The Power Of Goals

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%203:12-14&version=NIV1984

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians%206:9&version=NIV1984

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+16:3&version=NIV1984

About this time of year a lot of people make resolutions.  You know, a new year, a chance to make some changes.  Perhaps you’ve already made a couple yourself.  Hopefully after 4 days you haven’t fallen off the wagon yet!  What resolutions really are is goals.  Something that you want to achieve or accomplish.

My son, Luke, who works as a salesman for a sporting company in Arizona, sets goals every year.  For his sales.  In conjunction with his boss.  His ‘goal’ period runs from July 1 to June 30.  It has been great to see him work toward his goal each year and make it.  After 5 years there he is on pace to do over a million dollars in sales.  I’m very, very proud of him.  He works hard, has a good product, and treats people well.  Always a good combination for a salesman.

The whole purpose in setting goals is that it gives us focus and direction.  As long as we keep the goal before us we know exactly what it is that we are trying to achieve.  This might sound very elementary but it is actually quite important.  A sales rep or a company without goals probably won’t do very well.  There’s something about having clearly defined goals that keeps us sharp and focused.  The same is true in our personal lives.

For the longest time I didn’t have any goals in life.  It’s probably because my parents never had any goals.  Back when I was younger their main goal was just to survive.  To feed, clothe, and put a roof over the head of us 8 children.  There was no goals to take us to Disneyland.  Or to purchase a brand new vehicle.  Or to advance in their career.  My mom was a housewife and my dad worked in assembly at an automobile plant.  So goals were never really a part of my upbringing.  For the longest time I didn’t have any goals in my life except to serve God to the best of my ability.  And to be the best husband and father that I could be.  Great goals, for sure.  But they were so long-term that it was hard to get excited about them on a daily or even a yearly basis.

Then when I went back to college at age 30 I was introduced to goal-setting.  I had to.  Just to survive.  Working 50 hours a week and going to college 4 nights a week meant that I had to be very focused.  And set obtainable goals.  Then I entered the pastorate.  And goals really became a part of my life.  I don’t think that you can be a pastor without some sort of goals.  For the church.  Or for yourself.

So each year I started making out a list of goals that I wanted to achieve.  Now you have to understand that I am 1) very ambitious 2) a perfectionist.  So I would make a list of goals that I wanted to accomplish at the church.  And for myself.  Last year my list had 156 goals.  Naturally, I only accomplished a small fraction of these.  But that’s not the point.  The point is that I got a lot more accomplished by setting so many goals than by not setting any at all.  Let me give you an example of the power of a goal.

Back in 1979 I received a copy of The Holy Spirit, by Billy Graham.  It was one of those books that I wanted to read.  But ended up on the shelf.  And never got read.  Fast forward to 2004.  I saw the book on the shelf and put it down as one of my goals for the year.  Guess what?  25 years later I finally read it.  And it was good.

I don’t know where you are in the whole resolution, goal-setting thing but I do hope that set at least several.  What are some things that you really want to get done this year?  What are some things that you just haven’t gotten around to in a while?  Write them down.  Keep the list where you can see it.  Regularly.  On more long-term goals (such as growing deeper in your relationship with God, becoming a better husband/wife/parent) break them up into smaller objectives.  Such as becoming part of a Bible Study, or attending a conference or seminar on parenting.  Or reading a book on marriage.  Or having a monthly or weekly date night with your spouse.  This way you can still maintain your focus from year-to-year while working on your long-term goal.

As always, prayer should be a part of the process.  What is God wanting you to do this year?  Write them down.  I don’t suggest that you list 150 goals.  I go way overboard.  But how about 10 or 12?  That works out to about 1 per month.  That is very doable.  Especially if you keep the goals in mind.  And ask others to keep you accountable.

So think big.  Pray hard.  Be persistent.  Who knows how much you will be able to accomplish this year?

Lord, I thank you for the focus that resolutions and goals bring to my life.  As I set goals for this coming year I ask that You would give me the energy, patience and focus I need to accomplish them.  That in so doing I will be become a better person.  That I will become more like You!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.