Luke 14:28-30 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? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
How you expect things to finish in the end will depend on how you prepare for them in the beginning. Jesus was talking about how we should prepare if we want to be his disciple and follow him. Leaving everything behind implies that we are not distracted by the cares of this world when we follow him and his commandments.
In the same breath, he explains that your ability to complete your goal of building a particular tower will depend on the amount of money you have. You cannot start plans for building a 5-story mansion when the money you have saved up can only afford a small 3-bedroom house. Set your goals in ways that will make them achievable using the resources at your disposal now.
Look at what is in your hand and set your goals with that. There are some people who fail to take their strengths into account before setting goals. They either set their targets too high or too low or end up overwhelming or underwhelming themselves.
When preparing for a long journey, you make sure you pack everything you will need for the number of days you will be there because you are going to be far away from home. You must also ensure that your vehicle is well-maintained and fueled to be able to complete the journey ahead.
“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace..
Luke 14:31-32
The key to starting a project is knowing how it will end. The key to knowing how it will end is knowing whether you are well prepared to take it on or not.
Some people are confident before an examination because they know they are well prepared for it. They try to study and cover all the syllabus necessary to ace that exam and get a mark that is close to or above excellence. When they get the mark they expect to get they say they have crushed the exam.
Gaining the confidence to take on a goal means that your goal is already achieved. Confidence in the Lord means that he has already accomplished what you wanted him to do. When you pray to God for something and you thank him already even before you have seen the results it means that you have great faith and confidence in him to be able to answer your prayer the way he wants to.
When you do not have confidence in your army’s number then you cannot proceed to war against another who is better prepared than you.
In achieving your goals, you must be confident every step of the way knowing inside you that things are going to go exactly according to how you planned. You must not have any doubts about your methods or your preparation if you want to crush your goals.
6 steps to set goals and crush them
Plan well
Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers, they succeed.
Proverbs 15:22
When you plan, do by getting good counsel. No matter what you may want to do there are others who have done it successfully in the past. Make sure you get their advice before you plan your course and start taking steps. Before you go through a dark uncharted path, you may want to ask the dwellers of that place if there are any scary things along the road that you should expect.
You do this because they may have an idea of how underprepared you might be. This will equip you with adequate knowledge for planning and cause you to go through the path with confidence and boldness. Your ability to crush your goals hinges on how good your plan is.
Your project must account for everything from preparedness to risks and contingencies. A good plan sets up a perfect finish.
Have faith to go the full distance
It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by.
Hebrews 11:7
Though you have not finished the journey, have faith that you will go through it and achieve success. Noah had faith in God and was prepared to go the full distance with him even though what the Lord told him was so foreign to him. He had never seen it rain so heavily for 40 days and 40 nights.
He must have also been skeptical when the Lord asked him to fill the ark with two of every kind of animal. How was this going to be possible? He must have asked himself this question more than a dozen times. However, he was prepared to go the distance and obey God.
When you plan and begin to prepare for your goal, do not doubt the Lord when he says he is with you. Be full of confidence knowing that once he had said you will succeed, you will actually succeed. Keep going and never doubt your faith in the one who has promised you.
Make God your Co-pilot
“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 1:6.
When you know that you are on the right path, you will always be confident in the steps you are taking toward achieving your goals. God wants you to understand that he will not give up on you so do not give up on him. It is never by your strength that you will accomplish anything because you are only a single entity.
When you walk with God, he makes sure that all things around you work together for you to prosper. As long as you walk with God he will make sure that his plans for you will be carried to completion. Make him a part of your journey always. No matter what happens, be confident in your heart that he is next to you and will help you through all you have planned to do.
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Don’t lose hope in the middle
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
Hebrew 10:35-36
During your journey there will be things happening that may be distracting you from your goal. There will be people who try to discourage or distract you from the goals ahead. You may hit some blocks that would make you feel like that’s the end of your journey.
Keep your eyes on the price and continue your journey in confidence. When it seems like all hope is lost, go back and read the promises of the Lord and reassure yourself of his goodness and mercies. Know that he will surely carry you to completion.
Don’t be discouraged by setbacks
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4
David imagined the worst thing possible for him to go through and still fear no evil because God was with him. What then should you be afraid of? There should be no setback strong enough to take you from the journey to success.
When God is with you he sustains you and restores your soul. That means that no setback should be able to hold you down. Your God is a God of victories and every good work he begins must be completed because he says so.
When the road ahead is unclear, pray for his light that guides you in darkness and he will give you a sign. Never be discouraged by anything negative that happens but keep positivity in your heart and know that the script of your journey has already been written and you are victorious.
Claim your little victories
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:57
Count your victories. There will be little victories along the way to your huge achievement. Think of them as little battles you win along the way to winning the biggest one. Every victory is a reminder of God’s hand in your life and a manifestation of his goodness to you.
Learn to count your victories one by one so that you have the courage to continue knowing that the Lord is with you every step of the way. Do not wait until you can see your big goal ahead before you celebrate. If you do that you may become impatient thinking that nothing is happening. Celebrate each milestone and thank God for how far he has brought you each day.