect and failure. With his own wonderful touch, he would make them as beautiful as they could be made by human hand.

When the old man came down in the morning and took up the work he had left all spoiled the night before, and held it up before the light, he would say, rubbing his hands, "I can still do it as well as I ever could."

That's the way it is with our lives. Even when we do our very best, our lives are marked with defect and failure. But then the God who created our universe out of chaos in the beginning, takes our lives in His hands and with His own wonderful touch makes them as beautiful as they can be made.

Will you believe me when I tell you that God has a wonderful plan for your life? God has a mountain He wants you to claim, a goal He wants you to reach, a purpose He wants you to fulfill. It won't be easy, but "the Lord helping you," you can reach that goal and claim that mountain.

If you are not a Christian, the place for you to begin is to receive Christ as your Lord and Savior. Get in on God's plan. That's the starting point. If you are a Christian, ask God to show you His goal for you. Then, in confidence and commitment, say "I want that mountain. And the Lord helping me, I will claim it for Him."