Godly Goals Give You Hope to Endure
By Rick Warren
“I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize.” Philippians 3:12 (CEV)
Yesterday we talked about three reasons you need to set goals. Today we’re going to talk about three more reasons why goal setting is so important that even Jesus set goals for himself.
Set goals because they give you hope to keep moving and endure. Job said, “What strength do I have left that I can go on hoping? What goal do I have that I would want to prolong my life?” (Job 6:11 GW). You need a goal to keep you going.
To motivate you, a goal doesn’t have to be big. For instance, if you needed surgery, your first goal in recovery could be to sit up in bed. Then you might work toward standing up and later walking down the hallway.
Those are small goals, but they’re all important. To get from where you are to where you want to be isn’t done in one big leap. It’s many small steps. A goal doesn’t have to be big to be important. Even small goals encourage you to carry on.
Set goals because they build your character. The greatest benefit to your life will not be your accomplishments but rather what happens inside you while you’re moving toward your goal.
God is more interested in your character than your accomplishments. While you’re working on your goal, God is working on you. He is building your character, because that’s what will last for eternity.
That’s why Paul said in Philippians 3:12, “I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize” (CEV). It takes energy, effort, and purpose to reach your goal, and the result is that you become more like Christ.
Set goals because good goals will be rewarded. Proverbs 11:27 says, “If your goals are good, you will be respected” (GNT). When you give your life to a good goal, it brings honor and builds a legacy on earth. But the real reward in setting good goals is going to come in eternity.
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 9:25-26, “All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step” (NLT). Paul was a purpose driven goal setter. God wants you to be one, too, so that you can win the prize he has prepared for you in heaven.
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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