My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil. Proverbs 4:20-27 (KJV)

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 (KJV)

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2 (KJV)

These Scriptures talk about setting goals and staying focused until we accomplish our God-given goals. How do we get goals? The passage from Proverbs above tells us that we get them from God’s written Word. We need to hear and see God’s Word, which plants goals in us. As we hear, read, and speak God’s Word, we keep those God-given goals in front of us to keep them alive until we see them come to pass.

We must guard our thoughts, words, and hearts to speak God’s Word so it does not depart. The Word brings healing, health, and life. God’s Word in us is a force that comes out of us. As we speak right, look straight ahead, and think on where we are going, we establish our steps without becoming distracted. This enables us to keep a straight course towards the goal.

In Philippians 3 noted above, the phrase “this one thing I do” speaks of being single-minded in purpose. Forgetting what is behind and reaching for what’s before us is how we press on. We have to press and push through every resistance towards our God-given goals. We keep our goal in front of us and we reach for it. The goal is the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus. We must choose to lay aside every weight and every sin that would knock us off course or out of the race. We must run with patience because it will take time and persistence to push through every obstacle and hindrance. We must never give up.

As we look to Jesus, our example, and follow in His steps, we’ll see how He obtained His goals. Keeping our eyes on Him as He is seated at God’s right hand encourages us because it shows He has accomplished His goal, and He is now resting in the completed work. As we finish what God has given us to do, we too will rest. Jesus is our guarantee that as He fulfilled God’s plan, so can we by God’s help.