Reaching Kingdom Focused Goals
How To Set Kingdom Focused Goals
By Dr. Norman Wise –Executive Director of Living Water Counseling
33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness,and all these things will be added to you. [Mat 6:33 NASB]
6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst forrighteousness, for they shall be satisfied. [Mat 5:6 NASB]
Many of us make “New Year Resolution” but we rarely keepthem or even take them all that seriously.
Some of us set goals. Mainly in for our career or business.
Few of us have ever set “Kingdom Focused Goals” in acareful, prayerful, and methodical way.
Yet, that would seem to be the first step in making thekingdom of God our first priority and having an overwhelming passion to seeGod’s will done in all aspects of our lives. Kingdom focused goals are not just “Church Goals” but impact everyaspect, relationship, and role of our lives.
A goal is something well defined that we focus our energy, time,and resources to attain. It is somethingthat we are willing to give blood, sweat, and tears to achieve. A goal is something that either we lack orwant more of in greater abundance which has abundant value to us emotionally.
We need to have “S.M.A.R.T.” Kingdom Focused Goals if we areto really seek the kingdom of God first in our lives. What is a “S.M.A.R.T.” Kingdom goal.
First a Kingdom Focused Goal has to be SPIRITUAL which meansthat it is in line with biblical teaching and that we have become convincedafter a time of prayer, careful thought, and perhaps dialogue with respectedpeople, that this specific attitude or action needs to take place and be donein our lives.
Martin Luther King Jr. shows how prayer is critical toseeking kingdom focused goals when he prayed
“Use me, God. Show me how to take who I am, who I want tobe, and what I can do, and use it for a purpose greater than myself.”
He also defined what he was attempting to do in these words.
“Our goal is to create a beloved community, and this willrequire a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change inour lives.”
Kingdom Focused Goals will take some time in prayer, readingof scriptures, journaling, and possibly discussion to be defined clearly inwriting. They have to really feel likea “mission from God” to us.
An effective Kingdom Focused Goal also has to me“MEASURABLE”. We have to define how wewill know when we actually reach it. Howwill my time be used differently, will I use my finances differently, will whatI say to people say change, and how will I determine if my attitude isdifferent? We need to find in as objectivea way as possible to determine when we have reached our Kingdom Focused Goal.
Thinking and planning are good. But what really matters isACTION. For a goal to matter we have todetermine to stop doing some things and start doing others. We have to carefully and prayerfully set up awritten plan of action that logically will help us reach our goals. This should be written down and outlined insteps so that we can really dedicate ourselves to breaking old habits andstarting new ones.
Kingdom Focused Goals also need to be REALISTIC. If we say we are going to read one book ofthe bible every day, that is not realistic. While goals must be inspiring and challenging, it is better to set attainablegoals since success in reaching goals is what motivates us to set new ones.
Finally, a Kingdom Focused Goal has to be TIME DEFINED. This means that we have to put the actionsand activities this goal requires into our calendars. Whatever does not get into our calendar willnot get done.
I challenge you to take the time to set some S.M.A.R.T.Kingdom Focused Goals this year for God’s glory, your good, and the good of themany such goals will impact in a positive way.
I am teaching a free seminar on setting Kingdom Focusedgoals on January 25th at 5:30 PM at the Lighthouse ChristianFellowship at 5:30 P.M. . I hope you canmake attend.