The Kind of Goals That God Blesses

In review of 1 Corinthians 9:26 it says, “I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something — not just the air.”

Bottom Line:

So I run with purpose in every step I take. I am not just shadowboxing.

What this means to me:

I should not run without first having a purpose or a goal. Without goals I have no chance of having a different experience this year than the last as the default action will always be more of the same. Establishing longer term goals will keep me from being discouraged by any short-term setbacks. Setbacks are inevitable, but the setbacks won’t slow me down as long as I’m focusing on the achievement of a goal down the road. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 9:26, “I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something — not just the air” (NCV). To keep myself from just pounding air, I should be thinking about goals for the following areas; marriage, family, work, school and spiritual development? Without specific goals, I’ll simply just coast and never end up living the life God intends for me to live. However, I need to create goals that God appreciates. As I plan my goals I need to realize that God will only bless goals that:

• Bring him honor: The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (NIV). With the right motivation, I can do everything for the glory of God.
• Are motivated by love: God is far more interested in why I’m doing something than what I’m actually doing. God won’t bless a goal established because of fear, but he will bless a goal established because of love. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 16:14, “Do everything with love” (NLT). My goal must either be an expression of love to God or to people.
• Fulfill one of his purposes for your life: God put me on Earth to do five things: bring Him pleasure, be a part of his family, become like Christ, serve Him, and share my life message. If my goals are part of fulfilling one of these purposes, God will bless them.
• Are set in faith: My goals must be big enough that they’ll take God’s help to fulfill. The Bible says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” Hebrews 11:6a (NIV).
• Are achieved by God’s power: I will not stick to my goals for this year without God’s power. It is difficult to do these on my own. The goals that really matter in life can’t be achieved without the power of God.

So as I look at the goals I’m putting together for this year I’ll want to make sure that they honor Jesus and touch on the points above.