Big goals are easier AND more spiritually fruitful. Here’s why.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

In 10X Is Easier Than 2X, Dr. Benjamin Hardy makes a compelling case that exponential goals are paradoxically easier to achieve than incremental goals. I’ve certainly found that to be true. But more importantly, I’ve found that bigger goals are more valuable spiritually because they increase my reliance on God and others.

Pastor Paul David Tripp says, “God calls unable people to do important things because ultimately what he’s working on is not your immediate success, but that you would come to know him.”

That’s why exponential goals are so powerful—not primarily because they make us successful but because they make us dependent. They force us to our knees in prayer. And if that’s all a goal does, mission accomplished. Because what we need more than anything is more of God’s presence.

So, if big goals are so valuable, why are they so rare among followers of Christ? Because most people are looking in a mirror at what they can do in their own strength. But Jesus calls us to look out a window at what God can accomplish through us.

When Peter could imagine forgiving somebody only seven times, Jesus multiplied his friend’s assumption by a factor of 11 (see Matthew 18:21-22). When Andrew saw only five loaves and two fish, Jesus showed him how God could take one lunch and feed 5,000+ people (see John 6:1-13).

There’s a good chance your body has been baptized. But Jesus is showing us that sometimes our imaginations need to be baptized as well, which brings us to the second principle of this series.

Principle #2: Baptize Your Imagination — To redeem our goals in the model of our Redeemer, we will baptize our imaginations and move from incremental to exponential vision for what God can accomplish through us.

How?

Practice #2: 10X Your Vision of God

Pastor Mark Batterson says, “The size of your dream may be the most accurate measure of the size of your God.” So if we want to exponentially increase our vision for our goals, we must first exponentially increase our vision of our God.

There are two places I go to 10X my vision of God: God’s Word and God’s world.

Now, I’m no outdoorsman. My friends like to remind me that I have “city hands” better suited for typing than camping. But my vision for what God can do through me multiplies exponentially when I spend time in God’s Word while in God’s world.

So here’s my recommendation:

1. Block out 30 minutes on your calendar.
2. Pick an epic place in God’s world to read epic passages of God’s Word that remind you of his power (Psalm 33:6-9, Joshua 10:12-14, Ephesians 1:18-20, etc.).
3. Ask: “If I really believed that the same God who did all this is now working through me, how would I change my goals?”

I pray that exercise baptizes your imagination about just how much God can accomplish through you—not for your fame and fortune, but for the glory of God and the good of others.