Christian Goals - Setting Life Goals

Setting life goals as a Christian means setting goals that are rooted in your relationship with Christ.

So we’re not talking about going after the money, cars, clothes and … err other things.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having money (and lots of it), but anything we pursue should be rooted in our pursuit of Christ.

Setting life goals is one of those activities that’ll force you to get real with yourself.

It’ll force you to ask questions like:

“What am I doing with my life?”
“What do I want from my life?”
“What’s God’s purpose for my life?”

Let’s be honest, those questions can be pretty tough to answer. And searching for those answers can be down right frustrating.

Searching for direction in life? Try Setting Life Goals

Here’s a challenge I think most of us face:

Sometimes we spend so much time with our heads down, just going through the motions of life. Once in a while when we look up, we just feel lost.

It’s a horrible feeling.

I’ve been there and I hated it, but I also appreciate the things I’ve learned in those moments.

I’ve found that setting life goals is one of those activities that can help us get back on track and regain focus and clarity.

In this post, I’m sharing some of the things I’ve discovered on:

how life goals connect to your purpose God has for your life,
1 thing you absolutely have to remember so you don’t get overwhelmed, and
3 steps to get started with setting life goals.

Ready to do this, sis? Let’s dive in.

Christian Goals: Setting life goals connected to your God-given purpose

We’re well into December and it feels like the year JUST started 2 months ago, but I digress.

There’s something about the end of the year that has a way of making you take stock of your life.

I love personal development and mindset work. But my biggest frustration is that God’s often left out of the equation.

Like how am I supposed to set goals for my life without consulting the One who created me?! Duh.

So when it comes to setting life goals as a Christian, it always helps me to remember that God has a purpose and a plan for me – I’m just discovering what it is.

God has a purpose for you

Here’s what I believe:

God’s given each of us a purpose, something we’re called to contribute to this world. As Christians, our ultimate life’s purpose is always to bring God glory.
He’s given us a unique and powerful way to show up in the world.
Our life goals are truly powerful when they connect to our purpose.

Ephesians 2:10 says…

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. ( Ephesians 2:10 )

There are countless more scriptures that point to the truth that God created each of us, including you, on purpose and with a purpose.

That purpose is the best starting point you could have for setting life goals.

Regardless, of where you are in your walk with God (or whether you have one), I recommend starting off with prayer. If you don’t know where to start, here’s a prayer you can use…

Prayer for Setting Life Goals

Dear Dad,

I thank you that before I took my first breath, you had each of my days planned. Thank you that each day, even on my worst days, you see me, know me, and you love me. I ask Lord that you continue to reveal the plans you have for my life, the purpose you’ve set before me. Cause my desires for my life to be the same as your desires for my life. As I prepare to write my goals, help me to be sensitive to your voice and to hear the Holy Spirit as He leads me. Let me always aspire to be the person you’ve called me to be and to do the work you’ve called me to do – a woman after God’s heart. I thank you in advance for hearing me and helping me.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

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Your purpose is the blueprint for your goals

God’s called each of us to be kingdom builders – to be a light in a dark world.

There are an infinite number of ways that God can choose to use each of use to live out our purpose.

Discovering my purpose is something I’ve been praying about for years. I believe that God’s calling me to encourage and inspire women to discover their identity in Christ. I grew up struggling with insecurity (and still do at times). The desire God’s given me is to help people, especially women, break free from that.

Some of my life goals are general, others relate specifically to that “purpose”… more on that shortly.

It helps me to think of my purpose as a compass that points me in a specific direction, especially for goal setting.

Why not setting life goals can be dangerous

Apparently, there’s a popular belief that Christian’s shouldn’t set goals – I never knew that until I started doing some research.

Personally, I think NOT setting goals can be dangerous for 3 main reasons. You can:

End up going wherever the wind takes you, which may be somewhere you don’t like
Run the risk of not living out your full potential,
Be one of those people who has nothing but regret at the end of their lives

You can take a look at a lot of folks in the Bible and see where God gave them these HUGE dreams and visions they pursued with passion.

