Do you have questions about manifesting? You’re not alone. Manifesting goals through vision boards by professing Christians is quite popular. Vision board parties are widespread within Christian women’s groups and churches. Writing goals and planning for them is exciting. But the question is, should Christians use vision boards and manifesting to accomplish goals?
I want to be clear that I am all for putting goals in writing and having a plan to accomplish them. Moving forward by taking action for the things you’re praying for demonstrates faith in what you’re believing God for. A faith-filled and hopeful outlook on life is essential to the Christian walk. Additionally, prioritizing the best use of the time and space God placed us in is superior, as the days are evil (Eph 5:16, James 4:14).
Nonetheless, many problems, broken hearts, and depression can arise when the things we long for don’t become a reality and our goals don’t align with God’s will and purposes. Therefore, we must evaluate the methods and paths to achieving the vision.
GOD’S GOAL
In the prior post, Christians and Vision Boards – the Hidden Dangers, I uncovered how the majority of goals we make or post to a board exclude God. New age and new thought practices weave through the modern church, and they dumb down the authority of God’s truth and override the good things He wants to do in our lives and businesses. The god of self is usually the focus instead of dying the self and fully surrendering to God’s plan.
God wants to conform you into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ, through sanctification. God’s plans are always better than anything we can conjure up ourselves.
I encourage you to read, Christians and Vision Boards – the Hidden Dangers article first to get the proper context before reading this one. That teaching sheds light on new age practices and how witches use vision boards.
GOALS AND ACHIEVEMENT BOOKS
As a professing Christian, I read my Bible quite a bit back in the day. But I also read a lot of secular personal development and self-help books. I’m talking about twenty-plus years ago. I documented and meditated on my favorite Scriptures and passages to keep me on track. I never shunned the Bible or fell away from the faith, but I took reaching my goals as serious business. I was very ambitious and didn’t believe in living a passive life. I wanted to be a success.
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Many of the self-help and personal development books I read mentioned the Scriptures. The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale was one of them, so I concluded that I was on the right path towards success. I believed God put me here to go after my goals and dreams. I acted strongly in this goal-setting path to success. I wanted to become financially successful to share my wealth and for people who did not know God to notice Him—so I thought.
Motivational, success, and business books helped me so much in my younger years, but I later started seeing how they drew me away from Christ and His teachings of wealth. Let me explain. I enjoyed learning about success, success strategies, and successful people more than I sought after God. So naturally, God stripped me away from my goal-getting ambitious ways and I went down a road of business failures.
I created a video in 2022 about manifesting with vision boards before God called me back into the business space and my purpose as The Soul Coach.
Christians Manifesting Goals With Vision Boards
vision casting and uses
Jesus doesn’t want us to love the world or its things. So you ask, should Christians use vision boards in goal setting? I want you to use wisdom. Yes, you can, but please be careful with your goal setting, and if you use one, make sure it is Christ-centered.
Here’s what I mean. As Christian business owners, for some things we’re working towards, we may need a visual representation. We cast a vision to our team and our clients. We say things like:
- “Here’s what I see your brand doing.”
- “Take a look at how I see you impacting others.”
- “Look at the way I see us growing and building the team.”
2 John 2:15-17 NKJV says, Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
This passage of John seeks to focus your attention on Christ as manifesting focuses on the Universe (God’s creation) and getting all you want. If there is an unhealthy focus on worldly success and wants of human nature, you need to examine yourself to see if you are in Christ. What are you storing away eternally? It’s detrimental for the Believer to work for eternal rewards stored up in heaven because everything here is passing away.
USES FOR VISION BOARDS
Are you supposed to manifest through a vision board? No, you’re not.
Here’s what makes sense for using vision boards. You must have a vision to bring people on board for your team and clients into your roster. However, Soulful it’s more about the heart behind the action. You can also make a prayer board.
I have some pictures of how I view success to keep myself motivated, but it’s kept in context. I’m not using energy, vibrations, or some universal power to draw them into reality.
I don’t need to use a vision board for anything with the same heart as I used one years ago. Maybe that might be sufficient if I’m building something (a physical structure such as a house, community center, restaurant, production facility, salon, or retail space). However, in this instance, the vision board is for architecture, blueprints, and interior planning.
Secondly, family photo collages, healthy eating or fitness, and other creative-related professions use boards to organize ideas and concepts. There is nothing wrong with this.
Whether writing goals, planning, or rewriting a vision, ensure God is in it.
SUCCESS IS IN GOD
We are to store up God’s Word in our hearts and obey it, and then we will have success. After Moses died, Joshua resumed where he left off. He led the Israelites into the Promised Land. He didn’t need a vision board, and personal goal-setting had no place here because of his great responsibility for God’s chosen people. Failure would be inevitable if Joshua had followed his secret plan.
Although we primarily hear from God through His written and living Word, we tend to write down things that we believe God is impressing on our hearts as they relate to our goals and dreams, and that’s fine.
Joshua 1:7-9 NIV says, “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Why should we focus on what God wants us to focus on? Because we work for Him. We are co-working with His agenda for His assignment. We are His Church, children of God, and ambassadors for Christ.
