Christmas has passed and it’s time to start thinking about what the new year will bring, so I wanted to help you think through setting godly goals for the new year with my biblical goal setting worksheet! I know for many, setting goals for the new year can seem overwhelming, while for others it is an exciting process to spend time looking back on the past year and planning for the future. My aim for this worksheet is to meet you somewhere in the middle, recognizing that God does indeed call us to pursue growth while fully depending on Him to work as we go.
This goals worksheet isn’t meant to build ourselves up to greatness, but it is meant to guide you into God’s priorities and humbly come before Him as you pursue godliness in the future for His glory. Then in light of that, the goal of this biblical goal setting worksheet is to look back in thankfulness on all God has done in the past year, and then finally to look towards goals for the upcoming year from a biblical mindset. My prayer is that as we approach goal setting as a christian, that we will do so with humility and a desire to love God and love others more deeply in all that we do, and to pray intentionally about what this looks like in our everyday lives.
Before we get into the worksheet, lets first have a look at what God has to say about goal setting.
What does God say about setting goals?
The Bible is filled with two very clear thoughts on growth: We are fully dependent on God to change us, while at the same time we are called to pursue righteousness with everything we’ve got. There is often a tension for us between the two at different points in our lives. Sometimes we are resting fully in God’s work He has done for us and in us through Christ, fully focused on how incapable we are to do anything good without Christ’s work in us. Other times, we are so focused on the commands to pursue godliness that we get legalistic, controlling, and forget that it is in fact God who changes hearts.
God calls us to be both responsible for growth in these areas as we pursue righteousness, but also dependent on His strength and grace to carry us, transform us, and make us like Christ. I love how Titus 2 addresses this and so beautifully ties these two things together:
“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” Titus 2:11-14
So, the first thing we must do as we look at setting goals for the new year is to remember that it is God who does the changing. It is only through Christ’s work on our behalf and the work of the Holy Spirit in us that change happens. He is the One that gives us a new heart and a new spirit. He is the One who makes us holy and has called us His child. Nothing that we can work toward or do will change that or earn that. It is Christ who has done that for us. Setting goals is never about earning favor with God because Christ has already made the way for us.
Secondly, we must recognize our motivation for setting goals: it is out of the overflow of this standing before God as His people that we desire change and growth. God does in fact call us to “say no to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” as we saw in the Titus 2 passage, but it is from the overflow of God’s grace and salvation given to us that He works this out in us and gives us this desire. As His people, we are called to love God and love others as Christ has loved us, to pursue righteousness, and to be eager to do what is good BECAUSE of the goodness and grace of God. This is our motivation. It is for God’s glory and fame in all the earth, not our own!
Lastly, God’s mercies are new every morning! Though we often make goals and fail to keep them, God is faithful ALWAYS and His mercies are new every morning. We are not chained to our goals. As we set about making plans and dreams, we do so with open hands knowing that our sovereign and good God has the greatest plans for His glory. We do so knowing that when we fail to keep our goals, His mercy and grace will be new to us each day as we continue to faithfully walk with Him. I praise God that though we make our plans and often fall short, God’s mercies are new every morning to start each day afresh with Him as we grow in His likeness, by His power and for His glory!
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentation 3:22-23
With that being said, let’s have a look at what’s in the biblical goal setting worksheet…
What you will find in the Biblical Goal Setting Worksheet:
God’s Priorities- Bible Verses About Goals:
This worksheet will first walk you through some of God’s priorities for every believer and get your desires in line with God’s desires before beginning to think through any goals for the new year. My prayer is for God to guide you to have a heart that desires to honor God above all else, to love others, and to set biblical goals that grow you deeper in your intimacy with Him. This list of verses will first root you in scripture and set your gaze on God’s priorities and desires for your life as you follow Him.
Looking Back on Last Year:
In the next section, you will take some time to look back on last year and evaluate how the year went in light of God’s goals and desires for you that you just read in scripture. You will be given some specific questions to think about regarding growth in love for God, others, and how your desires line up with God’s desires. Then there will be tons of space for evaluation and prayer as you think through areas of your life from the past year such as: spiritually, family/relationally, personal wellness, outreach/ministry, and passions/work. Within each of these sections, there are different specific ideas to help you process through these areas of your life more extensively.
This section ends with listing out things you are thankful for from the past year and time to praise God in prayer for how He has worked.
Looking Ahead to Next Year:
This section is nearly the same as the last, with similar questions to think through along with the same areas of life to pray and dream about for the next year. Again, as you keep those verses from the first section in mind, it will help you evaluate biblical goals for the new year as you pursue to honor God with your life and plans.
After thinking through these areas of life, there are some great heart questions to use as you look back on the goals you have set for the new year so far and lay them before the Lord.
Prayer
You’ll finish by spending some time praying over these goals, dreams, and priorities for the upcoming year, praying over God’s desires for you and asking Him to guide you towards Himself. There will be some passages to choose in order to pray specifically for your heart and love for God.
I pray this will be a helpful resource to help you to pursue God’s desires and priorities, and to help you pursue growth in loving God and loving others in the upcoming year! Who else can you bring along with you on this journey to pray with, process with, help keep you accountable, or that you might be able to encourage to be more intentional in the coming year? Please feel free to share this post if it can be an encouragement to others!
To get your free printable, fill in your details below and you will receive an email to get your Biblical Goal Setting Worksheet!
Looking for some encouragement to get you going with some of those spiritual, family, or ministry goals? Check out some of these posts and resources to help you think intentionally as you dream for next year!: {Alternatively, head to my Discipleship Resources Page or my Family Discipleship Resources Page for a whole list of amazing resources to consider as you set goals}
How To Spend Time With God in His Word : Practical steps to help you get established in the rhythm of reading the Bible daily
How To Start Praying To God : A simple tool to get you started
How To Organize Your Prayer Life + Free Printable Prayer Cards
Getting Started With Scripture Memory
5 Ways to Get Intentional Time With God Throughout the Day
Basic Discipleship Topics Resource Sheet : Help in guiding you to intentionally disciple others
How To Disciple Children: Where Do We Start? : Simple encouragements to get started!
Family Bible Time: Getting Started : Help in starting to read the Bible as a family.
Memorizing God’s Word with Kids: FREE 5-Week Plan
Traveling the World From Home with Your Kids : Helpful tools for teaching your kids about the world
Teaching Catechism to Children : A great family goal for the new year!
Hope that helps give you some ideas and gets you started thinking about how to be intentional in setting goals for the new year! Happy New Year and to God be all glory and honor and praise in the coming year!
Pingback: Bible Memory for Kids: 1 Year Plan - Raising Everyday Disciples