How to Achieve Your Goal the Philippians Way

Posted on Jan 05, 2017 Topic : Inspirational/Devotional, Men's Christian Living, Prophecy, Women's Christian Living
Posted by : James Merritt

In recent years it’s become popular to choose one word that will inspire you for the entire year. Maybe you’ve done this and picked a word that represents for you a hope, a dream, or a goal. Or maybe you’ve set a few goals that help you to be productive and live a life pleasing to God.

Setting goals can be exhilarating, but it can also be frustrating. According to USA.gov, the top ten resolutions Americans make every New Year’s Day are:

1. Lose weight

2. Manage debt/save money

3. Get physically fit

4. Eat healthy

5. Learn something new

6. Drink less alcohol

7. Quit smoking

8. Reduce stress

9. Take a trip somewhere

10. Volunteer to help others

Though these are great resolutions, the four-out-of-five people who make them will break them.

A psychology professor at Florida State University did a study and gave two reasons why people fail to keep New Year’s resolutions: Resolutions are too general, and people make too many. “Studies suggest that willpower is a limited resource,” this professor said. “If you make too many resolutions, you won’t have enough willpower reserves to stick to all of them. It is better to make one resolution and stick to it than make five.”

Two words in Paul’s instruction make all the difference in the world: “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do… ” (Philippians 3:13, emphasis mine). One thing. Paul understood the power that comes in concentrating on just one thing.

What was the one thing Paul was seeking? “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). Paul said the key to living a productive life is to focus.

Many Christ-followers are ineffective in their Christian life and many churches are ineffective in their mission because they are involved in too many things. I can’t tell you the number of times people come to me and say, “I would like to serve in our church and go on a mission trip and share my story and be more active, but I’ve got too many irons in the fire.” Sometimes I feel like shouting, “Either pull out some of your irons, or put out the fire!”

Concentration is the secret of power. A river that flows in one direction and one direction only can become a tremendous source of electric energy. If you can take light and concentrate it and its power, you can make a laser that can cut through steel.

The key, then, is to make sure that you set at least one goal that is right. Take a few minutes to think about your goal. What’s your one thing that will make you productive and pleasing to God and the world?

Father, show me the plans you have for me. Merge my life with your purpose, that I might be pleasing to you.