Once in Management Communication Class, we were told to brainstorm a
BHAG for ourselves. A BHAG is a Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal that businesses use
to aim for something bigger and more impossible. It is a 10-30 year long term
commitment, and it is an exciting concept for businesses to think bigger, aim
higher, and to set their sights further. It is, as my lecturer put it, a finish
line that we often don’t dare to even dream about. But a BHAG is not set in
impulse or blind gamble. It is a testable, measurable, and understandable goal
that is important enough to commit to for a really long time. It has to be
something you are sure of.
I’d like to think that God placed BHAGs in our lives too. Callings that
are too unimaginable to set your eyes upon for more than a split second, and
dreams that you close your mind to before you even dare begin to explore. Not
to say every hairy plan is a God given one, but rather that sometimes God calls
us to new heights, which seems too far for a little me to climb, but is actually
but a pin drop for my big God up there. Often God places on my heart a longing
to make something specific happen, and I’m filled with passion and excitement
to go out and do it. And then I stop, and decide to run it through my
“advisors”, and then I waver. I start doubting God’s call, and start listening
to the voices of my friends, my peers, my advisors. “You’ll never make it”,
“It’s way too big”, “Are you sure?” these questions eat at my faith, and
distract me from my instruction.
This theme of paying careful heed to the Lord’s clear instruction is
found throughout the Old Testament. In 1 Kings 12 Rehoboam, Solomon’s son,
became king after Solomon’s death. The people of Israel assembled and asked of
Rehoboam, “Your father was a hard master. Lighten the harsh labor demands and
heavy taxes that your father imposed on us. Then we will be your loyal
subjects.” Rehoboam asked for 3 days to think over his answer. He first asked
the older advisors for counsel, and they advised him to be a servant to the
people and give them a favorable answer. However, Rehoboam rejected that advice
and questioned his younger friends for their opinions. Their advice was to
reply, “My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist! Yes, my father laid
heavy burdens on you, but I’m going to make them even heavier! My father beat
you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions!” Guess whose advice
Rehoboam followed? The latter. This ended up in the people of Israel refusing
him as their king.
In the same chapter we see Jeroboam, the next king of Israel who, also
on the advice of his good ol' counselors, made 2 gold calves for the people to
worship, saying, “Look Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of
Egypt!” Because of this, God turned away from Jeroboam. In the very next
chapter, 13, we see a man of God from Judah who was sent by the Lord’s command
to denounce Jeroboam in Israel. However, the Lord gave this man one warning,
“You must not eat or drink anything while you are there, and do not return to
Judah by the same way you came.” But this man of God was also swayed by the
voice of men, and was later persuaded by the lies of a prophet to follow the
prophet home and dine with him. The Lord had given clear instructions to the
man, but the man wavered from the clear instruction without thinking and turned
back into Israel, naively believing the lie that the prophet told him. This
resulted in his death. In the last chapter of 1 Kings, 22, we also see Ahab
asking for advice from his prophets before going out to battle. About 400 of
them said, “yes, go right ahead! And the Lord will give the king victory.” But
one, Michaiah, said otherwise, speaking of Ahab’s death in battle. Michaiah was
the only prophet who truly received God’s word, but Ahab did not listen, and
locked him up, going straight into battle.
Often we think that the more encouragements and good feedback we receive
from others about our dreams, the better and more successful it will be.
However, something I’m still learning is to do what I know is right, and not
what others tell me is right. The word in front of me is God’s manual of clear
instruction. It’s written down plain to see. It doesn’t mean I don’t ask for
advice; it means that I don’t let the advice of others decide for me what God’s
will is. His ways are different from ours. And through constant prayer and
petition to God, along with a chunk of determination, He will show me and lead me through my Big, Hairy, Audacious
Goal.
--So, Whats Your BHAG?
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