How to Set Godly Goals
Jan 22, 2026Summary
Have you ever spent hours mapping out a five-year plan only to have God throw a wrench in it two weeks later? It is frustrating when our timelines don't match His divine plans. In this episode of the Arise, Women of God podcast, host Tamara K. Anderson along with Wendi Christensen and Kari Anjewierden break down exactly how to set Godly goals that align with heaven.
We explore a three-part framework for spiritual planning, starting with the reality of "divine detours." Tamara shares her humbling story of a rigid 19-year-old plan that God completely upended, proving that sometimes the delay is the most important part of the journey. Wendi opens up about an internal goal to overcome anger as a young mother, showing why who you are becoming is often more important than what you are achieving. Finally, Kari offers powerful advice for those moments when heaven seems silent—revealing why moving forward with a "whole heart" (Colossians 3:23) is often the key to unlocking God's guidance. If you are ready to stop guessing and start aligning your ambition with His assignment, this episode is for you.
Episode Takeaways
- Seek First the Kingdom: Based on Matthew 6:33, the foundation of any Godly goal is putting God first. When you surrender your plan to Him, He guides the outcome—even if it looks nothing like your original five-year plan.
- Embrace Divine Detours: Sometimes God interrupts our perfectly laid plans not to punish us, but to redirect us. A "wrench in the gears" (like Tamara's school change) is often God's way of steering you toward a mission you didn't know you needed.
- Internal Goals > External Achievements: Wendi's story of working for two years to conquer reactive anger illustrates that Godly goals are often about character sanctification rather than checking boxes. These internal victories are what truly build the Kingdom.
- Move When Heaven is Silent: If you pray and hear nothing, don't freeze. Kari teaches that we should move forward with what we know, remain flexible, and work "heartily as to the Lord." God can steer a moving ship much easier than a docked one.
Resources
Are you feeling the need to refresh your goals or ensure they are truly God-led? Download our FREE Workbook: Clarifying My Calling. It’s the perfect resource to help you discern if your current path is just a "good idea" or a "God assignment." 👉 Download the Workbook Here: https://www.womenwarriorsoflight.com/offers/6c8GbbHE/checkout
Reflection Questions
- Look at your current 5-year plan (or general life plan). If God threw a "wrench" in it tomorrow, would you be willing to let it go?
- Is there an internal character trait (like patience, anger, or fear) that God is asking you to set a goal around right now?
- Have you ever stopped moving because you didn't get a clear "yes" from God? How does the advice to "move forward and be flexible" change your approach?
- Read Colossians 3:23. Are you doing your current work "heartily, as to the Lord," or are you just going through the motions waiting for the "next big thing"?
Transcript
Tamara K. Anderson
00:00:00.880 - 00:00:35.520
Have you ever spent hours mapping out like a five year plan only to have God throw a wrench in it two weeks later? And you're just feeling frustrated. Because sometimes.
Our desires don't match up to his divine plans. So today we're going to talk about how to set Godly goals that actually align with what God wants for you.
And by the end of today's episode, you'll know how to first set seek the kingdom so that your goals aren't just good ideas, but God given assignments. Stay tuned.
Intro/Outro
00:00:36.240 - 00:00:46.120
Ordinary Women Extraordinary Faith When God calls, we say yes. The Arise Women of God Podcast hello.
Tamara K. Anderson
00:00:46.120 - 00:03:46.730
And welcome to the Arise Women of God Podcast.
I'm your host, Tamara K. Anderson and joining me today are women Wendi Christensen, my co founder of Women warriors of Light, and Kari Anjewierden, who is a member of our Women warriors of Light advisory board. Now ladies, today we are talking all about how to set Godly goals.
And in this video we're going to cover a three part framework for setting divine goals. The first thing we're going to cover is how to handle divine detours.
Next we're going to cover what to do when you're not hearing a clear yes from heaven. And finally we're going to wrap it up with why your internal goals might be more important than your external achievements.
Let's kick it off with the story of a 19 year old with a very rigid plan.
Matthew chapter 6, verse 33 and it says, but seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
And if you're setting a godly goal, if you're putting God first and you are saying, God, I want to do what you want me to do, I'm going to put you first. Here's my goal. What do you think about that? That he will guide us and that everything else will fall into place the way it's supposed to be.
There was a point when I was a young adult and I had worked out my entire five year plan after I'd figured out what I was going to graduate in. And some of my friends that I was sharing this plan with were laughing at me because I had even put in here I'm going to go on a mission.
Here I'm going to meet the guy I'm going to get married to. Here I'm going to get married. And I know it's ridiculous. Call me naive little 19 year old Tamara thinking that this is how planning your life works.
Ha ha ha. Anyone who's older and Wiser, just smiles and, you know, I feel like I could pat my younger self on the head and just say, good job, Tamara.
This is a good start. Anyway, they said, why don't you pray about that? I said, oh, I will, I will. And so I did. I kind of gave it to God.
And God threw a huge wrench in my plan about two weeks later where he just told me that I was going to miss the school that I was at. And I'm just like, wait, what you mean I'm leaving here? Where am I going? And it hence proceeded this two and a half year detour from school.
I did end up going on a mission, but I had this huge detour in my life. And so if we communicate with God, he will often say, good job. That's a great goal.
