What Does the Bible Say About Setting Goals? 11 Bible Verses About Setting Goals

One of my favorite things to help my clients with, as a money coach, is helping them dream up God-sized goals. We spend a whole session together working through how to set financial goals for their future that align with the mission and unique calling God has sent us on (more on this in a min).

However, one thing that I consistently run into is that some believers are hesitant about setting big goals. I mean those BHAGS (big, hairy, audacious goals), a phrase coined in the book, Built to Last.

Why is it that some Christians struggle with goal setting? It’s not the setting-of-goals that they fail to do, but rather, they tend to only set “safe” goals rather than GOD-SIZED goals. Could it be that they struggle with imposter syndrome? Or could it be that they are not sure what the Bible says about setting goals?

In this article, we will explore goal setting in the Bible and you will learn the answers to two major questions: 1) what does the Bible say about setting goals? And 2) what is biblical goal setting?

P.S. Don’t miss the next-step resources at the end of the article for excellent goal setting and tracking =D

Goal Setting in the Bible

There are Bible verses about practically everything. There are literally thousands of verses on money, and Bible verses on excellence. The interesting thing when it comes to goal setting in the Bible is that there seem to be verses supporting goal setting as well as supporting those who choose NOT to set goals. So what do we make of that?

Are we following scriptures when we set new year’s resolutions, or make a vision board? And what does it really mean when God’s word says he will give us the desires of our hearts in Psalm 37:4-5?

First, let’s take a look at goal setting in the Bible by reviewing the following verses about goal setting.

11 Bible Verses About Goal Setting

Proverbs 21:5 – The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty (ESV)

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? (NIV)

Philippians 3:14 – I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

Psalm 20:4 – May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. (NIV)

Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (NIV)

Habakkuk 2:2-3 – Then the Lord replied:“Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald[a] may run with it.For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. (NIV)

Psalm 33:11 – “But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” (NIV)

Proverbs 16:3 – “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” (NIV)

Proverbs 16:9 – “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” (NIV)

James 4:13-15 – Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” (ESV)

Isaiah 32:8 – But he who is noble plans noble things, and on noble things, he stands. (ESV)

Examples of Goal Setting in the Bible

There are also many practical examples of goal setting in the Bible. God inspires his followers to achieve BIG goals and sometimes goals that may seem smaller in comparison. Some of these examples include:

Noah builds an arc to save his family and the animals from the flood
Moses was called to set God’s people free from Egypt
The Israelites marched around Jericho to bring the walls down

These are just 3 of the dozens of examples of God’s people following His calling or goal setting.

On the other hand, you can also read examples of people who ignore the calling God has set for them. Like Jonah running the opposite way of Nineveh, where God asked him specifically to go. But Jonah ignores God, and he is punished for it (Read Jonah 1)

So after sifting through some of these verses about goal setting, what does the Bible say about setting goals?

What Does the Bible Say About Setting Goals?

One thing has become very evident to me after reading that Bible, and that is that if we want to bring honor to God through our work and daily lives, we need to set goals. However, I’m not talking about bucket lists, travel goals, or career moves…

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 
Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)

We shouldn’t be setting just any goals… rather, we need to be setting biblical goals. In fact, our goals should come from God himself.

“The Bible has many names for setting goals: the “call of God,” the “will of God,” “mission,” or “vision,” to name a few” says Hugh Whelchel from The Institute for Faith, Work and Economics.

We don’t exist on this planet to check off our bucket lists or climb the proverbial ladder at work. While I definitely do not think there is anything wrong with either of these things, those kinds of goals aren’t always Christ-centered goals. Rather, they are more “me” centered goals.

If you go back and think about those examples of people setting goals in the Bible, you’ll notice that each of these people assumed the goals that God had called them to in the first place. God’s goals became THEIR goals!

We see dozens of examples throughout the Bible of God directly leading people to set and pursue goals of his choosing. Goal setting itself is clearly a good thing in the eyes of God. How do we align our goals with God and his plans?

The Money Taboo a weekly faith and finance devotional with Katie Jones

Tips for Biblical Goal Setting

When setting goals as followers of Christ, we need to be focused on Him. It can be easy to set goals like, travel to Spain, visit all 50 states, become a millionaire, live next to a lake, or go skydiving. These are not bad things to pursue. However, these types of goals are simply “bucket list” type goals, desires of your heart. Fun, but typically, these goals don’t have a whole lot of Kingdom impact (not to say that they never can). We only have a little time on this earth, so I encourage you to enjoy it!

However, at the same time, these goals won’t “move the needle.” They don’t have a lot of spiritual impact. The types of goals I encourage you to set should be focused on building and expanding the Kingdom of God. Maybe God inspires you to share the Gospel with one person in each state, or to one day be able to give away $1million dollars! These might be reasons to then pursue some of the goals previously mentioned.

Another thing to be conscious of is setting goals that are only focused on doing a good deed. Like, donating $500 to your favorite ministry in one month, volunteering on the church greeting team, or handing out sandwiches to the homeless. Yes, these are godly goals, but also lack depth as well.

In order to set apart just doing “good works” from goals that align with the will of God, it is important to invite the Holy Spirit into your goal setting process. To recognize God’s will for our plans and goals, we need to lean NOT on our own understanding and trust that he will make our paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).

The next step after writing down some of your bucket list goals, I would encourage you to take the time to pray over and even journal out what BHAG is God calling you to work toward? God’s plans typically look radically different from ours and may seem almost impossible. But I believe that God does some of his best work when we are limited.

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13-14 (ESV)

Name It and Claim It

The last thought I want to share is to dispel this concept that “if we pray hard enough, and have enough faith, and even do enough hard work, God will bless us with that exact thing we prayed for.” This is a common belief among those who believe in the Prosperity Gospel.

This concept comes from verses like Psalm 37:4-5, which says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act” (ESV).

God’s plans may not always be our plans. And one thing that I have had to learn these last several years is that even if God We need to hold our goals loosely. He will take us down the right path that will ultimately lead to the best version of ourselves. That’s just how things work.

I love the reminder in Romans 8:28, that in all things God works things out for our good. Meaning, that things may seem pretty crappy, or like God isn’t there, or even like he has abandoned you all together. The Lord’s plans are always good, and he will work it out in all things, both the good and the bad stuff.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28 (NIV)

LeeAnn from Bloggers for the Kingdom, suggests that we should compare our list of goals against the fruits of the spirit to ensure they align. Do the plans of the heart belong to God?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 
Galatians 5:22-23 NIV

The most important thing is not that you make big plans, or accomplish great things. Rather the ultimate goal is that we make the Word of God known, and we share the day of Jesus Christ with those who haven’t heard.

Biblical Goal Setting Resources

Dr. Eric Zielinski shares some really helpful tips for setting goals and how to be diligent in working towards achieving them.

I also highly recommend the book Redeeming Your Time, by Jordan Raynor. This book has helped me to not only understand how to approach the setting of goals from a biblical perspective but also how to manage my time effectively to be able to accomplish them. The book is rooted in scripture and shows you how Jesus’ illustration of time management is the best way!

My favorite commitment tracking system is Todoist. It is my favorite way to ensure I am focused on the goals that God has set before me! Check out How to Use Todoist article I wrote, as well as this YouTube video I created to give you a behind-the-scenes tour of my 2 favorite time management tools (one is obviously Todoist =D).