WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DECEMBER 29, 2025
TOPIC: SET GOALS FOR THE NEW YEAR
BY T. O. BANSO
“I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14 New King James Version).
Whereas many Christians are thinking of and preparing for the Crossover Service, most may not be making plans for the New Year. Many people suppose that success in the New Year would be decided in the service or is dependent only on it. They do not sit down to prayerfully review their lives, set goals, and develop plans to achieve them. I’m not talking about the ritual of making New Year’s resolutions.
It is good to enter the New Year in the house of God with other children of God. It’s a wonderful atmosphere. Even the Bible says we should not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, so much the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:25). David said, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.’ Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!” (Psalm 122:1-2 New King James Version).
However, this is not enough. Just as you have celebrated many Christmases in the past, you have also attended many Crossover Services and have rejoiced at New Year’s dawn many times. You know that the euphoria of the New Year will soon disappear, and many people will continue as they had lived the previous year. Nothing will change except the calendar! This should not be the case for you.
Don’t prepare for the Crossover Service without preparing for the New Year. What do you hope to achieve with the 365 days, 12 months, and 52 full weeks and one extra day of the New Year? You need to set specific goals you want to pursue and achieve in the New Year. I am not referring to a long to-do list!
Personal goals are essential in life. Some people have had great opportunities in the past without maximising them. Some had flourishing businesses or wonderful promotions in their careers and made money. Unfortunately, they wasted the money because they didn’t pursue any specific goal that they could have invested the money in. Today those opportunities are gone, and they’re regretting it.
The Crossover Service is a corporate service. You should cross over personally before the Crossover! Sit down in the presence of God and plan the New Year. Sit down with the Holy Spirit and set goals for the year. Receive from God goals He wants you to pursue in the New Year – something bigger than you that you will need God’s help to achieve. Receive from the Holy Spirit the plans to achieve them. “There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand” (Proverbs 19:21 New King James Version).
Don’t copy your goals from others. It’s about your life and what God wants you to do. Don’t enter the New Year without setting goals. If you don’t have set goals, you will not live purposefully in 2026. You will neglect your own ‘vineyard’ while being busy in other people’s ‘vineyards.’ Song 1:6 says, “Do not look upon me, because I am dark, because the sun has tanned me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept” (New King James Version). If you have no goal, you will be available for every imaginable thing. It is often said that if you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail.
Set goals for the New Year. This will help you to make the most of the year. It will motivate you. It will help you to live wisely. “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16 New King James Version).
Your goals will help you move closer to God, depend on Him, and stretch your faith. Hebrews 11:2 says that by faith, the elders obtained a good testimony. Paul said that he could do all things through Christ, who strengthened him (Philippians 4:13).
Your goals will not only affect your priorities and how you use your time and money, but they will also influence the choice of those you associate with. Amos 3:3 says, “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” (New King James Version). If someone is going to a destination different from yours, it doesn’t make sense to make him your close associate. You don’t board a vehicle going to a different destination because you love the driver or the passengers! Proverbs 13:20 says he who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.
In other words, your goals for 2025 may separate you from some people and bring you into new relationships. This is not pride. Some people are unhelpful in realising your goals. “The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray” (Proverbs 12:26 New King James Version).
Your goals will make demands on you. You will have to sacrifice some things. You will need to deny yourself some things. You must practise delayed gratification. You will need to make sacrifices, spiritually and physically, to achieve your goals. But the prize will be worth the price.
The apostle Paul said, “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14 New King James Version). He also said in 1 Corinthians 9:26, “So I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something—not just the air” (New Century Version). If you have no goal, you will be shooting randomly, and you will deserve any result you get!
The goal that the apostle Paul pursued kept him going in the ministry despite all the challenges that could have frustrated him. He was focused on his goal, not the problems. He saw the challenges as unavoidable obstacles he must overcome to achieve his goal.
He said in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27: “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (New King James Version).
Don’t run aimlessly in 2025. Have faith in God for greater things. Go beyond the yearly ritual of making New Year’s resolutions, which are ignored as soon as they are made. Prayerfully set goals that you’ll pursue. “Jesus said to him, ‘If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes’” (Mark 9:23 New King James Version). He also said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27b New King James Version).
In the New Year, you will need to review your goals periodically and sometimes make adjustments where necessary. Nevertheless, God must remain number one in your life; your goals must never become your god. Your life will be better as you pursue your God-given goals and continually depend on Him to fulfil them.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you must give your heart to Jesus now. Please take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself, and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your heart. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, and Bible-practising church. There, they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner, and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me, and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I invite Jesus into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You must join a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, and Bible-practising church where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Holy Spirit, guide me to set goals that align with God’s plans for my life. Please help me to develop the right plans to achieve my goals. In the New Year, Holy Spirit, connect me with the right people who will help me to realise my goals. Bring into my life the right friends, staff, partners, and associates.
(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
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