Is there a way to set godly goals and still be ambitious and get stuff done? Yes! Today we are going to dive into four guidelines to set godly goals.
Having ambitions and being godly are not mutually exclusive. Unfortunately, too often we see all ambition and no godliness, or the other way around.
God comes first, and is the foundation for anything we could hope to accomplish. His will for us includes things that we might label as “spiritual” such as prayer, worship, Bible study, etc. But His plan for us is to glorify Him in all areas of our life – with our health, our finances, our work and career, with our families and our relationships.
Guidelines for godly goal setting
- Know God's will through His word.
- Focus on stewardship
- Know your weak spots.
- Get in the right mindset for goal setting.
Plus, I’ve got an activity at the end to help you apply it all.
Before we dive in, be sure to check out the podcast interview I did on this topic with Niqueea (The Marketing Prophet) on her podcast, Stories, Scriptures, and Strategies. I had so much fun chatting with her, and I don’t want you to miss a minute of our conversation so be sure to check it out as an audio companion to this post.
As we look ahead to each new month, here are four guidelines to help as you set godly goals.
Know God's will through His word
There’s a lot we cannot fully comprehend about God. And there’s even more that we don’t know about the future (hello, He’s God and we are not).
However, we have Scripture! Scripture is God speaking clearly to us both about who He is and about who we should be.
Here are a few great passages to check out if you’re curious about God’s will for your life: John 15, Colossians 3, and the book of James.
The Bible isn’t just an instruction manual on how to live, but it contains so much wisdom that we can apply to our lives.
Do you have a daily quiet time where you soak up God’s word? If you’d like to build one into your morning routine, check out my post on how to build a morning routine. You can also choose a Bible reading plan so that you don’t have to make it up each day.
Knowing God’s will, knowing God Himself, is the best and most reliable guideline for setting godly goals.
Focus on stewardship
Stewardship is one of those odd words that isn’t printed very often in Scripture (you can find it in 1 Peter 4:10), but it’s definition shows up all over the place.
Here’s a general definition of stewardship:
Utilizing and managing all resources God provides for the glory of God and the betterment of His creation.
This is a little vague, however. So what does stewardship mean to you and me? Try this:
Using my time, energy, skills, relationships, and resources for God’s glory and the benefit of others.
Think about the different areas of your life and what stewardship would look like in those areas.
For example, stewarding your health might look like planning a few extra healthy meals per week. Maybe you make double for one meal and bring it to a friend or a family member.
Or your time – is there somewhere you can volunteer that serves those who have lost jobs or loved ones?
We have been blessed with so much. When you’re setting goals, consider how God is glorified through how you use what He’s given to you.
Know your own weak spots
You might be wondering what your weak spots have to do in a post about guidelines for godly goal setting…so let’s dive in.
When we start working on goals, we are almost instantly going to face resistance. Sometimes it will come from circumstances around us, or from the devil. But more often, we are our own worst enemy.
Ask yourself this: what tempts me away from God’s will? What gets in the way of me setting and pursuing godly goals?
Maybe when you make money, you seem to always want more instead of being satisfied with what you have.
Or maybe it’s the desire for others to see all your hard work and praise YOU for it? This one, pride, gets me more often than not.
Spend some time being honest with yourself about where you’re likely to stumble. Then, as you set goals, be sure to put up guardrails that help you stay in God’s will.
You might consider an accountability partner to keep you humble. Perhaps you create a plan for how you’ll react to receiving your next paycheck or signing your next client.
Whatever this looks like for you, expect resistance. Expect to be tempted away from God’s will and be alert. Making a plan ahead of time will help you keep a good lookout.
Get in the right mindset for goal setting
If you know me, you know I love mindset work.
Here’s the thing: you won’t be able to set godly goals if you’re coming at your goals only with the desire to get stuff done.
Productivity is a good reason to set goals – but it’s not good enough. It can’t carry the weight of motivation and purpose that you’ll need to carry you through the rough days of pursuing big goals.
Ask yourself this: Why am I setting goals?
To pull everything we’ve been talking about together, I’ve got an activity for you:
How to set godly goals
How do you apply these guidelines to set godly goals? Follow this process:
- Reflect. Write what you’re thankful for about the past month, and write what you’re proud of accomplishing in the last month.
- Prepare. Journal about your WHY. Why are you setting goals?
- Act. Set goals in the various areas of your life based on what you’d like to do in the month ahead.
- Analyze + Adjust. For each goal, ask “How can I pursue and accomplish this goal in a way that is glorifying to God?”
So now what?
Go forth and set godly goals!
If you want to set goals alongside other godly, courageous women, I’d love for you to join the Courage Community. We have monthly live goal setting workshops in addition to weekly trainings to help you continue to grow.
And come chat with me on social if you have any questions about goal setting!
Remember that whatever you do, do it for God’s glory and for your growth.
Stay courageous!
