The Pursuit Over Achievement
The following blog post is a re-written manuscript for a Sunday Teaching delivered on May 19 by Richard Brumley.
How often have you set out to achieve a goal, only to become discouraged when it doesn’t happen in your desired timeframe? We live in an instant gratification culture that conditions us to want results immediately. But true growth and lasting change rarely happen overnight.
The pastor’s message highlighted the critical difference between achieving and pursuing. Achieve implies an endpoint – once you hit that mark, you’re done. You either make it or you don’t. Pursue, on the other hand, means an ongoing process without a fixed finish line. It’s about the journey more than the destination.
He used the example of going to the gym to get bigger muscles and better health. With an achieve mindset, you have a specific goal weight or fitness level as the target. If you don’t hit those numbers in the timeframe you wanted, you get demoralized and likely quit. But a pursue mindset means just showing up consistently and putting in the work, allowing the results to come in God’s timing.
The same dichotomy applies to our spiritual lives. The Bible instructs us to “pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Holiness and peace aren’t achievements we check off a list, but lifelong pursuits flowing from our relationship with Jesus. There’s no endpoint because we’re called to continually grow in Christlikeness.
That’s where the brilliance of the pastor’s one-word swap comes in. Instead of saying “I want to achieve [x],” reframe it as “I will pursue [x].” Fill in that blank with whatever area you want to develop – faith, purity, wisdom, service, etc. Instantly, your mindset shifts from a fixed goal to an ongoing process empowered by God’s grace.
The dangers of the achieve mentality are evident in the example of Esau, who rashly traded away his priceless birthright for a single meal because he was hungry in that moment (Genesis 25:29-34). How often do we sell out our spiritual inheritance for temporary, worldly fulfillment? We want the “soup” of pleasure, comfort, status or wealth right now at the expense of eternal purposes.
In contrast, a pursue mindset means taking the long obedient road. It’s waking up every day setting our minds on Christ and taking incremental steps toward Him. It’s replacing the question “Am I there yet?” with “How can I move a little closer today?”. It’s embracing progress over perfection, trusting that we’ll get “there” eventually as we lean into God’s perfect timing.
Of course, this doesn’t mean accepting stagnancy or complacency. Pursuing still requires diligent effort, accountability, and fighting against sin and lethargy. The pastor rightly warned about letting bitterness, immorality or irreverence take root and obstruct our path. That’s why it’s vital to surround ourselves with a loving, truth-speaking spiritual community committed to keeping one another pursuing Jesus wholeheartedly.
When you change the word from achieve to pursue, everything shifts. The burden lifts because you’re no longer white-knuckling toward an ambiguous finish line, but simply taking the next obedient step in God’s power. Discouragement gives way to freedom, knowing the destination is assured as you walk with Jesus.
Your setbacks and slipups don’t disqualify you, but refocus you on God’s sustaining grace along the pursuit. The pressure of self-imposed deadlines dissipates as you realign with His eternal timetable. You’re able to celebrate the journey’s joys instead of stressing over the next accomplishment to check off.
Ultimately, pursuing Jesus is the only achievement that matters in this life. As the passage states, holiness – being set apart for Him – is the requirement for seeing God. Achievements will fade, but a lifelong pursuit of intimately knowing and reflecting Christ is what will matter for eternity.
Key Action Step: Identify one specific area where your mindset has been stuck in the “achieve” mentality. What finish line have you been fixated on reaching?
Whatever it is – a physical/financial goal, vocational success, an academic milestone, a spiritual discipline – reframe it through the lens of “pursue.” How can you take that area and shift your focus to simply taking the next faithful step toward Jesus? Write out a “pursuit plan” with practical, sustainable practices to move you forward, surrendering the timing and ultimate outcome to God. Then keep recalibrating your heart to that pursuit mindset every day.
The pursuit, not achievement, is what allows us to find true purpose, joy, and growth in Christ. As you embrace this mindset shift, may you experience the profound freedom of God’s grace fueling an endless journey into deeper intimacy with Him.