October 16, 2025 Thursday Thoughts
By the Rev. Dr. Dennis E. Morey
Faith Presbyterian Church
ACHIEVING THE GOAL
Life is difficult enough without first coming up with a plan and then having the added burden of having to stick to the plan. Isn’t it better to just jump in and let things happen and then deal with them?
The purpose of making a plan is not to enslave ourselves to it as though it is forming us, but to set into motion a pattern aimed at a goal. The best plan is one that has enough flexibility to be adjusted along the way. Some of the plan must be tailor-made while in motion if the goal is to be accomplished. As many details as possible are considered in formulating the plan. All the details and all the challenges cannot be calculated with 100% accuracy. There must always be room for on-the-spot decisions aimed at the goal.
When we do our best to take into consideration all the possibilities, arrange for a plan B and maybe even a plan C, we still have no guarantee things will flow easily from one phase of the plan to the next. It is what we do at those moments when things do not flow easily that reveal our determination to achieve the goal. We can give up and quit, patch things together, or go back and reconsider the plan to achieve the goal and make adjustments. The plan is not the goal. The goal is to be achieved by the plan. The goal is the target. The plan is the way we intend to hit the target.
God has a goal for each of us. The goal is the same for every person. God’s goal is to have a relationship with us. God’s plan for each of us is to achieve the goal. God’s plan is to achieve that goal as quickly as possible, giving us the maximum number of years on this earth enjoying and depending on our relationship with God.
Often God’s plan is in competition with our plans. Somehow we have the mistaken notion that we can achieve some kind of meaning and purpose by going after more of whatever interests us at the moment.
While it is true that God can use our interest to achieve great things, we must be careful that our interests include knowing God. When we align our goals in life with God’s goal to know us, we always succeed at both.
How can my choice of a career lead me into a closer relationship to God? Does my choice of friends and what they want me to do line up with God’s plan to know me? Does the way I treat my family and those around me say something about what I believe God is calling me to do? If God’s goal is to know me, how are my plans aimed at in that direction?
We all want to think that our days on this earth are counting for something good. When life is over, we want to be remembered as a positive influence, a good friend who lived a worthwhile life. God wants that too, but that is not the goal. This is what happens along the way as part of God’s plan to accomplish the ultimate goal of keeping us for himself forever. Our plans matter most when they are aimed at that goal. Our plans when aimed at that goal always succeed.
So what are your plans for the beginning of the week? I am not talking about Monday; that is the second day of the week. Friday and Saturday are the weekend. Sunday is the first day of the week.
Will you begin the week lounging around in your pajamas, eating a late breakfast, reading the newspaper, catching up on laundry or homework? Will you spend it working, sleeping, or talking on the phone or in the company of your friends? How does that fit into what God has planned for you? What part does your Sunday plans fit into God’s plan to get to know you better?
We all have goals in life. Does that goal include a plan to get to know God? Don’t miss out on what God has planned for you. See you here next week for more on The Plan.
