STUDIES: Goals

Goals are interesting. They only function if you do something else as well. In other words, goals do not work alone, they need your effort. God declares in his Word, in Proverbs 29;18 "Without vision the people perish".

A person who walks through life without targets, is going nowhere, they cannot be certain that they have arrived at their destination. Think carefully, your life cannot go as planned if you do not have a plan. God planned the creation of the world, the time for working and the time for resting; He taught Abraham how to make goals, He sent Jesus "in the fullness of time ", which is to say the planned time.

Targets stimulate us to move forwards, they create a sense of urgency in order to achieve them. We have to define their time limits in order to achieve them. Goals without a specific time period are just dreams. In life it is not enough just to make progress, we have achieve progress in the right direction.

Success is determined by the targets that we achieve. Establishing goals is important. However executing them is even more important. Goals are like automobiles, on their own they cannot go uphill. We have to apply force so that they can progress.

The destination of your goal might be a long way off, but the next step on the road is always well within your reach. The most important thing is to keep progressing on a daily basis. Do not preoccupy yourself with what speed you are progressing at, but concentrate on whether you are taking the right direction. You also have to have long term goals, in order that you do not become frustrated with setbacks that can be encountered in the short-term. Remember: A target achieved, is the starting point of setting future goals.

The Apostle Paul was a specialist in establishing and reaching goals. We should do as he advised in Philippians 3:13 "...forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead..." So that we can make the best plan for our lives, encompassing business, family, church, etc., what is the first thing that we have to do before establishing targets?

The answer is in Proverbs 16:3 "Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established".

God is the only person who knows the future. He always desires the best for us. For this reason, we will always have 100% results when we search direction for our life in His Word. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct your paths" Proverbs 3:5-6.