Goal Setting for 2003

January, 2003

by: Justin Erickson

It is time to revisit those goals and priorities and goals that stick, unlike most New Year's resolutions. In Proverbs 14:8, Solomon says, “The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way; but the folly of fools is deceit.” The way of a man is the path of life on which he walks. Those who are considered prudent give careful “understanding" to their way of life, and apply wisdom (which comes from implementing the Word of God in the daily life) in order to achieve the purposes for which God has made them. In this study, you will learn 10 steps to effective life planning, which if you take will instill in you the pathway of a successful Christian walk.

Study What The Bible Says About Goals And Planning.

Give careful attention to the kinds of things that the Bible says we are to plan for, how we are to plan, how we are not to plan (Proverbs 6:18; 15:22; 15:26; 16:1,3,9; 19:21; 20:18; 21:5; 24:8; Ephesians 5:15-16).

Seek God's Priorities In Your Life.

Note what the following verses teach about the priorities that God wants our lives and calendars to reflect (Matthew 6:33; 22:34-40; 1 Corinthians 10:31).

Specify The Areas Of Your Life That Need Direction.

You will not see perfection in any area. After careful evaluation, you might want to select one to focus on specifically, that if you improved would result in the greatest and most permanent impact on your life, overall. It is overwhelming to try and change everything at once. Dealing with the heart sins that keep you from reaching many of your goals is a great place to start. For example, if laziness (relationship to self) is hindering your devotional life, marriage, kids, ministry, job performance, and testimony, then you would do good to all of your relationships by attacking laziness everywhere you see it, devoting that year to consistently putting laziness to death

• Relationship to God - 1 Cor. 10:31
• Relationship to Self - 1 Cor. 9:24-27
• Relationship to Home - Eph. 5:18-6:4
• Relationship to Church - 1 Cor. 12-14; Eph. 4:11-16; 1 Pet. 4:10-11
• Relationship to Work / School - Col. 3:22- 4:1; Titus 2:9-10; 1 Tim. 6:1-2; 1 Pet. 2:18
• Relationship to Lost - Matt. 28:19-20
• Relationship to Government - Rom. 13:1-7

Scrutinize Your Life In Light Of The Biblical Teaching About Each Relationship.

This will take some significant study and time to evaluate your faithfulness to the Scriptural mandates. You might plan a day away to prayerfully meditate on your life purpose and how you are doing in reaching it. With Bible in hand, examine yourself personally and honestly, noting the standard that God requires and the changes that need to be made in your life.

Set Detailed Goals For Your Life That Reflect The Biblical Mandate.

Because God's standards are clearly revealed in the Word, accompanied by the help we need to arrive at that standard personally, you must make those goals and means your own. One helpful way to do this is to write out how the Biblical ideal would look in your life, and then the things that are keeping you from reaching that ideal. This will help frame the long-term goals, and the short-term steps that you will need to reach them.

Survey Those Hindrances That Keep You From Accomplishing The Goals Set Forth In God's Word.

Make a list of the contributing factors that prevent you from attaining Christ-likeness in your life. Think long here because the opposite of these will likely formulate the action plans that follow in replacing the sinful attitudes and actions with the godly ones.

Strategize Detailed And Measurable Action Plans That Will Allow You To Achieve Your Goals.

These are the short-term goals you will use to reach the ultimate goals. This is where most people fall short. The ideal is clear, but the daily, practical steps must be clearly planned out as well. To determine these, it is important to reduce the ultimate goal to its parts, and then reduce each part to its bare minimum.

Schedule Your Priorities, Goals, And Action Plans Into Your Life.

Now that you know what the Lord expects of you, where you are in the process, and how to move ahead, you must plan it as a part of your daily life. It is recommended that you take a blank schedule and place your action plans on it in the proper place according to your priorities and goals. Hopefully you now have given the proper time and attention to achieving your goals within each 24 hour period, respectively. Sometimes it is helpful to think about scheduling beyond the 7-day week. You do not have to cram everything you do in one week, and most often many of the things we need to do can be relegated to once every other week, once a month, etc. This might help you not to spread yourself thin. For example, you can devote yourself to learning how to more effectively use the Bible program on your computer, so instead of carving out 30 minutes a week, you can devote an hour and a half every three weeks, etc. Remember, your schedule is meant to serve you; you are not to be a slave to it. If your schedule is a slave driver and you feel like you are in bondage, something is wrong - go back and retool. No schedule is perfect. You must be flexible to allow for the unexpected and make all necessary revisions as needed. One tip is to photocopy your schedule and weekly mark in red areas where you deviated and why, with someone holding you accountable to keeping your schedule. This will help you to see what “little foxes" are ruining your vineyard. You also can guard against nickel-and-diming your time away.

Stick With Your Plan And Follow Through To The End.

This is the most difficult part because it takes the most time and requires the most effort. Many plan well but few live well, because they do not make the goals and plans to be a part of the life. If you are to fulfill God's purpose for you, then blood, sweat, and tears energized by the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:12-13; Phil. 2:12-13; Heb. 12:4) in the process of sanctification will eventually lead you to victory.

Sharpen Your Life By Reviewing Your Goals And Making New Ones.

Be sure that you make a habit of revisiting the goals you have set and the progress you are making at accomplishing them. Do this often. Once you have seen improvement in the area you are working on, move to other relationships and goals.