Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

During a public speaking event at a Junior High School, I asked the students to tell me their goals for the future. As their motivational speaker for the day I had planned to use their responses to give specific examples of how to reach their goals.  

I was shocked when not one of the students raised their hands with a response.  At first I thought they were too shy to share in front of their friends. But after a bit of prompting I learned that was not the case. None of them were too shy to talk because they freely let me know the problem with my question.  

The response I got was they did not have a life goal. 

There was no reason for them to have one, they said because they would not be able to reach those goals anyway.  I urged them to tell me what they planned to do with their lives then. The majority response was “whatever I can get to do as work, that’s all.”  

So I changed my talk to give them examples of kids just like themselves who had great goals.  I told them about young people who had gone on to do great things with their lives through advanced education, community volunteer work, running businesses or working for large companies.  

This talk was at a public school so I couldn’t share the many Biblical examples about young people who had fabulous goals early in their life. 

David was only a boy when he killed a giant.  He was being prepared to lead people and build a kingdom for God.    

“And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.” 1 Samuel 17:42 

At only 7 years old, Jehoash became King of Judah and had to make decisions that affected the life of a whole nation.  He did this with the leading of the Lord. 

“Jehoash was seven years old when he began to reign.” 2 Kings 11:21 

Not to be forgotten an 8 year old Josiah also became a King of Jerusalem. 

“Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years inJerusalem. And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” 2 Chronicles 34:1-2  

Mary of Nazareth was probably only 12 or 13 and a young virgin when she was chosen by God to become the mother of the Savior, Jesus. 

“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city ofGalileenamedNazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary”. Luke 1:26 

God gives us goals and He doesn’t even forget young people when giving them.  Starting with goals as a youth is important.  If you haven’t set goals in your life it might be difficult for you to do so as an adult.  That makes being able to know how to set goals in business and your personal life difficult. 

Goals provide direction, purpose, motivation, and hope.  A goal allows a person know there is something lined out for her to accomplish in this world.  

What are your current goals?  You might think you have goals but it you wake up each morning without the feeling of expectation that there are specific things for you to work on accomplishing that day, rethink your current goals.  Write your goals down very clearly and put them where you see them each day.  

Offer your goals to the Lord in prayer each morning when you wake up and each night before you go to bed and listen to how He tells you to pursue them.  Then write these directions down and take the steps needed to move closer to your goal. Maybe one of those goals will be to help a young person in your life learn to set and achieve a goal, even though they are just a youth.