God's Plan for Your Year: Trusting Him in 2025

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and He will direct your paths.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

These two verses from Proverbs are my favorite Bible verses. I memorized these when I was a pre-teen. I had these verses on a small poster hanging in my room, and I could see them daily. It was a constant reminder to myself to trust in God and not in my own understanding. Even to this day, I hold these verses very near to my heart.

As we enter into a new year, you may be setting goals or making New Year’s resolutions, and that’s great. As Christians, we should also consider setting these goals with God in mind. After all, He has plans for you and me, so why not trust Him to guide our year?

Trusting in God with Goal Planning

With each new year, there comes excitement and uncertainty. Excitement for a fresh new start and uncertainty of what’s to come. Remember 2020, when Covid hit? We never know what is around the corner, so it’s important to trust in God in all you do. Otherwise, you put yourself into unnecessary worry. That’s one thing I’d like to get rid of for this new year.

Before setting your goals for this year, it’s important to reflect on the previous year. What do you want to continue to do, and what would you like to stop doing? Let’s be more intentional this year. Maybe you already are, and I’m talking to myself. You see, I rarely set goals for myself. I’m a live-one-day at a time kind of person, trusting God as I move along in this life. But this always reminds me of the story of the man who drowned after a flood came to his town. Many people came by his home to save him, but he refused, insisting that God would save him. Eventually, the floods came and took him. He asked God why he didn’t save him, and God said, “I sent you two boats and a helicopter.”

All that to say, it’s ok to set goals for yourself. God gave us these beautiful minds to think for ourselves and hear Him when he calls us. What can we aim for this year that is pleasing to God and helpful for ourselves? As a Sunday school teacher, you may have goals for yourself and goals for yourself as a Sunday school teacher. Maybe this year, you want to show up more for your kids or do more outreach to bring more children to your church.

Take some time to journal your thoughts and reflections and pray over your goals for this new year.

Letting Go of Anxiety

If goal setting is not something you typically do, why is that? Because for me, there is always the fear of failure. What if I don’t meet my goals? I encourage you and myself to look at goal setting from a different perspective. Goals don’t need to be set in stone. They’re not the Ten Commandments…get it, stone? We can set goals and know that they can be adjusted as needed. Trusting God’s plan means letting go of the need to control every detail of everything in our lives. It’s about living one day at a time, confident that God’s grace is sufficient for you and all the challenges and blessings that will come your way.

If Proverbs 3:5-6 hasn’t convinced you yet, how about Matthew 6:33-34?

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Seeking God's Guidance

So far, we’ve discussed what to do before setting your goals for the new year. First, we should look back and reflect on the past year. Second, we need to bring our goals to God in prayer. Ask Him to align your desires with His will. Stay alert and listen to what He is telling you, whether from the advice of loved ones or from seeing doors open and close for you in ways you did not expect. Ultimately, prayer and scripture are the best tools for understanding God’s plans for you.

Embracing God’s Timing

When setting goals, the best way to make them achievable and measurable is to set attainable time-bound goals. Instead of, “I will eat healthier this year,” we could say, “I will eat at least one vegetable for dinner three times a week.” That’s an easy one, right? However, not all of our goals are as simple as this example.

When we include God in our goal setting, we can still set time-bound goals for ourselves. But one of the hardest parts of trusting God is waiting on His timing. God’s plan for your year may not unfold according to the time you set for yourself, but it will unfold perfectly in His time. This year, let’s aim to be patient and trust that delays and detours are part of God’s plan for you. Remember, Proverbs 3:5-6.

Closing Thoughts

My prayer for you is that you find the time to seek God in your goal-setting this year. You don’t let worries and anxieties take over, but instead, you hold Proverbs 3:5-6 and Matthew 6:33-34 close to your heart. I know each year can bring excitement and uncertainty, but let’s trust in God each day.

If you need help organizing your thoughts to create goals for the new year, I’ve made a simple one-pager to help you write down your goals. Download your free copy here.