HOW TO SET GOALS AS A CHRISTIAN

Have you had a new year’s resolution but didn’t know how to stick to it? 

Have you made a vision board in the past but didn’t achieve anything on your board?

In this blog post, I will be sharing 3 steps to how you can set goals and achieve them as a Christian following the plans that God has for you.

Let’s go!

Prayer

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

Many of us plan without consulting God first on whether the plan we have aligns with the purpose God has for us, in the season that we are in, and then we wonder why our goals are not being met. 

Start off your goal-setting with a prayer. It is important to acknowledge God in whatever we do to ensure that we are on the path that He has destined for us (Proverbs 3:5-6). 

In your prayer I want you to ask God these 3 questions:

1. What are the plans you have for me this year?
2. What desires do I have that align with the plans you have for me this year?
3. What desires do I have that do not align with the plans you have for me this year?

Once you are done praying to God, I want you to hear from God before moving on to the next step. Some of you may not know how to hear from God. Don’t worry, I have a blog post about how you can hear the voice of God. So definitely, go and check it out. 

It is essential to listen to what God has to say about the plans He has for you, and the plans that you may need to let go of and lay at His feet. Most of us make the mistake of listening to our own desires and then chasing them, without acknowledging if God was even in the midst of them. 

Don’t can disheartened if God doesn’t answer you right away. It doesn’t mean He didn’t hear you. You’ve e got to be patient and trust that God will answer you in His perfect timing.

Asking God doesn’t looking like pleading, but there is a consistency that is sometimes needed. To receive what you have asked from the Lord, you need to keep asking in faith. To find the answer to your questions from the Lord, you need keep seeking after Him – spend time in His presence daily. For God to open the door to the next step you need to take, you’ve got to keep knocking on His heart – you must be committed to following Him (Matthew 7:7-8).

Pray and hear from God, then start writing down everything the Lord has spoken to you in regard to the plans He has for you. If you want God-led goals you’ve got to make sure God is leading you.

Goal Setting

“Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.” – Habakkuk 2:2. 

When God speaks to you about a vision He has for you, it is important to write it down. Don’t think you are going to remember it all because you probably won’t. Also, you want to ensure that you are able to plan out the practical steps that you need to take, in order for the plan to become a reality. 

There are various ways to write out a plan but I will be showing you 3 ways to set out the plan God has for you.

1. SMART Goals

A SMART goal is defined by the acronym: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. It is a method used to guide you in your goal setting to ensure that they are attainable within a certain time. 

Specific

You want to make your goals as specific as possible. Specific goals are more likely to be accomplished than ambiguous goals. 

Praying the 3 questions and getting your answers from God is the best first step to take in being specific with your goals. To go a little step further ask yourself the 5 W’s.

1. Who is involved in this goal?
2. What do I want to achieve?
3. Where is this goal to be accomplished?
4. When do I want to achieve this goal?
5. Why do I want to achieve this goal?

Thinking through and answering these questions can get your heart and mind on the right track towards the plan(s) of God you are aiming for. 

Measurable

Quantifying your goals is the best way to track your progress to know whether you are on track in fulfilling God’s plan for you this season of your life. 

You need criteria or a progress tracker to measure your goals.

You can ask yourself:

1. How much/many?
2. How do I know I have reached my goal?
3. What is my indicator for progress? 

Achievable

God’s purpose for you may seem impossible but it does not mean it is not possible to attain. This is the part of goal setting where you realise how you can make the plan into goals attainable and achievable. 

The goal should be stretched to make you feel challenged but also defined well enough to be achievable. 

Ask yourself:

1. Do I have the resources and the capabilities to achieve the goal? If not, what am I missing?
2. Do I need to scale back on my goals?
3. Have others done it successfully before? What can I learn from them? 

Relevant

Here is where you think about the bigger picture, going back to the plan which God has for you. 

Ask yourself: 

1. Do the goals that I am setting align with God’s plan? 
2. Do they accommodate my values? 

Time-bound

Sometimes, we don’t accomplish the plans God has for us because when it comes down to setting out the goals to attain them there is no sense of urgency or motivation, so we give up or make little to no progress.

So every goal must have a time constraint. There should be a start and finish date.

Ask yourself:

1. When do I want to start the goal?
2. By when do I want to achieve the goal?

2. Timely Goals and Reflections 

A timely goal is where you section your goals across monthly, quarterly and yearly and after each time frame, you have a goal reflection or review to track your progress. 

This way of goal setting is perfect if the plan God has for you is a long-term plan and you need to set short-term goals to achieve it. 

3. Vision Board

A vision board is a visual representation of your goals. This is where you collect a bunch of images either from magazines or Pinterest, cut and print them out and stick them on a board such as a canvas. 

Vision boards have become such a popular way in today’s culture to “manifest” your goals, with the use of the law of attraction. However, as Christians, we know that it is the Lord’s purpose for us that prevails (Proverbs 19:21). So, although manifesting can work, the question is not necessarily does it work, but does my vision align with God’s will for my life? 

Write the Vision Plain Planner Printable

If you love these strategies for setting out your goals and you want to get started in doing so, then check out our Write the Vision Plain Planner Printable. It is a vision board and goal-setting digital planner printable to organise, plan and help you achieve your goals and vision in life in a godly-centred way. Use what you have learnt from this blog post as a guide to fill out the printable planner. 

3. Take Action

“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” – James 2:17

There is no point in asking God about the plans He has for you and setting goals to achieve them but then don’t take action to go out and make it happen. 

Faith is not a feeling but an action. So in order to show God you have faith in the plans He has set out for you, you’ve got to take the necessary physical steps to make it happen. 

God is not going to magically make it happen. He requires our obedience, faith and action: 

1. Obedience – listen and obey God’s instructions
2. Faith – believe in God’s plan
3. Action – do what He has instructed you to do

What are you waiting for? Start preparing for the new year and follow the 3 steps we have listed in this blog post. 

Don’t forget to get yourself and a friend the Write the Vision Plain Planner Printable so you can start setting and achieving the plans God has for your life. 

Stay blessed,

Divine L.