Eventually you'll get there, but we're going to take this huge detour in the meantime.
Setting a goal is often the first step, but often the most important godly goals aren't about where we are going, but about who we are becoming. Wendy shares how this played out in her journey as a young mother.
Wendi Christensen
00:03:46.810 - 00:05:16.940
I didn't even realize I had an anger issue until I became a mom. And then I was like, where did this anger come from? Whoa.
And one of my goals was to get rid of reaction. Like, I would react with this just instantaneous anger, and I hated it.
I abhorred that I would react that way sometimes in a situation that I couldn't control. And I really wanted to change it. And it took some time. Like, this was just not a small goal. This was a goal that I worked on for like two years.
Like, I really, really wanted to change my reaction and how I was reacting. I mean, it wasn't horrible or awful, but I just didn't like the way that I was reacting. I have one child that has definitely tried my patients.
And the Lord was so beautiful to look back, it's sometimes hard to see it in the process, but when I worked with him, I remember, you know, if, if something would happen and maybe I would fail or I wouldn't meet my expectation, I would just pray my heart out and just be like, heavenly Father, please help me to change this. Please, please, please help me to change it. And I. And I kept feeling just that peace and that comfort, like, we're doing this.
You're getting there, you're getting there, it's getting better. And he would say, stop and look you, you have made progress. In those days that I didn't feel like I'd made any progress.
And I'm still not perfect, but I do it a lot differently. When I will pause and go, heavenly Father, am I on the right track? Am I doing what I need to? Is this something that is helping me to get better?
Because this is a desire of my heart.
Tamara K. Anderson
00:05:17.500 - 00:05:34.680
I'm sure there's some of you that can relate to that story. But what if you prayed and you feel nothing? No clear answer.
Kari is now going to share a powerful principle about what to do when the heaven seems silent during your planning process.
Speaker C
00:05:35.240 - 00:07:22.100
That there have been times in my life when I have felt like maybe I wasn't hearing God's voice very well. And so in a setting like this where I'm trying to set my goals and.
And maybe I'm a planner or, you know, and maybe that's how I work is with those plans that are so relaxed, bridges the word in my head, but that's not the word that I'm looking for, just the plans that are set right. And maybe I do. I go to God and I ask and I don't feel like I'm getting an answer on what he wants.
And in that setting, I would say move forward, move. Just start with what you have down, but be flexible, be willing, be open, continue to pray and. And God will let you know if things need to change.
Another thing is in Colossians 3. 23, it says, whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not unto men. Go in with your whole heart. Go in wanting to achieve.
In my childhood, often there was a lot of negative thoughts that came in to my head. And so there may have been a lot of doubt too. And I would think, this is what I want to do, but can I do that?
I think if we can turn those things into a positive, even a joyful, like, I am doing this, I'm going to do this every day. I'm going to be happy about it. I'm going to put my whole soul into it. I am going to do all that I can to set these goals.
Not just set them, but then to follow them through, for me, that has helped me.
Tamara K. Anderson
00:07:22.660 - 00:07:30.580
Now we're going to wrap it up with alignment and the importance of taking small steps to achieve your godlike goals.
Wendi Christensen
00:07:30.980 - 00:08:25.790
I think just overall, when you're setting a godly goal, realizing he's on your side, he wants to see you be successful and he wants to see you grow. Just like any parent, a good parent loves to see their child grow and progress and learn things and take joy in that.
And I think that God does that with us. In in setting a godly goal, I think the biggest thing is just, am I aligned with him and is this moving me forward in his kingdom?
And it can be really small and simple. It doesn't have to be this massive, huge. You know, I'm not. I'm not necessarily working to become a saint. You know, like, I just need to be me.
I need to be Wendy. And so he's like, let's get you to be your best self.
And that's going to just be small incremental steps and that I can have confidence that he's got my back and he'll help me to do that as I set goals that are building his kingdom and moving forward in his kingdom.
Tamara K. Anderson
00:08:26.030 - 00:09:19.130
Ladies, that was amazing.
I'm so thankful that we've been able to learn these principles that are biblically based on if you're feeling the need to refresh your goals or you're trying to decide if your goals are God led, check out our Women warriors of Light website where we have some amazing free resources like Clarifying My Calling workbook to wrap it up. Ladies, Godly Goals is not about being perfect. It's about being aligned.
If you're ready to stop guessing and follow his lead, subscribe for more daily biblical guidance. Because once the goals are set, the real work begins.
To find out how to make it through your Godly goals, check out our next video to find out how exactly God helps you achieve those goals. When the path gets difficult. Until next time, may you arise. Do it God's way and do it God Strong.
Intro/Outro
00:09:21.290 - 00:10:16.840
Thanks for tuning in to the Arise Women of God podcast, brought to you by Women warriors of Light.
If you're feeling unsure how to move forward in your calling or just tired of doing it alone, visit womenwarriorsoflight.com you'll find resources, accountability, and a community of women who get it. Sometimes the calling feels bigger than you. That's when you need steady reminders of the powerful God who called you.
Subscribe now for weekly inspiration and the courage to keep going. Because with him, nothing is impossible. And you're not the only one. God is calling that friend on your heart right now. Share this episode with her.
Your small act of obedience could be the breakthrough she's been praying for. Until next time, may you arise, walk God's way and stand God strong.
