Why is it important to set goals as a christian?
It is important and very wise to set goals as it helps us to stay motivated and helps us avoid laziness. Proverbs 21:5 says "Good planning and hard work leads to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty" This reminds me of the famous quote ‘failing to plan is planning to fail’. It shows how planning and setting goals can help us be structured and leads us to prosperity. Often these are goals made for the year, for the month or even goals that we plan to achieve day to day. Having something that you can look to and tick off when it is complete, is a proven method of being productive and efficient. Without it, you would constantly be wondering “Okay, what shall I do next?”
We see throughout the Bible, in both the Old and New testament, that many people have been planning their ways and the Lord sustained them through it. Some examples include:
Noah and his plan of the ark
Apostle Paul and his plan of the missionary work
Esther and her plan to save her people
Setting goals as a Christian also produces ‘good works’. This is something that pleases God and brings glory to him: Matthew 5:13-16 Jesus says “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Whether you goal is to be fitter so you can stay healthy or it’s to spend 15 minutes with God everyday, all these are pleasing to God. This motivates and encourages us to keep on going and not give up. Setting goals as a christian, also allows us to see God's grace in His involvement in fufilling our goals. We can see from 2 Thessalonians 1:11 that his grace is enough for us so that those goals (that are pleasing to God), will be fulfilled. Faith plays a huge part in goal setting as we have faith in God to do his part as we do ours.
How to know if a goal is from you or God?
Writing down goals for the year is helpful and ambitious, however how do we actually know if it is from God? How do we know it’s not actually from our own wishful desires? When it comes to differentiating whether our goals are God driven or not, it is important to check whether our goals and visions align with the scriptures. We need to remember that the Bible is a type of “guide” which works to correct us and teach us how we should live a righteous life. In fact, Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:16 'All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.’ Paul is pointing to the fact that since the scriptures are God inspired, this means that we can use it to apply it to our very own lives as a template to ensure that we are living a biblical sound life.
Furthermore, God is always available to listen to us… so ASK HIM. Pray to Him, speak to Him, involve Him in your plans, allowing Him to have a say in your goals. Jesus promised the crowds that when they ask they will receive (Matthew 7:8) - note that we must ask first. We need to be vocal to allow ourselves to receive an answer from Him. James 1:5 reminds us that he will not withhold himself from answering you. He is not a silent God. God promises that he will indeed guide us along the best pathway for life, he will advise us and watch over us (Psalms 32:8) but in order for Him to advise us we need to ask Him and be open to listening to Him. In that, we need to trust that he will answer and lead us down the best path. Trust is essential in this situation as it allows us to not work according to our own understanding but to totally rely on God and His ability to do what He has promised us - answer when we call. As Proverbs 3:5 reminds us “Trust in the Lord with all our hearts, and do not depend on our own understanding”, we are called to trust in God with all our hearts. This emphasises that we cannot be half in and out in our faith in God, especially when it seems like the answer is taking ages to come. But instead it relies on us putting our full trust in God, even when we don’t understand God’s way or his plan. This will allow us to understand whether the goal is from us or from God.
How to align God’s will with your goals?
OK. So now we know WHY we need to set goal and we’ve understood how to know whether our goals are FROM God, but how do we ensure that our goals are aligned with God’s will?
Similar to my previous points, when it comes to aligning our goals to God’s will, we need to ensure that we involve God in ALL our plans. When you commit your goals in the hands of God, then His Will, will naturally be clear to you. When we commit our plans and actions to God, the Bible says that they WILL succeed (Proverbs 16:3). For success in our lives, we need to seek first the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33), that is putting God first before all other things. When we do this, God will give us what we need. God can and will continuously do anything with a heart that constantly says “God I am here and ready to obey you, thank you for directing me and leading me in the right direction”. It is important to be in constant prayer and conversation concerning our goals. We cannot set a goal, pray to God at the start and coast from there, we need to ensure that we are continuously connected to God through the whole journey, involving him in all the way. He is like a map. Just like when you’re on a long road trip, you don’t just check in with the map at the start, you continue to check in on the map throughout the journey to ensure that you are going in the right direction, and when you do miss the road, the map is there to guide you back on the right path, and surely that’s the same as our God, connect to HIM and he will redirect you on the right path.
As easy as following God’s will may sound, we all know that it isn’t. As we know, as humans we may become impatient waiting on God’s answer or His way may not be the route we want to take and as a result we choose to disobey and follow our own written path. This is blatant disobedience. Anything we do that is contrary to God’s will IS disobedience and is likely to result in damage and hurt. Jesus rightly said in Matthew 7:26 “But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand”, as you may understand from the picture Jesus paints, when we do not listen to God’s will, our foundation is unstable because God is not at the centre, and as a result, our plans and goals are likely to come crashing down. Your plans only truly succeed when God is at the centre, he holds it together and continues to work through it so it can work out even better than we hoped.
However, when we go against God’s will despite His warnings, he can surely get us back on track. That is the beauty of our God. Proverbs 16:9 clearly highlights that “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps”. Even when we stray so far away from God and His will, and we’ve complicated the situation, God can STILL make His will come to pass because he loves you enough to direct you in the right direction. However, isn't it easier and less time consuming if we listened to Him the first time around? Avoiding His warnings will only lead to pain and disappointment. God really just wants your heart (Deut 10:12, Hosea 6:6), and therefore as we continuously remain connected to Him, by prayer and worship, moment by moment, you will remain on the right path.
How to set goals as a Christian?
Make space for God in your plans
Amidst all the planning we have in mind, we have to take some time for God. We may be so held up in achieving those goals that we have set that we forget the person who gives us the strength to carry out our tasks. We should strive to make God a priority in our plans and ensure he is the centre of them. As it says in Proverbs 16:3 "Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established." This verse shows us that we should not depend on ourselves to carry out the tasks. The word “commit” shows us how we should fully give our plans to God and rely on Him to help us achieve those goals. Kinder puts it beautifully: “Our activities and plans (thoughts) will be no less our own for being his: only less burdensome (commit is literally ‘roll’, as in Psalm 37:5), and better made.” God should always be first in all that we do as it says in Matthew 6:33 "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well". By seeking God first and having a relationship with him, we can grow in his likeness and our goals will naturally align with his word and his will. As a result of putting God and his righteousness first, the plans that are according to His will, will be added to us
2. Remember that God is in control - His Will be done not ours
Proverbs 16:9 says ‘A man's heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.”
This ultimately reminds us that we may plan, but at the end of the day, it is God's will that will be done and not ours. When making plans it's very important to surrender it to God, and remember as it says in Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
God's plans for us are way better than the ones that we have made for ourselves because he is an omniscient God. The Bible reminds us in Jeremiah 29:11 about God's plans for us: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” By remembering that God is ultimately in control, it helps us rest and fully depend on Him. This helps us to remember that although you may set the best goals and plan it out perfectly, sometimes it may just not work out. The verse above helps us understand that even if it doesn't work out, it's okay because God’s plan is bigger and better than ours.
Don’t forget to set some spiritual goals
This is something that we may often forget to do, but these are just as important as setting goals for our daily living. Spiritual goals are goals we set to get closer to God.
Some examples of spiritual goals:
Spending time with God daily
Getting involved in your church/community
Making a Bible study group
Evangelism
Identifying and using your spiritual gifts
These are only examples but whatever spiritual goal you set, remember that God sees your heart and your efforts to grow in his kingdom.
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