Which is more important, a destination for our lives or the path forward? Career counselors often talk about setting a goal in life. But leadership expert Fred Smith says setting the direction of your life is more important. Most of us know people who have set goals … destinations … for their lives, only to find that the goal didn’t satisfy them as they had hoped. In fact, they realize that it is often the journey and the direction in their life that brings them the most fulfillment.

Leadership expert John Maxwell picks up that thought:

“I always try to remember that I am a work in progress. It is life’s journey that matters, and the turns I take will determine how much progress I make. … Each one of us is a work in progress, with a mission and purpose to fulfill that is uniquely ours.”

It is interesting to note that the well-known verse in Jeremiah says, “I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord….” It does not say I know the destination, the goal I have for you. Our Christian life is a journey, and our destination is set when we receive Jesus as our Lord.

So, what about setting goals? We need to consider goals as those signposts along the highway. Fred Smith puts it this way:

“Goals are set to confirm we are moving in the direction we desire. They are the road markers, not the destinations.”

We see that in scripture. The oft-quoted verse from Proverbs reinforces that truth.

Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6 NLT

It says “…in the way he should go….” It says nothing about a goal or destination. God wants us on the right path in our lives. Again, the scriptures remind us how important that pathway, that direction is.

There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.

Proverbs 14:12 NLT

Let goals serve as markers of progress, but let God’s path for your life be the most important thing.

God’s best,