I Have Goals. Now What?

“Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me. For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.” – John 12:44-46.  

Business goals are essential to keeping a company focused on desirable outcomes, and they also help to ensure everyone is supporting the most critical priorities in the company. But goals are of little value without changing something for the better. Clearly defined business goals should lead to better performance or some type of improvement. In the same way, personal goals help us to focus on what we want to be or where we want to go with our lives. Our goals should facilitate change. Ditto for spiritual goals. But how do we that? As always, Jesus is our example.

Jesus had a short ministry; Jesus awoke to approximately 12,045 new mornings during His thirty-three years on earth. Because He had a three-year window He had to make every day count. Like you, He was met each day with numerous distractions, each calling for His attention. But He remained single-mindedly focused on His Father’s vision to redeem the world.  He was on a mission. Luke 4: 43 says, “…I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.”  It may have looked like He was just moving around from place to place, but the fact is Jesus was headed to Jerusalem. Luke says, “…As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. ( Luke 9: 51) Jesus knew where He was going and set out to get there.

Along the way, Jesus set up the structure for change. He had the habit of following teaching with action. He had the habit of adhering to His mission no matter what. And most importantly, these habits led to an effective system. Systems are the actions you set forth by habit. For instance, you can have a goal of losing weight, but the system in doing this is building a habit of developing daily healthy eating habits. If you want to improve your grades, develop the habit of studying every evening between 6 and 8. If you build the habit and system, the results will eventually come. You will more often than not, achieve your goal. 

Jesus had a mission. Teaching in public places, performing miracles, and equipping the disciples was the system He used to facilitate change. You have set some goals. What systems, what habits do you need to put in place to affect the changes you wish to make? 

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you have goals for 2020?  
2. What habits/systems do you need to put into place to achieve those goals?