Goal Setting is a powerful process that can help you turn your dreams and ambitions into reality. Whether you want to make significant life changes or achieve smaller, more immediate objectives, setting and working towards your goals can provide direction, motivation, and a sense of accomplishment.

In this article, we’ll delve into goal setting, how to Set Goals as a Christian, the type of goals Christians should set, the biblical goal-setting principles, providing you with the tools and knowledge to set and achieve meaningful goals in your life.

What Is Goal Setting?

Goal setting is a plan to achieve a dream or an aim. The process of goal setting involves sitting down to think about your goal while putting in place a well-defined process to achieve the goal.

Why Is It Important To Set Goals?

Goal setting serves as a roadmap for your life. They clarify your goals and help you stay focused on your priorities. They give you a sense of purpose and direction, motivating you to take action and make positive changes. Without goals, you might live aimlessly, lacking the drive and determination to make meaningful progress.

A great goal setting has some qualities that make it easy to achieve; let’s go through them together.

Qualities of an Achievable Goal Setting Plan

The quality of an achievable goal-setting plan is the acronym SMART, which means

S- Specific

A great goal-setting plan must be specific. Your goals should be clear and well-defined. Rather than saying, “I want to get in shape,” a specific goal would be, “I want to lose 20 pounds in six months by exercising three times a week and following a balanced diet.”

M- Measurable

Your goal-setting plan must be measurable. You should be able to track your progress and determine when you’ve achieved your goal. For instance, if your goal is to save money, specify the amount you want to save each month.

 You should have metrics you can use to check if you are truly on track.

A-Achievable

Your goals must be achievable. Goals should be realistic and attainable. Setting an unattainable goal can lead to frustration and disappointment. Consider your current resources, skills, and circumstances when setting your goals.

R-Relevant

When setting your plans, make sure you set relevant goals. Set goals that are relevant to you and the world as a whole. Your goals should align with your values, interests, and long-term objectives. They should be meaningful to you, motivating you to stay committed.

T-Time bound

Put a time bound to your goal. Please don’t leave the duration to achieve your goal open, as it may result in a lack of fulfilment. Every goal should have a deadline. Setting a timeframe creates a sense of urgency and helps you prioritise your actions.

It is really important to set SMART goals for you to achieve them. Before we proceed, let us discus if Christians can set goals.

Should Christians set goals?

The simple answer is YES. Christians should set goals.

Many believe Christians should never set goals but rather live according to how the spirit guides them. The statement is true, but it is half the truth.

Setting goals is biblical because it helps us as believers. Let us go through some scriptures to understand what the bible says about goal setting.

Habakkuk 2:2-3, Luke 14:28-32, Proverbs 21:5

These scriptural references above clearly show that God agrees with planning and writing before setting out to achieve a goal. Setting goals and mapping out how to achieve them is not a sin. When we set goals, there are many benefits we enjoy.

Bible Characters Who Set Goals and Achieved Them

1. Nehemiah: Nehemiah, a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, set a clear goal to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Despite facing opposition and challenges, he led a successful effort to restore the city’s defences, achieving his goal through dedication and faith.

2. David: Before becoming king, David set the goal of defeating the giant Goliath, which he accomplished with unwavering faith. Later, as king, he aimed to unify the tribes of Israel and establish Jerusalem as the capital.

3. Moses: Moses aimed to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and into the Promised Land. He faced numerous trials and challenges, but his faith and determination helped him achieve this monumental goal.

4. Paul (formerly Saul): Saul aimed to persecute Christians. Still, after a transformative encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, he set a new goal to spread the Gospel to the Gentiles. He became one of the most influential figures in the early Christian church.

5. Esther: Esther’s goal was to save her people, the Jews, from destruction. She risked her life by approaching the king to intercede for her people, successfully averting a crisis through her courage and faith.

Benefits of Setting Goals

1. Goal setting helps you think deeply about what you want to achieve. It is a moment of self-reflection and self-discovery.

2. Setting goals provides clarity about what you want to achieve. It helps to narrow your focus, helping you concentrate your time, energy and resources on what truly matters.

3. Goal setting helps to measure progress and success.

4. It brings motivation and encouragement. Whenever you make progress, it boosts self-confidence.

5. It can help to acquire new skills, knowledge and experiences. This leads to personal growth.

Areas of Life to Set Goals for Christians

It is important to streamline the goals into different categories. Categorising your goals makes it easy to visualise them and put them into practice. Here are some areas of your life where you should set goals.

1. Spiritual life

It is important to set goals for our spiritual life as Christians. Our spirituality is the core of our Christianity. We must set spiritual goals to grow our faith and belief in God. It can be difficult to measure spiritual growth, but we will always know when we are making significant progress.

2. Career Path

Our career path is a very vital area of goal setting. After you have determined your career path, it is important to set goals on how to progress on the career path. 

Example: Within the next two years, I will be qualified to be promoted to senior manager in my organisation. I want to earn a promotion to the senior manager role in my current company by consistently exceeding performance metrics and taking on leadership responsibilities.”

3. Financial life

Finances are the backbone of a successful endeavour. Having a financial goal is very important for us to reach our goal successfully. If you want to pay off debts, think about how you can pay them off, or you want to save towards a goal or achieve financial freedom. Carefully consider it.

4. Education

Plan your educational path if you want to go the education route. Do you want to earn a degree, get a professional certificate, or advance your studies? Please put it in your plan.

5. Family

Family is life. Honestly, we need family to thrive on our success journey. Family can be a guide and a pillar of support when we least expect it. Have them in your plan, whether your marriage or biological family.

6. Self-Development

Self-development and personal development are at the core of our growth. Our goals should include plans to build our character, emotions, resilience, and other areas in which we are deficient.

