Higher Aim with Dr. Curt Dodd

The investment of your life into the lives of your children, your grandchildren, and the people around you means everything. The word "disciple" simply means a "learning one." A discipler, then, is someone who teaches others how to follow Christ. God calls every believer to be a discipler, to invest in others and help them along the way. In 1 Thessalonians 3, the Apostle Paul gives us a powerful picture of this kind of passionate care, showing us what it looks like to invest our lives for the sake of others.

It is one of the hardest parts of the Christian life: waiting. In a world that values speed and efficiency, God often teaches His children a different lesson. Moses had a passion to free his people, but he had to wait 40 years in the desert until he was ready. The Apostle Paul, after his dramatic conversion, spent seven years in a period of discipleship before his ministry began. The Bible speaks of waiting on God over 100 times, signaling its importance in our spiritual journey.

The life of Isaac is a textbook study in waiting. Just as his parents had to wait for his birth, Isaac’s entire life seemed to move from one waiting moment to the next. His story, highlighted in Hebrews 11, teaches us that waiting is not a passive action, a frustrating time spent in neutral. Instead, as we will see, it is a dynamic posture of hope, designed by God to deepen our faith and draw us closer to Him.

When you got in your car this morning, you took a risk. You trusted that you would arrive safely, but there were no guarantees. Life is full of risks. We are always looking for a sure thing, but in this world, nothing is certain except for the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. This is why God calls us to live a life that goes beyond what we can see and control. It is a life of faith.

The story of Abraham, the father of faith, shows us that God can use imperfect people to do extraordinary things. Abraham’s journey was not one of flawless obedience, but of learning to take one step of faith after another. His story is our story, showing that God can make any of us men and women of real faith. This journey, however, always involves risk. If there is no risk, there is no faith. Let’s explore what this life of faith truly involves by looking at the life of Abraham.

When we hear the name Noah, our minds often go to a massive ark, a world-covering flood, and a parade of animals, two by two. These are the familiar details of a story we’ve known since childhood. But when the writer of Hebrews looks back at Noah’s life, he highlights something different. He applauds Noah’s faith. Specifically, he commends him for a life of faith that stood in stark resistance to the world around him.

We live in a time where pressure mounts to go with the flow, to not ruffle feathers, and to quietly conform to cultural norms. The call to simply love and accept is often twisted into an excuse for silent compromise. But the life of Noah offers a powerful counter-narrative. God is calling His people not to float along like a dead log in a stream, but to walk with Him so faithfully that our very lives resist and condemn the world’s brokenness. This guide explores what it means to build a life of faith resistance, anchored not in our own strength, but in a deep, personal walk with God.

What is faith? If you were to ask most people, you might hear that it is a form of positive thinking or an intense desire for something to happen. We often treat faith as something we must generate ourselves through sheer willpower. However, this is just wishful thinking, not the biblical faith that God calls us to. True faith is something far deeper and more powerful, and understanding its real definition is essential for every believer.

To honor God and live a life that brings Him glory, we must get our minds around what true, biblical faith is all about. The book of Hebrews provides the most direct definition in all of Scripture. As we begin this series on the heroes of the faith, we must first go to God’s Word to understand the very foundation upon which their lives were built: a faith that is not man-made, but God-given.

Life is never a straight line. If we are honest, our journey of faith often feels more like a series of unexpected detours than a clear, direct path. We face relationship challenges, financial pressures, health crises, and cultural shifts that can leave us feeling disoriented and uncertain. We plan for one route, only to find ourselves on a completely different road. In these moments, it can be tempting to grow rigid, frustrated, or fearful, wondering if we have lost our way.

But God’s Word offers us a different posture. In the midst of every detour, God Himself reaches for our hand. The prophet Isaiah reminds us of this promise: "For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you" (Isaiah 41:13). This promise is not for a life free of twists and turns, but for a journey where we are never alone. God does not want us to be paralyzed by the detours, but to learn how to dance with them, moving with a spiritual flexibility that is rooted in His unwavering presence and strength.

Have you ever considered where your first image of God came from? For many, that initial picture is formed through the grid of the relationship we have with our earthly father. If you had a great dad who taught you what it meant to walk with Christ, you are immeasurably blessed. But for others, that relationship may have been difficult, which can make it a struggle to trust God. It is important to remember that God is not like any earthly father. He is the perfect Father, a good, good Father who wants to guide and direct every one of your steps.

The reality, however, is that our steps are often full of detours. Life rarely goes exactly according to our plans. You may be in one of those detour moments right now, wondering why God has allowed you to be in this situation and asking Him for relief. The truth is, God often uses the detours in our lives to shape us. He is not surprised by them, and He has a purpose in them. As the Lord promises in Isaiah 41:13, He takes hold of our hand and says, “Do not fear; I will help you.” This is our anchor when the path forward is unclear.

Have you ever watched a child fall and, instead of crying, erupt into laughter? It is a moment of pure, unfiltered joy. Dr. Dodd recently had that experience with his four year old grandson while kayaking. After getting confident on the water, his grandson slipped, fell into the lake with a huge splash, and came up dying with laughter. In that moment was a profound spiritual lesson. How many of us, when we get unexpectedly wet in life, can come up laughing?

Life is full of detours. We have a plan, a strategy, a direction, and suddenly we are stopped, redirected, or left confused in a fog. The key to navigating these moments is not rigidity, but flexibility. As we trust in the Lord, our God, we can learn to dance with the detours. He promises to take hold of our right hand and guide us, reminding us not to fear, because He will help us. This is the promise that anchors us when our own plans fall apart.

Has your life gone exactly like you thought it would? For most of us, the honest answer is no. Our lives are full of unexpected turns, delays, and detours. We plan our steps, but we must also learn to wrestle with the stops. As believers, we need to build a biblical framework for when curveballs are thrown our way, so we can navigate them with confidence and make sense of it all.

The great theologian Arthur Pierson once found himself in the study of George Mueller, a man renowned for his faith. Looking through Mueller’s personal Bible, Pierson came to Psalm 37:23, which says, “The steps of a godly man are ordered by the Lord.” In the margin, Mueller had written, “And the stops too.” This profound insight reminds us that God is not only in our forward motion but also in the moments He brings us to a halt. When we face a detour, we can trust the promise of Scripture: “For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you” (Isaiah 41:13).

A story is told of an old woman in Scotland who would travel between villages selling thread. Whenever she came to a fork in the road, she would toss a stick into the air and follow whichever path it pointed to upon landing. One day, a traveler saw her repeatedly tossing the stick, picking it up, and tossing it again. When asked what she was doing, she replied, “I am trying to figure out which road to take. This one over here looks very rough. I don’t want to go down that road. And so I am throwing that stick until it points in the direction that I want to go.”

This simple story reveals a profound truth about the human heart. We often say we want to be in the will of God, but what we really want is for God’s will to align with our own preferences. We want the easy path, the comfortable journey. But a life surrendered to Christ is not about bending His will to ours; it is about joyfully aligning our will with His. As Scripture shows us, God’s will is not a mystery to be solved but a truth to be embraced, leading us into a deeper and more fulfilling life in Him.