Acts 19:21
Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.
Setting Goals
We all need to be setting goals in life, but there’s a huge difference between setting godly goals and setting goals for our own purposes. We make plans, but it is really God Who ultimately directs our steps (Prov. 16:9). We seek purposes that we think are best in our hearts, but in the end, God’s purpose will stand. The Lord even determines who the leaders should be (Joshua 7:14; 1 Cor. 14:28; Eph 4:11). Therefore, we should seek God’s will so that our plans for the future will be in alignment with His sovereign will. Setting goals is fine for the secular part of our life, but even in this area, God wants us to submit to Him. So place your goals in God’s hands, and pray for His will to be done in your life with every goal you set.
God’s Plans for Our Future
I want my goals to be godly because I know God has plans for me, as well as He does for you, and they are for our good (Jer. 29:11; 3 John 1:12). One goal I try to pray for each day, which is the immediate future, is to have a divine appointment with someone who has not yet trusted in Christ. It’s amazing–although knowing God, it shouldn’t amaze me–that God does answer this prayer and set before me an opportunity to introduce the Gospel to someone who might be in a position of turning their life over to God. I also know that God seeks to be glorified in me by what I do (Isaiah 42:8, 11), and I should not be seeking my own glory (John 7:18) because even Jesus didn’t seek His own glory alone while on earth but to glorify the Father (John 8:50). That should be our immediate goal from the moment we walk out of the house.
A Godly Goal
We can find out that God does want us to prosper and be in good health (3 John 1:2), but if you read the context of the first chapter of 3 John, you can see that John’s not talking about financial prosperity, although there is certainly nothing wrong with that. Our goals should be to glorify God, to be part of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8), to make our will what God’s will is for us, and to place our future in His sovereign hands. To seek God’s will is to seek the perfect will for our lives, even though it might seem anything but perfect at the time (Rom. 8:28). It’s a matter of trust. This doesn’t mean that we should boast about doing something or going somewhere tomorrow (James 4:13) but that we should plan as if it’s God’s will because we can’t even know what this day or the next year will hold (James 4:15). Set godly goals–write them down in a journal somewhere. Then check back in your journal to see where this wonderful journey called life is taking you.
A Closing Prayer
Great Father God, I know that You hold the future in Your hands because You know the future. My hands and my mind are incapable of knowing and doing either outside of Your will. So please give me the help I need to know what goals You would have me set and then seek to intentionally fulfill them for Your glory, and in Jesus’ name I pray.
Amen
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