I don’t know about you, but I wanna be one of those people who can look back on my life and say that I pursued every dream God gave me, to the best of my ability.

1 Question you must ask when setting life goals

I think the most important question that you can ask yourself when setting life goals is this:

Who do I want to be? What kind of person is God calling me to be?

Who you are, the kind of person you are, is the foundation for how you live your life. And at some point, who you are is going to show up in what you do.

We’ve seen sooo many examples of people who achieved a lot, but lost it all because they compromised their character to get it.

When setting life goals – ask yourself who do you want to be.

That answer will govern how you do everything else. When that answer is rooted in who God says you are and who He’s called us to be as His Children – you can’t lose.

Leave room for change

Now before we get into actually setting some goals, remember to be flexible and open to change.

God doesn’t give us all of the pieces of the puzzle at once. So you don’t know what you don’t know, until you know it. Got it?

Plus, you’re constantly growing and evolving. I’m not the same person at 31 that I was at 21. (thank God! lol)

As I grow in my relationship with God He continues to expand my understanding, which means that I’m constantly able to get clearer on my goals. It’s not an overnight thing, but it’s a process that you’ll consistently work out.

Lastly, remember that there are seasons for everything. Peter was an actual fisherman for a season, and a fisher of men for the rest of his life.

Jesus was a carpenter for a season, before he began His ministry.

Always be open to God shifting you and moving you in a different direction. Easier said than done, I know.

But God’s plan for us is always 1000x better than anything we plan for ourselves.

3 Steps to Setting life Goals

Remember:

This is a continuous and iterative process.

Don’t put pressure on yourself to get it all done. This is something I revisit frequently and it’s one of my absolute fave things to talk to God about.

Here’s a process that’s worked for me:

1. Start identifying those desires

Your Question: Remember our prayer that God would gives us His desires for our heart? Are you aware of any of the desires God’s given you? Maybe it’s something that’s been gnawing at you and you just can’t shake it. Or perhaps, it’s something you’ve always found yourself being passionate about.

One of things I’ve noticed about the dreams and visions God gives us is that:

They’re usually bigger than us
We can’t do it without Him

As you pray about and start recognizing those desires, begin writing them down.

2. Identify where you are right now

Knowing where you’re going is only half the battle, but knowing where you’re starting from is just as important.

For example, God gave me the desire to start a blog years ago which is where The Queen Life came from.

I made that one of my goals, but I had to start by being honest with myself about where I was. And trust me honey, the truth was not pretty.

I was insecure, angry at God, didn’t trust Him or His plan for me, afraid of rejection by others, had no knowledge of how to blog, or how to a market a blog, and the list goes on.

Your Question: Where are you right now? What are some of the things about your current state that can help you or hinder you from hitting your goals?

3. Map it out

Your Question: What needs to happen to get from where you are to where you’re going?

For me, there was a lot of character development God had to work out in me.

There were new practical skillsets I had to learn and am still learning (ex. SEO, Pinterest Marketing, etc).

For example, in addition to developing the habit of having daily devotions where I actually read the Bible for myself, I also bought courses online about Blogging.

Getting to this point of blogging regularly and pushing myself outside of my comfort zone came from years of personal and spiritual development.

Again, it didn’t happen overnight – it was a process. It was challenging, but I’ve learned and grown so much and I’m grateful for what’s God doing in me and through me.

Your Challenge

Setting life goals in general can be fun and scary all at the same time.

One of the things that I love about being a Christian, and setting Christian Goals (goals based in our beliefs), is we can rest in the truth that we’re not on our own.

God will often give us goals and dreams that feel impossible, but in pursuing them we learn how to rely on Him to help us.

We’ll often have to grow into our goals and dreams and God will use different experiences to develop us in Him. Those parts of the process can be challenging and frustrating.

I’ve cried many days.

I believe that when we set goals based on God’s plan for us, the journey to hitting those goals will be just as powerful as the moment we actually reach those goals.

Take some time to listed to your Heavenly Father, set some goals as He leads you, and embrace the process.