4 Powerful Advantages Christians Have in Goal Setting
Imagine Consistently Achieving God-Inspired Goals
Once I realized it is very Biblical to set God-glorifying goals, my entire life changed.
I am not perfect and I still set goals that I do not achieve, but the percentages are increasing and that’s a very faith-building and encouraging experience.
Imagine
Imagine what your life would be like if you set God-directed goals and then, with His help, started achieving them one after another.
Imagine if thousands and then millions of Christians did that in every key area of their lives; how would that change them and how would it change the world?
The longer I go this path, the more I realize Christians have a far greater potential in living a goal-achieving lifestyle than anyone else. Why?
Because if we’re setting God-directed goals, and learn to take action out of an ongoing, abiding in Christ reality, then God Himself will work with us to achieve those goals.
God is a Purpose-Driven, Goal-Setting Person, and He created us to be the same.
In Isaiah 46:10b, ESV, for example, God says, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.”
In Isaiah 46:11b, ESV, He continues, “I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.”
God acts on purpose. He is committed to fulfilling His purposes.
I know we’re not God and we don’t see everything as clearly as He does or have His unlimited power. But when we’re seeking His will, realizing He has ordained purposes and works for us ahead of time (Ephesians 2:10, ESV), then we can learn to set and achieve the goals God wants us to achieve.
That is Christian advantage #1: God will give us goals and work with us to achieve them.
Advantage #2. Knowledge of how God works to fulfill His purposes and promises.
When we study the Bible, we often see principles and patterns of how God acts to accomplish His purposes: including the goals He gives us to work towards.
For example, most of the time there is a time gap between God giving a promise and its fulfillment.
When God gave Abraham the promises of blessing the earth through his descendants, giving him and his descendants the land of Israel, and that he would have a son to get all this going (Genesis 12 & 15, ESV); it would take time.
We understand that when God gives a promise in the spiritual realm; it is done. We also realize it can take time before it is accomplished in our world. Some promises take a long time before God accomplishes them.
Because we know this, we keep doing what we can, while trusting Him to fulfill the goals, the promises He gives.
Advantage #3. We have God’s words and promises.
We can set goals based on the clear promises of God, not just a fleeting thought or a desire.
Secular goal-setting often emphasizes:” If you can see it, you can be it” or “Don’t wait on divine guidance, take initiative and create the future you want. You are the captain of your ship.”
Instead of setting goals based on our ideas or dreams, we get to base our goal setting on the eternal promises and faithfulness of God.
As we ask God what He wants us to focus on during this season of life and then write those directives down. (Habakkuk 2:2, ESV), we can then look for promises that support those goals. (Often, the promise itself is the clear goal.)
When a promise stands out in our minds or “speaks to us”, we can take that as being God saying, “believe me for this” and we have the surest thing in existence to stand on: God’s holy word, His promises.
Which leads to Advantage #4. Faith in God.
The past year or so, I’ve been digging deeper into a study of how God uses His promises to accomplish His will and purposes. Also, when and how we can use those promises in our lives.
I’ve become more convinced than ever that building our lives and our goal-setting on God’s promises is the best way to go. God’s words and promises are unshakeable and He Himself watches over His word to perform it. (Isaiah 55:10–11, ESV)
God takes what He says seriously and will do whatever it takes to accomplish His promises.
I’ve seen that the #1 key in receiving God’s promises is our ongoing faith in God’s faithfulness.
Abraham and Sarah had a God-given promise to have a son, even in their old age. Having a son was a God-given goal, based on His promise.
Even though it was physically impossible, they still set that goal because God had given them that promise. But just because God gave the promise didn’t mean it would come to fruition.
The Bible says their faith played a big role in the achieving of that promise-based goal.
Romans 4:18, NASB95 tells us, “In hope against hope he believed, SO THAT he might BECOME a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken.”
Abraham didn’t just come up with a goal, he and Sarah had received that goal based on God’s promise “according to that which had been spoken (by God).”
Abraham then believed God’s promise and his BELIEVING led to his BECOMING. Believing what God says leads to us becoming what He has promised.
He believed “SO THAT” he might become what God had promised.
Romans 4:21 teaches the key to Abraham’s strong faith was this belief“and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.”
In a long season of waiting, Abraham could keep faith strong because He believed God had the ability to do what He promised.
Sarah exercised this same faith in God’s ability and faithfulness.
Hebrews 11:11, NASB95 says, “By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life SINCE SHE CONSIDERED HIM FAITHFUL WHO HAD PROMISED.”
Sarah, believing God was faithful to His promise, then received supernatural ability to conceive beyond the proper time of life.
This is so powerful. Sarah’s body was so renewed that she “received ability to conceive”. How? Because she considered God faithful to His promise.
When we unite faith in God’s promise based on God’s faithfulness to His word, we step into greater realms of goal-achieving possibilities. It’s possible to receive the ability to do what we previously could not.
God does what only He can do when we believe He is faithful to His word, to His promise.
And because we know we inherit God’s promise through faith and patience (Hebrews 6:12, ESV), we keep feeding our faith with God’s promises, praising Him for His faithfulness and power until the promise, the God-goal, comes.
These are but 4 powerful advantages God gives believers in the goal-setting and achieving process.
Let’s use these advantages to change our lives and change the world according to God’s purposes.
I’ll soon be posting more FREE resources on how to receive God’s promises and how to achieve God-inspired goals at www.TruVineMission.com. You’ll also receive regular, short words of faith-building insights from me through email.
