How many of you have made New Year’s Resolutions? I quit making them years ago, because I felt I was just setting myself up for failure. I would make a resolution, and for a few weeks it would go great, and I would be proud of myself for sticking to it. But inevitably, something would happen, and I would get frustrated with my lack of consistency and I would quit. I was relying on my own strength to get it accomplished. They were usually goals I desired for myself anyway. I never thought to consult God in my goal setting. But recently I was reading through some passages of scripture about having a vision, and my opinion about goal setting has changed a bit. I want to share my thoughts with you today.
Wherever the wind blows
Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
Proverbs 29:18
Without having a vision (defined here in Proverbs 29:18 as a mental sight, or revelation from God to one’s heart/mind) people will perish (defined here as letting go, losing restraint or being empty/vacant). Think about it. If you have no goals, you are simply wandering around in life going where the wind blows, taking things as they come, with no direction. This is not how God intends for his people to live.
Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set.
Ezekiel 21:16
God has given us his word. The instruction manual for not only how we can know him, but a guideline for how to live day to day. The Bible should be the basis for how we set our goals. Our vision for life and what we want for our future should be based on God’s word.
Write it down
And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
Habakkuk 2:2
Read your Bible. Pray and seek God’s will for you in 2024. Set some goals for yourself in this new year, and write them down. Post them where you can see them. When things are written down, and in front of you, they are easier to remember. And it makes you want to achieve them so you can “check them off” when they are accomplished. Plus, at the end of the year you can look back and say “I did that!” and be motivated for the following year.
Everybody’s goals will and should be different. God speaks to each of us differently, but I am going to post a list of visions/goals and the verses that can correspond with each one, in case you want some inspiration for where to get started. I recommend praying, digging into the Bible, and making your own “vision list” for 2024. Then please come back and comment and tell us some goals you have, and desire to achieve with the Lord’s help! Happy new year.
Examples of visions for 2024
- Sharing the gospel with anyone God leads me to. (Being more obedient to God) Joshua 1:16 – “…All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go.”
- Being a better/more godly friend. Proverbs 27:17 – “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”
- Being healthier. 3 John 1:2 -“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” Proverbs 31:17 – “She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.”
- Having better control of my temper. Proverbs 15:18 – “A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.” Proverbs 16:32 – “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.”
- Becoming a better wife. Ephesians 5:33 – “Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.”
