Thank You, God, for Goals
If we were to trace gratitude back to its root, I suppose I should first thank God for reasoning. I am grateful for the ability to think, for without intellect, we wouldn’t even be able to write a gratitude journal. Then again, perhaps we wouldn’t need to—we might be hardwired to praise God instinctively. But I digress.
Today, I thank God for goals. I don’t think we do this often enough. Or, if we do, we tend to do it poorly (probably shouldn’t say we). Growing up, goals were a natural part of life. I had life goals, sports goals, academic goals, career goals—you get the picture. But at some point, I stopped thinking about goals the way I used to. Maybe I convinced myself I was too busy. Maybe you’ve done the same. But isn’t it precisely in our busiest seasons that we need goals the most?
That being said, I may be romanticizing my youth. But as I reflect on it, I realize that, without even knowing it, we did some things better. Being goal-oriented was one of them. (Or maybe that was just me.)
Don’t get me wrong—I still have goals. But I don’t write them down. I don’t check my progress. I still have life goals, career goals, church goals, and more. Maybe I no longer have sports goals, but I still desire to maintain my physical health.
This whole train of thought started because of a video I watched about the nature of goals. The speaker was asked, “Should goals be reasonable?” His answer surprised me: “No. Goals should be unreasonable.” The video ended there, with no explanation. But after reflecting on it, I’ve decided I agree. And I’ll take a moment to explain why.
If a goal is reasonable, shouldn’t we just go ahead and do it anyway? Setting unreasonable goals forces us to stretch, to grow, to change. If we truly chase after our goals, we will become better people—better Christians, better at our hobbies, better at our jobs, better in every way.
Of course, some of this comes down to semantics. I do believe that goals should be attainable. That’s likely what the speaker meant. But I also believe our goals should be bold. They should challenge us to move beyond where we are and into who we are meant to be. And if we attain a goal, it’s time to set new ones.
So today, I thank God for goals—the ones I’ve reached, the ones I’m still working toward, and the ones that push me to become more than I ever thought possible.
Full disclosure: if you’ve read this far, I need to go back to setting bold goals. So my gratitude isn’t just for goals—it’s for the reminder of the importance of trying, of growing, of walking with God. It’s part of repentance and following where God leads. Because in the end, following God is the best goal.
What goals do you have? Or if it’s been a while since you’ve thought about goals, what made you stop?
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