Long Range Plans vs Short Term Goals

"“35 So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! 36 Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.” Hebrews 10:35, 36

If you’ve gone on a few job interviews, I’m sure you’ve been asked about the goals for your life and career. You’ll hear questions like “What are your short term goals?” and “Where do you see yourself in the next five years?” The interviewer or human resource person will often ask questions like this because they’re interested in the interviewee’s ambitions. They want to determine whether or not the candidate or prospect has given his or her future an ample degree of thought. They know that a person who has thought about the answers to questions like the aforementioned is a person who probably has a vision for his or her life. It’s a person that is optimistic and hopeful, and they’ve set goals of which they are also confident they will accomplish. Not only does a company find a person like this desirable, but people generally want to be around someone who aspires to go higher, particularly when it comes to the spiritual things of God.

The definition of a short term goal is something you want to accomplish in the near future. Typically a short term goal doesn’t require a whole lot of vision, but it does require forethought, and the gumption to get it done. A long range plan is a little different. If it’s a really good plan, it will be well thought out and will usually include smaller steps. One might consider these smaller steps to be short term goals. People who have long range plans are usually really good at seeing the larger picture. They examine a goal from all angles, surmise what it will take to accomplish it, and then proceed to lay out a plan. This plan will serve as a guide. It will also be a barometer for measuring how close or far the individual is from meeting the end goal.

At the end of any goal, whether it’s short term or involves a long range plan, is an expectation of a reward of some kind. It can be losing weight, gaining weight, obtaining a promotion or a degree, or acquiring a new skill. Whatever it is, most of us equate a goal with a reward of some type. This is a really good thing to do. God teaches us in Hebrews 11:6 that He is a rewarder to those that diligently seek Him. In Matthew 6:33, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, commanded us that above everything else, we are to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, then everything we need will be added to us. So we can reason with a great degree of certainty that if rewards, blessings, and success are our goals, seeking God must be priority number one!

What does it mean to diligently seek God? Any time that we see the word ‘diligent or diligence’, we can assume that a concentrated and rigorous effort will be required. We needn’t think that we can read a verse or two, pray every now and again, and worship God one day a week, and this will meet the standard. It will not. We are here upon this earth to learn to walk by faith—to exercise faith muscles to the extent that we can literally speak things into existence. This is the major difference between a believer and a non-believer. The non-believer walks by sight; the believer walks by faith. We understand that the unseen things are more real than those that are seen.

So diligently seeking God is spending the time with Him that is necessary to get to know Him. It’s making communion and fellowship with Him our first priority by studying His Word, having an active prayer life, and living a life packed with praise, gratitude, and faith for all that He’s given us. You might look at your life and think that it doesn’t meet this standard. Perhaps you’re not there yet in your spiritual journey, but you need to make room in your understanding to accommodate the truth that this is the place where God is taking you.

Most of us will make short term goals and accomplish those just fine. We’ll feel pretty pleased about the strides we’ve made in our walk with Christ, in our careers, relationships, and perhaps life in general. We may even fall into the trap of becoming too full of ourselves or too comfortable with where we are; but there will come a time in life when what used to work for us will no longer cut the bill. Things start going backward instead of forwards. Problems mount, and before you know it our lives have become a tangled web of trouble and tribulations. This is often the place where many folks will start to think that God is punishing them; they think He’s causing the hiccups they might be experiencing in life. It isn’t the case at all.

Heavenly Father’s long range plan always, always, always includes our spiritual elevation and promotion. Most of us don’t hold this plan for ourselves. We’ve got our own agendas, and we get into serious trouble when we consider something a short term goal when it actually should be part of a long range plan—one that includes our mental, emotional, physical and most importantly spiritual well-being. This is where that all important ability to have vision comes into play. We have to see beyond the smaller battles and defeats to view the Technicolor big screen of victory that God has in store for us.

We often allow the success or failure of short term goals to send us spiraling out of control. We lose it emotionally, and some of us become so stuck by disappointment that we never move beyond it. The man that you thought was going to be your future husband really should have been a lesson in preparation. You didn’t consider him a short term goal, and he in all likelihood didn’t set out to be, but that’s how you have to look at the situation in order to remain focused and determined to get to the finish line. He wasn’t meant to be the one, and your long range plan for marriage should have allowed for such lessons.

Hebrews 10:35, 36 (NLT) says, “35 So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! 36 Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.” Our fully-persuaded trust in God is infectious and inspires those around us. Trouble doesn’t last always, and we can have a confident hope that times of difficulty will ultimately help us to gain strength, wisdom, and patience for the long haul. We have to keep our eyes on the ball and press toward the mark. When it comes to fulfilling our purpose and living a life pleasing to God, short terms goals will certainly help us to get there, as long as we keep in mind that hurdles and lessons in patience are often part of the package.  

Of course short term goals help to increase our hope and build our faith, but their triumphs or failures do not impede God’s long range plan for our spiritual success. This is something we have to remember during our darkest and loneliest hours. We may have short term goals, but we should strive to have a long range plan that mirrors the one that God has for each of us. In Jeremiah 29:11-14(NLT), God told the Children of Israel, “11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14 I will be found by you,” says the Lord.” These are the plans that He made for the Children of Israel thousands of years ago, and He has made even better ones for those of us living today.■

Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright ©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.