By Rick Warren — January 16, 2011
Have you started setting goals?
Godly goals are achieved only through God’s power. This is what makes them different from every other goal planning program on the planet. The other day I checked on the internet and found there are almost 90,000 self-help books currently available. That’s a lot of advice!
And the truth is, a lot of them give good advice. For instance, don’t hold onto your regrets. That’s good advice. Or, forgive the people who have hurt you because you are only hurting yourself with the anger. That’s good advice.
But the problem is, none of those books can do what the Bible does. None of those books can give you the power to do what they say to do. They tell you don’t hold onto that hurt, let it go. But have you ever tried to do that? It’s not easy. It takes God’s power to let it go.
So these self-help books tell you the right thing, but they can’t give you any power. Only God can do that. Only God can give you the ability to truly change.
Now let me just get personal here for a minute. How many times have you and I set some new goals at the beginning of the New Year, but then we failed to follow through on them. We tend to fail because of two things: 1) we don’t depend on God’s power and 2) we don’t get a small group or a partner to hold us accountable.
The Bible says, “You will NOT succeed by your own strength or power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord” (Zechariah 4:6 NCV) In order to make significant changes in your life – to reach the goals that lead to those significant changes – you must depend on God’s power and you must get others to partner with you.
In Proverbs we’re told, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT)
What’s the Bible saying here? First, trust the Lord with all your heart, then God becomes your spiritual partner to guide you toward your goals.
Have you started setting goals?
