Last Wednesday, we talked about setting goals as part of working toward a simply organized life. I thought we’d follow up with a look at Biblical keys to goal-setting along with 25 Scripture verses that can apply to goals and the hard work that goes with them. As we look at the verses, we will find that goal setting is wise, prudent and biblical.
When we apply Scripture verses to our goals, we always want to tread carefully because we need to first be sure that our goals align with God’s will for us. They should not contract the Word and character of God.
There is a difference between saying, “I want to make a million dollars so I feel rich and secure,” and applying the verses below to it vs. saying, “I want to save up 6 months of emergency fund and then work on building a responsible savings account to provide for my family.”
Whatever your goal may be, first examine it’s purpose and then look at it through these biblical keys. If we will consult the Lord before and in the midst of our goal planning, seeking His guidance, submitting to His will, I believe that we will be amazed not only at the destination of our goals, but also at the journey. Are you ready?
Biblical Keys for Goal Setting
Faith – We serve a big God who can accomplish the impossible. There is nothing He can’t do. We can believe that He journeys with us and always has our best in mind. He is trustworthy and faithful.
Humility – We never want to be in a position of demanding that things work out or that all our goals are accomplished exactly as we say. The Lord’s will always trumps our own. We need to be sure our attitude is one of humility before our holy and mighty God.
Commitment – We need to commit ourselves to the tasks at hand.
Diligence – Goals often require hard work. We need to be diligent in our effort.
Perseverance – We will face set backs and disappointments, but need to persevere through rough times. Don’t give up!
Alignment with God’s Word and Will – As we mentioned above, are we within the parameters of God’s Word and His character?
Forethought & Planning – Have we done the appropriate homework before starting our task? Have we counted the cost?
Motivation – We need to ask the hard questions. What is our goal and why? Do we have selfish motives or are we operating with a healthy heart.
25 Bible Verses To Think on When Setting Goals
2 Chronicles 15:7 “But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”
Psalm 20:4 “May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.”
Psalm 33:11 “But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.”
Psalm 37:4-5 “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him . . . .”
Psalm 118:8 “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.”
Psalm 127:1 “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.”
Proverbs 3:6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 13:16 “All who are prudent act with knowledge, but fools expose their folly.”
Proverbs 16:3 “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”
Proverbs 16:9 “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
Proverbs 19:21 “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”
Proverbs 21:5 “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”
Proverbs 24:27 “Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.”
Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is he who keeps the law.”
Isaiah 32:8 “But the noble make noble plans, and by noble deeds they stand.”
Jeremiah 17:7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.”
Habakkuk 2:2-3 “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that whoever reads it may run with it.”
Matthew 17:20 “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.'”
Luke 14:28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?”
John 6:27 “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Philippians 3:13-14 “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
Philippians 4:13 “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
Hebrews 10:35-36 “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”
Hebrews 12:1-2a “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”
James 4:13-15 “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.'”
What verse do you need to write on your bathroom mirror?
* If you are working on your big goals, a great read is Holley Gerth’s “You’re Made for a God-Sized Dream
My name is Kristen. I'm a former Wedding & Event Planner blogging about fun ways to celebrate each and every day and the special occasions of life. Here you'll find inspiration for family fun, children's activities, party planning and a faith-filled life. 
The Hebrews verses resonate with me today: confidence and keeping my eyes on the Lord! Great list of verses with a particular theme. Thanks for sharing!
What a great list of passages to focus on when setting goals! And this is so true: “If we will consult the Lord before and in the midst of our goal planning, seeking His guidance, submitting to His will, I believe that we will be amazed not only at the destination of our goals, but also at the journey.” Thanks, Kristen!
Thank you so much for compiling this inspiring list of verses. I needed scripture to share with my children’s church choir which would encourage them to work hard in our preparations to lead a worship service for the grownups. They can do their best to prepare, and the LORD will bring about His purposes through it. Blessings!
Barbara, I’m praising God that you found this helpful. What a great act of service and way to develop leadership among the children of your church. I’ll be praying for them and you, as you prepare. Thanks so much for leaving a comment. 🙂
Great article to chew over as we contemplate God’s goals for our new year! Came over from Here to Help Learning.
Blessings,
Janis
So glad to have you here Janis! I love how you mentioned God’s goals for OUR new year. How true! We are always growing.
Blessings on your New Year. ~Kristen
Thank you for this great article. I LOVE this! I am doing a series on my blog this week about goal setting and linked up to this post. It is so vital that we align our goals with the Word and this is a great list to think on as we create goals for 2015. Great work!
Hi Amy, I’m so glad you stopped by. What a difference it does make when our goals are aligned with God’s plan. Looking forward to seeing your series!
Hi Kristen, thank you so much for this article. It’s so helpful, as I was looking for scriptures that would help me give reference to goal-setting for my blog, and I came across your post.
