Summary

Have you ever felt like your to-do list and God's will for your life are two completely different things? You set massive goals, but deep down you wonder: Is this what I want, or is this what He wants? In this episode of the Arise, Women of God podcast, host Tamara K. Anderson and Women Warriors of Light members Wendi Christensen and Kari Anjewierden dive into the Bible to answer one specific question: What does God say about goals?

We break down four distinct scripture-based pillars that shift goal setting from a heavy burden to a spiritual blessing. You’ll learn the "Partnership Principle" from Proverbs 16:3 and how prayer is the ultimate "starter" for any plan. We discuss the crucial difference between your own ambitions and God-given assignments, and why being willing to pivot is actually a sign of trust, not failure. Kari explains how the modern concept of a vision board is actually rooted in the book of Habakkuk, and Wendi shares a liberating perspective on being a "co-creator" that takes the pressure off your shoulders. By the end, you’ll know how to partner with God so that your thoughts and plans are finally established.

Episode Takeaways

1. The Partnership Principle: Proverbs 16:3 teaches that when we "commit our works unto the Lord," our thoughts are established. Prayer shouldn't be an afterthought; it is the "starter" that aligns our daily trajectory with God's will.
2. Doable Goals with God: Overextending ourselves leads to burnout. By including God in the planning process, we often find He simplifies our list to what is most essential, helping us set "doable goals" that focus on who we are becoming, not just what we are doing.
3. The Pivot is Biblical: Proverbs 16:9 says, "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps." When God interrupts your plans, it's not a failure; it's a divine redirection. Learning to pivot requires high trust but leads to better outcomes.
4. Write the Vision: Habakkuk 2:2 gives us the blueprint for vision boards: "Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables." Creating a visual direction is biblical, but we must let God determine how that vision comes to fruition.

Call to Action (CTA)

Are you feeling a holy nudge to start something new but are stuck in the "how"? Download our FREE Workbook: Clarifying My Calling. It helps you take these biblical principles and apply them to your specific season of life. 👉 Download the Workbook Here https://www.womenwarriorsoflight.com/offers/6c8GbbHE/checkout

Reflection Questions

1. Look at your current goals. Did you set them with God, or did you invite Him in after you made the plan?
2. Have you ever felt frustrated by a "pivot" in your life? How does seeing it as "The Lord directing your steps" (Proverbs 16:9) change your perspective?
3. Read Habakkuk 2:2. What vision has God placed in your heart that you need to "write plain" so you can run with it?
4. How does seeing yourself as a "co-creator" with God change the pressure you feel to make everything happen by your own strength?

Transcript

https://www.womenwarriorsoflight.com/blog/what-does-god-say-about-goals

Have you ever felt like your to do list and God's will for your life are two completely different things? You've set massive goals and then you wonder, hmm, is this really what I want? Or is this what he wants?

You're not the only one who's ever wondered this. Today we're going to dive into the Bible to talk about one specific question. What does God say about goals?

And we're going to look at four separate scripture principles that shift goal setting from a burden to a blessing. So by the end of this video, you'll know how to partner with God so that your thoughts and your plans are finally established. Stay tuned.

Ordinary women, extraordinary faith. When God calls, we say yes.

The Arise Women of God Podcast

Hello And welcome to the Arise Women of God podcast. I'm your host, Tamara K. Anderson.

And joining me today are two amazing women from our Women warriors of Light Advisory Board, Wendi Christensen and Kari Anjewierden. All right, and over the next few minutes, Wendi, Carrie and I are going to break down four distinct biblical pillars for your goals.

First, we're going to discuss the partnership principle as found in Proverbs. Next, we're going to talk about the difference between your own ambitions and God's given assignment.

And then we're going to talk about a vision board and how it actually is a biblical concept found in the book of Habakkuk.

Stick around until the end because Wendy will then share a perspective on being a co creator with God that completely shifts the pressure off your shoulders and, and puts the focus back on his power. So let's take a look at that first principle, the partnership principle.

And I thought I would kick it off with a verse of scripture that is in Proverbs chapter 16, verse 3. And it says this, Commit thy works unto the Lord and thy thoughts shall be established.

And I've kind of been pondering that verse a little bit as far as what does it mean to commit our works unto the Lord? And I? And to me I think of goals and, and the path that I'm walking and then it says, and thy thoughts shall be established.

I'm just going to throw that out.

There and ask, do you have any.

Thoughts on committing your work unto the Lord or setting goals with him?

When I was a young mom, I found that my days kind of just went willy nilly until I discovered that if the things that I was trying to accomplish, if I would go to God and partner with him, if I would ask his help, that changed the whole trajectory of the day every time and I learned that prayer was a very big starter for me. And I think for me now, when I'm wanting to set a goal, when I want to do something, accomplish something specific, I have to start with prayer.

I have to start with God. I have to bring him into the equation because I. I have desires and things that I want to do.

But this part that you were talking about, the thoughts, it's amazing how much better the flow of thoughts go when you bring God into the equation.

I love how Kari mentioned that prayer is the ultimate starter. But once you've prayed, how do you pick up the right goals without burning out? That's a good question.

Wende has a beautiful perspective, what she calls doable goals that keep things simple and focused.

WENDY if I try to set goals for myself and I don't include God, I overextend myself and I have huge lists and I try to do way too much. But if I include God, ironically, I find that I simplify things.

