Food for Thought: Aspiration vs. Inspiration

Aspiration is what we want to have happen––our hopes and goals. Inspiration is the incentive we have to try to get our hopes and goals accomplished. For example, if we want to photograph a beautiful sunrise, we will get up early, find the ideal spot, and set up our camera.

Why we want a picture of the sunrise and what having it would mean to us might vary. Our motivation for getting that perfect shot would vary accordingly. If we hope to sell our picture, we might get input from a professional photographer as to what kind of camera to use and what type of sunrise pictures sell. To make our picture unique, we might use our imagination to put an unusual silhouette of a particularly interesting tree or building backlit by the sun in our picture. Inspiration can come from many sources.

If, on the other hand, our aspiration is to accomplish a mission in our church, we might seek divine inspiration from the Holy Spirit. We are told in Isaiah 30:21“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’”

While we don’t expect to literally “hear a voice” telling us what to do or where to go. What we can expect is that doors will open and a strong feeling of the right thing to do will come to us when we call on the Holy Spirit to work through us. Prayer and inspiration go together for Christians hoping to follow God’s will and bring to fruition the kind of work children of God are meant to do.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23

“And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us: And if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we will receive the petitions that we desired of Him.” 1 John 5:14-15

May divine inspiration (the Holy Spirit within you) help you accomplish all of your aspirations to do good work?