I am so glad it was a blessing to you, Gloria. I’ll have to check out your blog. 🙂
Thanks Kristen, beautiful post. I’m entering into a new phase in my life, just being laid off from a job, and re-starting my business. It takes lots of goals and focus to make yourself stay on schedule so that you can provide for yourself and build wealth for your future generations.
It’s easy for me to get scattered, I have to constantly refocus and I need scriptures like these to pray and meditate on. So thanks for this help, you’re a blessing :-). I especially love the “confidence” scripture– it’s important to be confident in yourself when succeeding, you can stay humble and still be very very confident… Jesus was confident. Anyhow, thanks 🙂 I’ve already shared this with another.
Dear Reader,
I’m sorry to hear about your job but so very excited to hear that God is opening doors in new ventures and encouraging you with the power of His Word. I’m praying that Jesus will give you focus, clear direction and passion for each next step. He is a faithful guide! I’m continually amazed by Him and His provision. Thanks so much for your note! ~Kristen
Thanks for this compilation! I’m currently studying to take the Law School Admission Test and this read has given me a boost! Definitely sharing this!
Hi Vanisa! I am so glad this was a blessing to you. God’s words are so sweet to our spirits. I’ll be praying for you and the upcoming test…that your studies will be fruitful and that the Lord gives you clarity, peace and confidence in His work in you. Blessings!! ~Kristen
How do we know what’s God’s will and not just our plans? And most of these scriptures taken in context were about thinking and focusing on spiritual things and getting saved, how do we know God meant for them to apply to worldly things too? It seems to me the focus of the bible is to get us to share the gospel so that others can be saved too. I struggle with where the everyday human things like successful businesses and things are important to God, can you give me clarity on this?
Dawn, I am so sorry for the delayed response. With Thanksgiving last week, I lost complete track of time. Please forgive the late response.
You’ve asked an age old, tough question…knowing God’s will. Let me first answer with the premise that yes, I do believe the over-arching theme of the Bible is salvation. It is the story of God’s redemption of His people, His rescue plan for sinners through Jesus.
But I will also say that He doesn’t only care about our eternal home, He cares about the little details of our life, the choices we make as well. We were made to be in relationship with Him and so then His Word will also apply to daily living and ‘worldly things,’ as you put it.
The verses in the post aren’t just for salvation. They are for how we live now, too. Are we committing our ways to Him? Are we thinking on godly things? Are we persevering? Are we seeking Him? What is the attitude of our heart?
Recently, we had a tough decision to make for one of my kids. It had significant consequences, but neither choice was right nor wrong. There was no moral element, no clear biblical directive. It was just one of those things where you’re trying to decide what is best for the child. And let me tell you, I have never wavered so much on a decision. It was exhausting, challenging and heart-wrenching. I couldn’t look to the Bible for a clear answer, but I could take into account its principles. We prayed for direction. We prayed for peace as to the way we should go. We sought counsel. And the Lord gave us a definitive answer through two of the sources of counsel we pursued. When that happened, all questioning was wiped away. We had such peace. We knew God had led us to the right answer.
Knowing whether something is our will or God’s…I think that becomes an issue of the heart. Can we lay down what we want for what God wants? When we were delayed on building our house, I was so disappointed that I couldn’t even drive down the road the property was on. It took a few weeks before I could. And I had to lay that house down before the Lord and tell Him that if the house I had dreamed of, spent so much time and energy on was not in His will after all, so be it. I had to surrender what I wanted because I knew His plan was better. As it turned out, He gave us the house. We moved in a month ago.
And I share this because I think that in the deciding what is our will and His, there is a surrender. There is a yielding. But there is also a peace. When we are doing His will, we should have peace. Not that the journey is always easy, but there is a peace. Does that make sense?
The Bible is very practical about everyday living. I have heard it has over 2000 verses on money alone. So we can know that God indeed cares about how we live our lives during our time on earth, even down to the nitty gritty things like stewarding our money. Relationship with Him is the most important thing, ultimately a saving relationship through Jesus, but also how we walk through this life.
Dawn, thank you for your thoughtful comment. I pray this does indeed give some clarity.
In Him,
Kristen
Thanks for this collection. I was looking for such verse for a presentation I am working on for a you. Thanks to you for putting this nice sources.
God bless you.
Thanks for this collection. I was looking for such verse for a presentation I am working on for a youth. Thanks to you for putting this nice sources.
God bless you.
Thanks for this collection. I was looking for such verse for a presentation I am working on for youth. Thanks to you for putting this nice sources.
God bless you.
I’m so glad it is a blessing to you. I’ll be praying for your presentation to the youth. – Kristen
Thanks, Praise to the Lord for the technology and wisdom He gave to humans, and we can supportive for to each other for His Glory.
Thank and may the Lord richly bless you! I declare Healing upon the cracked areas of your life! In Jesus name.
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