And it's not so overwhelming because I do try to also, like Carrie was saying, I try to pray. In fact, I did that more so this year than I've done every year where I prayed right before I go to set my goals.

And I don't think that we have to just wait until the new year. I think it's just the new year is a great opportunity to possibly go, hey, you know, new Year, new me.

Let's kind of look at some things and really reevaluate. But I've done it in the middle of June before, too, right? Where I'm just, like, I'm feeling the need to just refresh some goals.

But whatever it is that we choose, just to step back and include the Lord and ask him what's going to be in my best interest right now? And I like to pick certain areas that I set my goals in and what is going to be best for me in these areas.

And just try to choose one thing, because I really, truly believe in doing doable goals where you feel like, hey, I can accomplish this, I can do it. And so if I keep it simple, include the Lord, like Carrie was saying, then I feel like I'm a lot more successful in.

Because really the whole purpose of goals is looking at my life, evaluating it, and just trying to move even closer to what God wants me to do and who I want to become in that process.

Now, keeping it simple is one thing, but what happens when you're moving forward and all of a sudden God decides to change the course of your plans midstream let's take a look at the pivot. And if it is actually a sign of God's direction and not a sign of failure.

You know, as I was reading Proverbs, chapter 16, I kind of skipped down a few verses, and I found another verse that I think kind of ties in what you just said. And verse nine, it says, a man's heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps. So we've got this idea in our hearts.

The heart divides the way, but God helps us take those steps towards it.

And sometimes I think God is good about redirecting us as well, because sometimes I'll set a goal, like you said, Wendy, I've got too many things on my plate, and I'll set a goal to get all this stuff done. And God's like, nope. You know, and something will come up and I'll be like, oh, well, that does take priority.

And so the whole pattern of my day ends up shifting. And that's okay, because that's where God needs me to be.

And so I think as long as we're giving our even daily goals to God, that he can direct and help us get the things done that are most critical, most important. And sometimes those are the things on our list, and sometimes they are not the things on our list.

And I think we celebrate whether it was or it wasn't on our list. You still celebrate it, because I think God would want us to do that. He would want us to celebrate that.

Because everything that we're doing is hopefully with our mind and eye closers, you know, focused on our Savior, Jesus Christ. Hopefully the goal is I'm becoming more like him.

And sometimes it's like, at the end of the day, I might make a list of what I did accomplish because it helps me feel better, because I like to do my lists. Right.

Right.

I'm like, look what I did today. Yay for me. And I think sometimes we just need to stop and do that. I think God finds joy in us celebrating.

I love that idea of pivoting, being able to pivot on a moment's notice because we may be heading in a certain direction and we're going to be redirected. And being able to redirect, you know, a lot of my life, I felt like I had to kind of go the way that I said, set my stuff.

And, man, life works out better if I can pivot.

Being able to pivot requires a high degree of trust with God.

But he also wants us to have a clear destination in the Future Carrie shares a verse from Habakkuk that actually gives us a biblical blueprint for creating a vision for our lives.

Another scripture verse that really touches me is in Habakkuk 2 2, and it says, the Lord answered me and said, write the vision and make it plain upon tables that he may run that readeth it. And I love that because I feel like God has done that where he has.

You know, in Genesis, it talks about God created a template first and then proceeded in to create the earth.

And so I love that idea of creating a vision, a vision board, a dream board, whatever you want to call it, something that gives you some direction of where you want to head. But then the end of that, the way that I read that is, then let God direct you how that needs to come to fruition.

It may not look the way that you put it on your board, but if along the way you get some little piece of that vision, then I think you've done what God wanted you to do.

All right, ladies, once you've written this vision down, it is easy to feel the weight of making it happen kind of settle on your shoulders and feel super heavy. And that's not what God wants us to have and feel like it's all up to us. As we wrap up, Wendy's going to share how we're not solo creators.

We're actually co creators with God who already sees the end from. From the beginning.

They require hard work. But also God is a God of creation. And stepping back and looking at how am I creating the life that I want to create.

And in that I'm kind of a co creator, I guess, with him, because I think he's wanting me to walk hand in hand with him and creating this beautiful life that I'm trying to create with all the ups and downs and the challenges that come with it, but still working on creating this beautiful life that God, I'm sure he just steps back and is like, look at what they're doing. Look at what she's creating, or they're creating as this beautiful family. But look at the outcome.

And if we can kind of step back and look at the grand scale and the outcome of what God's trying to do and what he's trying to accomplish. We can see that he's working that in us. And I'm working hand in hand with God in doing that.

I love that so much. Thank you. Wendi if you are feeling a holy nudge to start something new, but you're stuck in the how, we've created a resource specifically for you.

It is the Clarifying My Calling workbook and you can find it free on our website, Women warriors of Light.

We'll drop the link in the notes below and this amazing workbook helps you take these Biblical principles we are discussing and apply them to your life season. All right ladies, we're wrapping it up now. Just remember, God doesn't want you to just have a goal. He wants to become the co creator in your life.

If you have found these verses helpful, drop a comment in the chat below and let us know which scripture touched your heart today.

Now that you know what God says about the foundation, click the next video right here where we'll show you exactly how to set Godly goals that turns your vision into God sized reality. Until next time, may you arise. Do it God's way. God Strong.