How Can We Master Goal Setting with God’s Purpose in Mind?

Trying to teach my young students about goal setting is a difficult process. They very much live in the here and now. It’s hard to get them to imagine the students they will become as the year progresses. They get so caught up in meeting the needs and requirements of the day that looking any further can seem overwhelming.

Do you ever feel like that? Is “I’ll think about it later” a huge part of your thought process? Is “I can barely manage the now, how am I supposed to think of setting goals for the future” included in your thinking?

In many of my life stages those comments have been common in my life. Way too often the thought process has been to just get through whatever it is. Trying to think ahead is challenging. At times I have thought I was well planned and things fell flat.

Sometimes our goals are not even looking forward. We idealize a time in our lives and make goals to get ourselves back to that. For example, wanting to get back to the same weight you were during college or having the same physical activity as in younger years.

We do tend to gravitate to what was safe and secure in the past. And yes, these are often valid goals to return to a place in our lives when we were happier or healthier, etc.

But this is frequently not the best way to let our planning go. Think of the Israelites when they were tramping in the wilderness. As they struggled to find food and water (and not trusting the God who gave them all they needed to escape Egypt’s tyranny), they complained and actually wanted to go back to Egypt where they had better food.

We want what we know, even when sometimes that isn’t the best. Why do we find our safety in the old and not always solid past? What makes us want to just go back and cover ground we already have?

The fact is, this should not be our plan. As we consider where our lives should go, we should consider dreams bigger than just what was in our past. What horizons does God have for us?

Let’s look at a few Scripture verses that help us consider how God wants us to plan and set goals:

Proverbs 16:9 – “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”

· Too often we make plans and expect God to make them all pan out; but God is no magic genie. While it is not wrong to make plans and have goals, that should be done with God’s guidance in mind as He knows what is best for us.

James 4:13-14 – “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.”

· While God does want us to be people of action, He doesn’t guarantee that our lives will take a specific path. We don’t know what the future holds but God does. We can make grand plans and goals; but without our Lord directing us they can be futile.

James 4:15 – “Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will lie and do this or that.’”

· This is how we should plan. Always seeking the Lord’s guidance helps us create goals that make the most of our future. They are not about going backwards into the past, but instead are a part of God’s grand vision for us.

Matthew 6:33 – “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

· First things first – seeking God’s kingdom first has a major impact on our planning and determining which goals we should make.

God continually reminds of His presence and His everlasting love for us. If we can move forward with faith and put fear aside, we can do great things with our Lord’s leading.

When considering faith filled goals for our lives, we should be precise and directed. A goal of reading the Bible more is not very specific and typically not very helpful or sustainable. Saying we will read one chapter each morning is much more targeted.

No goal should be ventured upon without prayerful consideration. Asking the Lord to stretch us and mold us will lead to plans and goals that have purpose and meaning, not only to ourselves, but also to those whose lives we touch.

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