7. Health

Health, they say, is wealth. We can only achieve our goals with good health. Health is paramount; therefore, we must plan properly to achieve good health.

You can also set goals for vacations, leisure and other social activities. It is also important because it helps relieve stress, opens our hearts to inspiration, and sharpens our creativity.

10 Tips for Goal Setting

Many resources help goal setting, but as believers, our goal-setting routine should reflect our faith and beliefs. Here are some tips to help you set your goals

1. Know God’s plan for your life. You need to know the plans of Good for your life because it helps you tailor your plans to fit the plans of God for you. Planning without God can lead to frustration and wasted time.

2. Another key thing to do is to have a retreat accompanied by prayer and fasting. Retreats are a good way to be alone, reflect, and seek the face of God before you do anything you want to do.

3. Write down what your lifetime achievement is. I want to emphasise the importance of writing your plans down. We live in a time when writing is seen as an old way of doing things, but writing is a powerful way of communicating your thoughts. Get a journal for this purpose and write each plan out in detail.

Why did God create you?

What he wants to achieve through you?

4. Break down your plan into small timelines, like 1, 5 or 10 years. Examine the whole plan and break it into smaller time durations; doing this will help you follow the plan and prevent the plan from looking impossible to you.

5. Create a vision board

A vision board is a great way to remind yourself of your plans daily. Note your smaller plans and put them on your vision board; when you achieve a goal, remove it from the vision board and replace it with the new goal. Cultivate a habit of visiting your vision board daily.

6. Get an accountability partner. You must have someone who can help you keep track.

7. Set a realistic timeline for each goal. Don’t try to burden yourself by setting timelines that may be unrealistic.

8. Be positive about realising your plans. I understand that it can sometimes be difficult to believe in yourself; believe in yourself and be positive about your success.

9. Access the obstacles to your goals and prepare for them. We will always face obstacles in life even when we have a clear line of action; I believe when you have thought about the obstacles before they come, you can easily overcome them. Also, prepare yourself emotionally for the obstacles that may come your way.

10. Celebrate yourself when you succeed in fulfilling any goal. Whenever you are successful in any goal, pat yourself on the back and celebrate your tenacity.

Overcoming Challenges in Goal Setting

As I stated earlier, some challenges may make achieving your goals difficult. In this section, I will explain some challenges and how to overcome them.

1. Procrastination

Procrastination is a common barrier to goal achievement. Combat it by breaking your goals into smaller, manageable tasks, and use time management techniques to stay on track.

 2. Lack of Motivation

We sometimes need more motivation to achieve our goals. To maintain motivation, regularly remind yourself why your goals are important. Visualise your success and the benefits you’ll gain from achieving your goals.

 3. Fear of Failure

Fear of failure can paralyse you. Remember that setbacks are a natural part of the goal-setting process. Instead of fearing failure, view it as an opportunity to learn and grow. The true meaning of failure is never to try at all.

 4. Setting Unrealistic Goals

Setting overly ambitious goals can set you up for disappointment. Ensure your goals are achievable within your current circumstances and resources.

5. Laziness and complacency

Laziness prevents us from achieving our goals. Complacency also breeds comfort. We sometimes become very comfortable with a particular position and do not see the need to move on. Laziness and complacency can destroy a man’s goals.

Frequently asked questions

In this article section, I will be answering some common questions I have received about goal setting. If you have more questions, kindly ask in the comment section, and I’ll respond.

What is the most likely consequence of setting unrealistic goals?

The most likely consequence of setting unrealistic goals is failure to achieve the goals. The consequences also depend on the personality of the person involved. Some likely consequences include depression, low self-esteem, failure to succeed, living an unfulfilled life, poverty, self-isolation, and many more.

What is the difference between a godly goal and a godly desire?

I believe a godly goal is the goal given to you by God. They are the goals God has given you as the reason for your existence. A godly desire is a goal you’d love to achieve that is not against the will of God.

A godly goal can be to become a doctor to save lives and help them see the light of Christ, while a godly desire can be to have your hospital so that it’s easier to fulfil God’s call.

22 Inspiring Bible Verses about Setting Goals

1. Proverbs 16:3 (NIV) – “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”

2. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) – “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

3. Proverbs 19:21 (NIV) – “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

4. Philippians 3:13-14 (NIV) – “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

5. Psalm 20:4 (NIV) – “May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.”

6. Psalm 37:4 (NIV) – “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

7. Ephesians 3:20 (NIV) – “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

8. Matthew 21:22 (NIV) – “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

9. Psalm 16:3 (NIV) – “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”

10. Proverbs 3:6 (NIV) – “In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

11. Psalm 33:11 (NIV) – “But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.”

12. James 4:13-15 (NIV) – “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.'”

13. Psalm 90:17 (NIV) – “May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands.”

14. 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV) – “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

15. Habakkuk 2:2 (NIV) – “Then the Lord replied: ‘Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.'”

16. Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) – “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

17. Psalm 37:5 (NIV) – “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.”

18. Isaiah 32:8 (NIV) – “But the noble make noble plans, and by noble deeds they stand.”

19. Psalm 139:16 (NIV) – “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

20. Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV) – “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

21. Proverbs 29:18 (NIV) – “Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.”

22. Psalm 37:7 (NIV) – “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.”

Closing Thoughts

Goal setting is a godly, beneficial and empowering process that can transform your aspirations into reality. By setting SMART goals, staying motivated and overcoming challenges, you can achieve personal growth, success, and fulfilment in various areas of your life.

So, what goals will you set today to shape your brighter tomorrow?

Featured Image: Photo by Engin Akyurt