SETTING GOALS

SHEPHERD TO SHEEP 

SETTING GOALS 

(Phil 3:12-14) Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.  13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,  14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Sometimes it gets confusing as a Christian as to if you should set goals in life or should you just let the Lord lead you?   On the one hand you don’t want to be so goal oriented that you leave God out of your plans.  But on the other hand you feel like if you just say the Lord is going to lead you then you might feel that this is just an excuse for being lazy and never getting anywhere.  Like the saying says: If you don’t  have a target you will never reach anything in life.   

Paul was very goal oriented.  He seemed to always have a plan.   But it seemed to fit into an overall master plan he received from the Lord.  Notice how he said his life goal was to receive that prize in fulfilling his calling from the Lord.  Then from the book of Acts we see him traveling and writing and making plans to visit people and churches as all under that wide umbrella call of his service for his Lord.

So what might be that main calling on your life?  Let’s start with our relationship with Christ:  (Phil 3:10) that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.  That was Paul’s passion and that is the supreme goal of every believer in Christ.  Everything we do or pursue in life fits under that umbrella.   That helps me make decisions.  Does this pursuit in life fit into the purpose of knowing the Lord and being like Him in the world?  If it does then I can surely pray about pursuing that.  If not then I will ax that out of my life instantly as it will sidetrack me.  

Once we have established that master plan/purpose/pursuit then we are ready to dial into that specific plan God has for us and start setting goals toward that.  The Lord has a unique calling for each and every one of us.  It will be different than anybody else’s.  No need to be jealous of others and what God has called them to do.  If we pursued their calling we would be miserable.   

Moses had a calling to lead Israel out of Egypt and into the Promised Land.  God took him up to Mount Sinai and gave him the law and the commandments for Israel.  Then he gave him the blueprint  for the Tabernacle.  Here’s what God said:  (Exo 25:40) And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.  The rest of the book that is exactly what he did.  So pray about what God would have you to do in life.  Then when He shows you then go for the goals that fit under the goal of knowing Him!  And don’t get sidetracked by all the things along the way.  Stay focused and watch yourself advance in life! 

Louie