A Christian’s goal setting should differ from anyone else’s. Most people’s thoughts turn to their New Year’s resolutions at this time of year. Resolutions are just goals.
Most people set goals that are based on their happiness. They aim their goals at getting more money, power, or recognition. These are goals intended to create a life that makes them happy.
Happiness is Not the Goal
As Christians, our goals should not be based on happiness. That is too small of a goal for people that have an eternal perspective.
Happiness is an emotion based on current circumstances. Emotions are too fragile of a thing to base goals upon. The minute circumstances change from good to bad, the goal becomes unattainable.
If not happiness, what should the goal be for Christians? What will last for a lifetime? Even better, what will last for eternity?s Christians, we have eternal life. Therefore, our goal should be eternal as well.
Christian Goal Setting for Eternal Rewards
King Solomon gives us the answer to the eternal goal for Christians.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight. Don’t be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. This will be healing for your body and strengthening for your bones. Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest; then your barns will be completely filled, and your vats will overflow with new wine. (Proverbs 3:5–10 CSB)
As Christians, our goal is to build an unshakable trust in the Lord. A trust so complete tests, trials, or persecution can’t shake it.
An unshakable trust means to have complete trust, confidence, and reliance on the Lord. Complete means in everything and every aspect.
Therefore, there should be no aspect of our lives we don’t have complete trust, confidence, and reliance on the Lord. This includes our spiritual, emotional, mental, social, family, and work lives.
It also answers the questions we have concerning our Christian life. It covers our prosperity, health, evangelism, worship, and any other aspect of being a Christian.
The best aspect of this eternal goal is it carries significant benefits for our current life on earth.
Three Important Byproducts of Unshakable Trust in the Lord
Three important byproducts come from the effort of building unshakable trust in the Lord. They are the three things every human being seeks for their life.
- Faith
- Joy
- Peace
Just think of the life-changing capabilities those three byproducts have.
Faith is what we need to please God. (see: Hebrews 11:6) It is also the power God gives us to access every one of His promises. Faith is the basis for everything we are as Christians.
Want to learn more about faith? Here are a few of my articles that will help you understand faith and how it works:
Faith As a Way of Life-Daily Living in God’s Grace
What Is Your Faith? Discovering You Have the God Kind of Faith
What Are the Different Levels of Faith (And Why They Matter)
Joy is the natural byproduct of a Spirit-filled life lived in complete trust, confidence, and reliance on the Lord. Instead of happiness, you have joy. Whereas happiness depends on circumstances and is temporary, joy is permanent as a fruit of the Spirit.
Peace is the one quality everyone seeks. This includes believers and unbelievers. All of us seek peace. True peace, though, is only found by having an unshakable trust in the Lord.
How to Build an Unshakable Trust in the Lord
So how do we build this unshakable trust in the Lord? The answer to this is not a difficult one. It is just a matter of doing the basics of being a Christian.
- Bible study
- Prayer
- Church attendance
- Obedience
- Endurance
And then add one more ingredient: experience. This last ingredient is the most vital one for building an unshakable trust in the Lord.
The importance of the first five steps is something I have written about many times. I weave them throughout all of my writing in one way or another. I cannot stress how vital they are for spiritual growth and building an unshakable trust in the Lord.
Bible Study
Bible study lays the foundation for knowing God’s will and for building faith. God reveals His will and promises for your life in His Word.
Remember, faith comes by hearing the Word of God. (Romans 10:17) Without Bible study, there can be little or no faith. Daily Bible study is an essential practice for a Christian.
Here are some more of my articles about Bible study:
Bible Study for Beginners: The Simple Method for Young and Old
Prayer
Prayer is our daily conversation with God. Especially important is our time spent alone with God in the prayer closet. The time we spend in our prayer closet is the most important.
That is the time you put everything else to the side and focus only on God and what He wants to say.
Church Attendance
Ever since the COVID church closures, it seems more Christians are considering church attendance optional. That is not what God says about church attendance.
Not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other. (Hebrews 10:25 CSB)
We can’t encourage one another when your only church is online. A Christian apart from other Christians is like pulling a hot coal away from the fire to stand alone. That single coal will quickly become cold and lifeless.
Obedience
Obedience is another big one. As Christians, we must do whatever God instructs us to do in His Word. This is our first obligation. Our second obligation is to obey whatever He tells us to do in our private prayer time.
Obedience isn’t optional or up to our opinion. It is a requirement for every believer.
Endurance
Endurance, many Bibles use the word patience, is an important aspect of building trust in God. We must endure for God’s promises to happen in our life.
So don’t throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised. (Hebrews 10:35–36 CSB)
God’s promises will always happen if we don’t throw away our confidence and endure until they become reality. We need endurance because there is an enemy in this world fighting to stop God’s promises from happening in our life.
If we will endure, those promises will always come to pass. If we give up, they will never come to pass. Endurance is what takes us from the ordinary into the supernatural.
Experience is the Most Vital Ingredient for Christian Goal Setting
What do I mean by experience? It is all about putting your trust, confidence, and reliance on God to work. Experience happens when you trust solely in the Lord, and He does exactly what you believed He said He would do in His Word.
Each time this happens, you gain experience. Yet, just as important, each time it doesn’t happen, you also gain experience. When it happens, you know how to duplicate the experience next time. When it doesn’t happen, you then know what doesn’t work.
We gain experience every time we place our complete trust in the Lord. Each time we learn from it. As we succeed and God does what He promised, the next time is easier.
Many Christians are excellent at saying what God promises us, but never put what they say into practice. All of us need to put our complete trust in the Lord and gain the experience necessary to go through tough times.
Once you have experience in trusting God, it is easier each time you do it. You also find yourself tackling larger and larger issues to trust God for.
One Goal Accomplishes Everything
Just one goal accomplishes everything a Christian strives to be and do. Once you set the goal to completely trust the Lord, everything you want to be and do as a Christian fall neatly in place. Here is how Jesus said it:
But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. (Matthew 6:33 Classic Amplified Bible)
When we seek after the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, we are putting our complete trust in the Lord. Everything we need will be added to us once we do this.
We become evangelists, prosperous in God’s way, healthy, and full of the Holy Spirit.
I urge you this year to make the single goal of putting your complete trust in the Lord. Watch your life change as you apply that one goal to every aspect of your life.
Here are a few of my other articles that will help you in your goal setting:
New Year: Start Today To Make Your New Year Different Forever
Let Go Of The Past: You Can Forget The Past And Build A New You
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