Setting Godly GoalsSample

Are you asking yourself: What should I do?

My guess is that you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t asking yourself that question. While there’s nothing wrong with setting goals, there are a few things we need to do first.

The Bible records that three different groups (the crowds, the tax collectors, and the soldiers) all asked John the Baptist the same question after hearing his message:

“What shall we do?” (Luke 3:10; 12; 14)

The same question that probably plagues many of us at the beginning of a new year, quarter, month, or simply just a random Monday is right here in God’s Word. 

So…who was John the Baptist and what did he say that prompted this question?

John the Baptist, the first prophet who had appeared in centuries (There are 400 years of silence between the end of Malachi and the beginning of the gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John!), had a familiar message of repentance for sin, and with it, a bold call to actually live for God.

His message is essentially summarized in Luke 3:8: “Therefore, bear fruits in keeping with repentance.”

Repentance isn’t just a prayer we pray or words we say. Our actions are supposed to show that we live differently when we live for God.

So before we try to decide what we want to accomplish in the new year, we’re going to spend the next three days examining John’s responses.

He doesn’t give the crowd a new goal to accomplish; he gives them a new way to live.

God’s way.

If we want to make this year our best year yet, we have to do something different. But that doesn’t necessarily mean a new business, a new product, or a new service.

Rather than being fiercely committed to accomplishing a certain goal, let’s first be committed to the way we work toward our goals instead.

Let’s pray:

God, I want the goals I set to reflect my love for You. Don’t let me separate the goals I set from how I live for You, but align my goals with Your mission. Open my heart to more than what I want, God. Open my heart and open my hands to do Your work. Amen.