Meeting Your Goals

Rise and Shine for Jesus! \O/

By Pam Iannello (my late mother) 

Are you the kind of person that sets goals for yourself?  If so, what kind?  How are you doing in meeting those goals you have set up?  Do you even think goals are important, or are you of the opinion that they really aren't necessary?  For some people, everything they do is geared toward reaching their goal, and it becomes their life passion.  For others however, they seem to think that anything good that comes about is stumbled over and never really happens on purpose.  Let's look at this interesting topic today through the eyes of the apostle Paul in Phillipians 3:8-10.  Just what was his goal…

Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord:  for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:  That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.

Paul wanted to KNOW Jesus Christ, to experience sweet fellowship with Him and increased faith; he wanted to please His Savior, he wanted to be found in the righteousness of Christ rather than his own... Not only did Paul desire the PERSON of Christ and want to be made conformable to HIS image, he also wanted to know the POWER of Christ through his personal sufferings.  These are definitely some serious goals, amen?  Even as we go down to verse 14 of the same chapter, we find the total summary of his main focus in life:

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Yes, this is what the Apostle Paul diligently sought after, and he considered it a prize....  What prize do you and I seek today?  What are our goals?  Are they similar to the apostle Paul's - are they as spiritually sober, or are they just shallow, flimsy, earthly, even fleshly goals?  The reason I ask is because goals make a difference in the way we live! Think about it...  How are your goals determining your moment-by-moment choices, the way you spend your time?  This is more than a matter of just being busy...  The question is:  What are you busy about??  What good is activity without insight?? Are you setting out to KNOW Christ as seriously as the apostle Paul did?  Or are all your energies channeled in other directions?  The apostle Paul made great strides in his Christian life simply because he set proper goals and then set out to reach them.  Nothing took his eyes off meeting that goal!   Would there be anything taking your eyes off Christ today?? 

Matthew 22:36-38 (KJV)

Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Ladies, who sets your goals for you?  Are you letting the world set your goals - or the Lord?  Knowing what other people strive for puts pressure on us, amen?  Why do you do what you do??  For example, are you using all your energy to make money because you rub elbows with those that are wealthy?  Perhaps you are using all your energy to stay in shape

physically because your friends are so fit?  Maybe your flesh is craving the same percentage of attention someone you respect is receiving so you are aiming for greater recognition. In any case, then the world is setting your goals for you....  The verse I shared with you above shows what God's goal is for everyone - that we would set out to love Him with ALL our being.  He desires that this become of utmost importance to one and all, of supreme priority in our lives above all our other goals!  Is that the case in your life today?  Do you desire to know God as much as He desires you to??  Do you value your relationship with your heavenly Father?  Or do you have a lesser goal that you are striving so diligently to gain?  Will you accept God's heavenly goal for your life, or forsake it for the earthly? 

Romans 8:28 (KJV)

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

We need to follow God's goals for our lives, for in them we have protection.  When we keep clear sight of where God wants us to go, earthly pursuits will not have nearly so much of a grip on us.  We will be able to detect more readily when we are headed toward drifting off

Course…  Jesus knew where He had come from, why He was here, and what He was supposed to accomplish. He came down from heaven, not to do His own will, but the will of the Father. That determination controlled every decision He made. You see ladies, God's goals bring a godly purpose to our lives that we would otherwise not choose for ourselves.  When we don't have anything worth doing set before us, we lay around without any incentive for getting up in the morning.  Just think back to how you used to spend your

Saturday mornings after being in school all week.  Were you lying around watching cartoons like I was??  Every day, after I wake my children up in the morning, I tell them what we are going to be doing that day, what the plan is.  They can no longer lay in bed in good conscience when I have set the day's goals before them, when I have given them a purpose for getting out of bed.  It is a great motivator for getting them up! :-)  So too, when you and I remember that the Lord's goal for each of us is that we love Him with all our being, then it is we'll get up and get in the Word and spend quality time getting to know

our Savior!  Such purpose generates energy within us because goals put us to work; they encourage us to make progress.  More men fail through lack of purpose than through lack of talent.

Ladies, we have no excuse for lying around or getting off track spiritually, for God has never removed His goals, He has never altered His plan for His children, He has never removed that high calling He has for us from our lives!  It is we who have taken our eyes off the mark....

   

James 4:15 (KJV)

For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

What kind of race are you running for Christ today, dear lady?  Are you meeting those spiritual goals?  The choices you make all day, every day, will determine your answer to that question.  Goals met are simply a series of right choices.  One choice leads to another, which leads to another, which leads to another and eventually the goal is met.  Some

choices may seem less significant than others, but that is not true! Satan will try to get you to think this way, because he wants to distract you from God's goals for your life.  But you must realize you are making serious choices all the time!  The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step...  EVERY choice is important, for each one leads you either closer or further away from the goal set before you.  Choices help determine your destiny!  They can work for good, or they can work for bad.  Keep God's goals in mind by keeping His Word in mind every step of the way, no matter what you do....

1 Corinthians 10:31 (KJV)

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

I hope you are ready today to let God be the chief influence in setting all your goals!  Successful Christians are ready to singleheartedly follow after the Lord as the apostle Paul stated himself:

Phillippians 4:12 (KJV)

Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect:  BUT I FOLLOW AFTER, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Yes, the apostle Paul was ready to work  - and to suffer if necessary - in order to apprehend his goal.  Because of this attitude, he achieved the goals God placed before him.  Are you willing to work toward God's goals for your life today?  Are you ready to suffer if necessary in order to reach that high calling the Lord has for you personally?  I hope you won't be a quitter, for reaching any worthwhile goal requires perseverance.  Many Christians start out with good intentions, but never finish their race....  Good intentions don't get you to the finish line - a desire to KNOW and PLEASE the Lord does!  As we read the scriptures, we

find that Christ was not distracted with trivia in this life.  He was never in a hurry, for He knew his Father would not give a task without the time to do it. Nor was our Savior driven by crises, feeling that He must heal everyone in Israel.  He could say, "It is finished," even when many people were still bound by demons and twisted by disease.  In fact, what mattered ultimately was not the number of people healed or fed, but whether the Father’s will was being done!  In essence, Christ's clearly defined goals simplified His decisions.  You and I can simplify our decisions too when an attitude of obedience enters the daily picture!  Purpose, plan, and persevere to meet your goals – GOD’S goals for you, so that you may one day join the apostle Paul in saying:

2 Tim. 4:7 (KJV)

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

He made it!  Will you? 

God Bless,

Pam

Isaiah 60:1&2

Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello

Revised 2004