Setting Godly GoalsSample

One time, I asked a group of kids if they thought they could run a marathon. 

Write a book. 

Catch the winning touchdown of the Super Bowl. 

Beat Beyonce in a dance off. 

Almost every hand stayed up in the air for every question.

Kids think they can do anything. They dream big dreams. They don’t come to career day dressed up as a guy that sits in a cubicle. They want to be NFL players, rock stars, or president. 

But something happens as we get older, and many of us stop dreaming. 

We settle for good enough. We settle for mediocre. We settle for complacency. 

Fact: You won’t find a place in God’s Word where it says anything good about being a mediocre, complacent Christian. 

So as we move toward setting godly goals, we have to be brutally honest as we evaluate what we write down to make sure we’re actually setting goals and not just givens. 

Givens are things we can accomplish if we simply do the bare minimum. Goals require effort. And godly goals require God’s power, not merely our ambition. 

God can do more than we ask, dream, or imagine. He has no limits.

So here’s the question we must ask:

Does this goal require God, or does it just require me?

If we want our Christian life to be exciting, we must set goals for ourselves that require God to show up. 

You may not be in danger of drastically wrecking your life. But isn’t it just as tragic to think that you might be wasting it?

I love how John Piper put it in his book, Don’t Waste Your Life:

“But whatever you do, find the God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated passion of your life, and find your way to say it and live it and die for it. And you will make a difference that lasts. You will not waste your life.”

Gone are the days of givens and mere goals. Let’s dream with God as we set godly goals. 

God, thank You for being a God without limits. Forgive me when I plan my course without thinking about the role You play in my life. God, I’m here. Use me. Send Your power in ways so incredible that others will see You in my work way more than they see me. I love You. Amen.