Are you a goal-oriented Christian woman who wants to make sure your go-getter tendencies draw you closer to God…instead of away from his plan? Then you’re in the right place.
Today, we’re answering this question: How do Christian women set Godly goals?
Our culture often encourages us to choose goals by defining our values and passions. These things matter, but they aren’t the main thing. God is the main thing. So, we need a strategy to bring God into our goal setting.
A logical way to do this by looking at the greatest commands. Jesus told us to love God with our everything, and to love others as ourselves (Matt. 22:37-40 and John 15:12-17).
If we consider these commands during goal setting, it’s easier to walk in God’s will.
Make sense, right? But how do we actually do this?
A CHRISTIAN STRATEGY FOR CHOOSING GOALS
When we created the ABIDE & FOCUS Planner, we wanted to blatantly and deliberately bring God into goal planning. So, we developed a series of questions women could ask to choose goals that:
- Honor God and His commands first
- Fit their season of life
Our goal setting framework still incorporates your values and passions. But it doesn’t encourage you to commit to any goals until you’ve prayed through a few key questions.
Here’s a peak at three of the questions we ask in our planners. We believe they can help any Christian woman take a more God-centered approach to setting and achieving goals.
#1: Will this goal help me fulfill my call to love God, others, or myself? This question helps you divide your goals into two camps:
- GROUP 1: goals that directly align with the greatest commands
- GROUP 2: goals that more directly align with your desires and interests
This doesn’t mean you pursue everything in GROUP 1 and throw out GROUP 2. It’s simply something helpful to acknowledge as you consider the next two questions.
#2: Would pursuing this goal now draw me away from God’s bigger call on my life this season? Productivity expert David Allen says, “You can do anything, but not everything.”
This is a truth that’s hard to accept, but even Scripture acknowledges it when the author of Ecclesiastes says, “There is a season for everything under heaven (3:1).”
So this question challenges us to consider, what’s best for now:
- Is this God-centered goal (GROUP 1) essential, or would it distract me from the most important things God’s calling me to do in this season?
- Would pursuing this passion now (GROUP 2) get in the way of what matters most to God?
#3: What are my motives? Are they noble, or would I pursue this out of fear, pride, or obligation?
This question is about why…why do you want to invest time and resources into this goal?
If you’re motivated by love and pure intentions, it’s the right kind of goal to pursue…in God’s timing.
If you discover you’re motives are rooted in people pleasing, controlling, image managing, or something similar, it’s time to pause. Talk with God and see how he wants to transform the goal, or transform you.
CONCLUSION
God is always available to us. We simply need to make space to seek Him.
If you’d like a structured way to pursue God, achieve goals, and change your habits…take a look at our planners. You can download a sample of our weekly spreads with links to get-started resources below:
