Mood: hug me
Topic: Philippians 3:10 - 14
Verse after verse of Scripture encourages believers to trust God for their needs. Some people, including church leaders, think those passages indicate believers should not set their own goals. To them, setting goals indicates a lack of confidence in our heavenly Father. But, this interpretation fails to acknowledge trust as an important discipline and turns it into apathy.
Goal setting helps us determine where to focus our energy to accomplish the work the Lord has for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). It is also scriptural. In Genesis 6, we learn Noah built an ark with God's instruction. In chapter 24 of Genesis, Abraham sent a servant out to find a wife for his son Isaac. And in Genesis 41, Joseph stockpiled food to supply Egypt through a famine. In Philippians 3:10 - 14, the apostle Paul sought deeper knowledge of Jesus Christ.
As any of these wise men could confirm, reaching for a goal increases faith. Stretch a rubber band wide, and - when allowed to relax - it will be slightly larger. Faith works the same way. When we decide to do something that requires more resources than we have, we must depend upon God to do the work through us. And if we rely on Him for the wisdom to set right goals, then we can trust Him to enable us to achieve them.
Setting goals is the most basic step toward achieving anything worthwhile. If we are to succeed, we must be purposeful in deciding how to live. Any wise man or woman knows the only way to be sure of a goal's value is to rely on the Lord's guidance in setting it.