RICK WARREN

Goal Setting God’s Way

Setting
Personal Goals
by Faith

Goals give you hope to keep moving forward. They help you persevere and endure.

Even God sets goals. He has goals for planet Earth. He has goals for history. He has
goals for eternity. And you can be certain he has goals for your life!

You may have heard me say this before: When you’re going through a difficult time,
what do you do? You don’t make your home there. You don’t even camp out overnight.
You just keep going.

You do this by having a goal that goes beyond. The Bible says, “[Jesus] never lost sight
of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with
anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of
honor, right alongside God” (Hebrews 12:2 The Message). H e looked beyond the pain to
the payoff. God wants you to do this too.

But not every goal is a good goal. Some goals are selfish and unwise. So, how do you
know what kinds of goals to set? Ask yourself these three questions:
1. Will It Honor God?
When your goals cause you to trust
him more, love him more, and love
others more, it brings glory and
honor to God. These are the kinds
of goals he will bless. The Bible
says, “When you eat or drink or do
anything, always do it to honor God”
(1 Corinthians 10:31 CEV).

2. Is It Motivated by Love?
God doesn’t bless goals motivated
by greed, competition, envy, or guilt.
He honors goals set out of love: “God,
I want to do this because I love you
and want to love others.” When you
set loveless goals, you treat people as
projects, and you end up losing sight
of what matters most. That’s why God
wants you to “let love be your highest
goal” (1 Corinthians 14:1 NLT).

3. Will It Require Dependence on God?

If your goal doesn’t require faith
to achieve it, then it’s not a God-
pleasing goal. Hebrews 11:6 says,
“Without faith it is impossible
to please God” (NIV). Sheer
willpower won’t work. You need
God’s Spirit to empower you and
God’s Word to guide you.

As you think about your goals for this year, remember: Let the size of your God
determine the size of your goal. Jesus says, “According to your faith let it be done
to you” (Matthew 9:29 NIV). The depth of your faith will determine how much God
blesses and transforms your life.
What is a
FAITH Goal?

Focused
Attainable
Individual
Trackable
Heartfelt
“According to your faith let it be done to you.”
Matthew 9:29 (NIV)
God always works in your life through your faith. And a goal is a statement of faith.
That’s why you need to set goals in your life. Goals align with God’s will for you to
accomplish specific things by a certain time. So, if you don’t have a deadline, it’s
not a goal. It’s simply a wish—and wishes are a dime a dozen. Setting and achieving
goals will change your life!

A faith goal has five characteristics:

F - A faith goal is focused

That means it’s specific. It’s not vague. It’s not just a desire, whim, or wish. Your goal
is specific when you decide exactly by what date you will accomplish it.

A - A faith goal is attainable

Set goals that stretch you, so in faith you will accomplish it with God’s help.
Unrealistic goals will discourage you. An attainable goal is possible, and it’s
practical.

I - A faith goal is individual

That means it’s personal. You can’t set goals for other people because you can’t
control them. The only way you can change other people is by changing yourself.

T - A faith goal is trackable

That means you can measure it. Set a date and track your progress until you
accomplish your goal.

H - A faith goal is heartfelt

If you’re not passionate about it, don’t set it. Nothing is accomplished without
passion.
8 Steps for
Achieving
Your Goals

“Depend on the Lord in whatever you do,

and your plans will succeed.”
Proverbs 16:3 (NCV)

We know that setting goals is important because the Bible tells us Jesus set goals. In
fact, he often announced publicly his goal for the next phase of his ministry.

How do you accomplish your goals once you’ve set them? Here are eight practical
concepts that will help you take steps toward achieving your goals:
1. Put your goals on a prayer list and start
praying for them
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your
own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths
straight” (NIV).

2. Make your goals visible by putting

them someplace you’ll see every day
Proverbs 4:21 says, “Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into
your heart” (NLT).

3. Identify the barrier to your goals,

whether it’s fear, guilt, envy, or anger
Ask yourself, “Why is this goal not yet accomplished?” Proverbs 4:26 says,
“Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your
ways” (NIV).

4. Break goals down into baby steps,

making them digestible
God showed the value of taking one step at a time when he guided his people
to the Promised Land. Exodus 23:30 says, “Little by little I will drive them out
before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land”
(NIV).
5. Draw a goal ladder, and on each step,
write down one small action you can
take to reach your goal
Tell yourself, “On the first step of the ladder, I will do this. Then on the next step,
I will do that.” A goal ladder is a visual aid, showing you how to get where you
want to be.

6. Do something today
Ecclesiastes 5:4 says, “When you tell God you’ll do something, do it—now”
(The Message).

7. Ask one friend to support you

It’s better to have a partner than to do it alone. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, “Two
are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they
fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and
has not another to lift him up!” (ESV).

8. Remember that relapse is always part

of recovery
Proverbs 24:16 says, “Though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,
but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes” (NIV).
Set Your Own
Faith Goal

I want to encourage you to set one spiritual goal today. Maybe your goal is to have a
quiet time with God for 5 minutes every day for the next 30 days. You’ll talk to God
in prayer, read his Word, and let him t alk to you. That’s a faith goal.
Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern
California with campuses in major cities around the world.

He is the author of The Purpose Driven Life, which has been translated
into 90 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats.

You can listen to his daily radio broadcast at PastorRick.com.

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©2023 Rick Warren