MANIFESTING OR SEEK AFTER GOD
Manifesting focuses on selfish ambitions and willing things to yourself. When considering goals, ask the questions:
- Is this my idea, or is it God’s idea?
- Will this idea or goal bring glory to God?
- Will this plan help others to know God more?
- Although this path seems right, is this the route God wants me to go?
Remember to seek after Kingdom things and His righteousness.
Make goals Soulful, but make sure to seek God’s heart about them and bypass the manifesting. In my book The Acceleration Cure | 28 Biblical Principles to Get Unstuck in Life and Business Now I share biblical principles to navigate your goal-setting, vision, and planning journey God’s way. I encourage you to grab a copy. I share much of how my drive for success created room for many failures, and I would be grateful if you could learn from and avoid them. My testimony below gives some insight into my goals journey as well.
Check out my testimony:
MY GOALs AND manifesting VISION BOARD
I only made about three vision boards in my life and accomplished some of the goals. There were tons of tears, failures, and periods of depression in my voyage towards achievement. It took years for some things to come to fruition, and I viewed my wins as being on track with God’s plan. After writing my book, the Acceleration Cure I realized that God was gracious enough to use those successes from my past to turn them into a purpose more beautiful than I ever could have had for my life.
Years ago, I got the home, published, and distributed the magazine on national newsstands, the luxury car, the huge bank account, the marriage, and other things I set out for—but they were short-lived.
Accomplishing more significant goals and getting the life you want will cost you something. God’s blessings come with no sorrow. King Solomon writes in Proverbs 10:22 KJV, “The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.”
Big goals are challenging to achieve. That’s why most people give up. Adding the exercises of ungodly visualizing with manifesting energies and extensive planning to your demanding day will cost you. People go after their dreams because they are not interested in sacrificing themselves wholly to Christ for His purposes. The Church and the prosperity movement have failed us with the gospel’s truth in this area.
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GOD AND GOALS
For a believer, God is your goal! Jesus Christ is our great reward.
I ran across a thriving black businesswoman who started God and Goals. I don’t know her personally, and I don’t doubt that she’s nice, but her business is heavily devoted to manifesting. She’s heavily into teaching people to manifest their goals through new-age and new thought practices, but she professes Christianity. She ran a Facebook ad to teach other Christian women her formula for success. And yesssssss you guessed it, she has tons of followers.
I don’t know this young woman, and I’m unaware of where she stands today, but I hope we all progress in sound doctrine as the days ahead are evil.
Matthew 16:24-26 NIV says, Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?
This passage shows the contrast between following after Christ or going your path. When you are bent on your desires, you choose to deny Jesus and select yourself. Sadly, when we do this, we are not gaining anything of actual value, only the illusion of wealth. You are exposing your heart and your authentic desires.
Remember, what you do with this life will be judged for eternity.
When you desire to save your life (focus on your vision and desires), you place self above the will of God. Self is tied to pride and turns into an idol. I want you to know there is no real success unless it involves walking out the path God carved out for you.
goals and PROPER CONTEXT
Since my goals were out of context, I didn’t keep up with my vision board stint for too long. God eventually stripped me of everything I obtained on that vision board. He humbled me while delivering me from the bondage of self ambition and preparing me for the work of ministry. I was later gifted with a new business to serve Christians in the marketplace as the Soul Coach.
Jesus didn’t save us from a life of eternal fire and separation from Him so that we can do our own thing! Although He’s willing to give us beautiful blessings and the desires of our hearts, our hearts and souls must be turned to Him.
Christ paid a high ransom to redeem us from eternal death. Nothing we can offer is sufficient to pay for sin—nothing. God created us for good works. His objectives are what matters above any and everything. Some of my goals were approved and aligned with God’s will, but many of them were not.
My goals didn’t’ start to align to His will more until I lost everything and learned to read, study, and understand the Word in its proper framework. Knowledge without the right perspective and biblical understanding is dangerous to the Christian. Studying the Word without proper context allows you to isolate a scripture and make the Bible say whatever you want.
GOD BLESSES GOALS
Manifesting and using vibrational energies to draw “things” out of the Universe is not the Christian way of obtaining things. I do not want to discourage you from writing goals, just as I don’t want to prevent you from praying. God gave us dreams and desires for a reason. Your yearnings will align with His when you elevate spiritually and grow closer to Him. The people we study about in the Bible followed the call of God.
- Genesis 6:22 NIV says, Noah did everything just as God commanded him. (Genesis 6-8)
- God blessed Abraham for obeying Him (Genesis 26:5 NKJV says, “because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.)”
- Moses was obedient to God’s will and humble (Numbers 12:3 NKJV says, “Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)”
- Jesus’ disciples surrendered everything Matthew 19:27 NKJV, Peter and the disciples left everything to follow Jesus.
- The Apostle Paul never returned to his former life before encountering Jesus’ saving power. He followed God’s vision for him to pen most of the New Testament letters.
Soulful, there is no surrender without humility.
CONCLUSION
I pray that I’ve helped you to clarify uses for vision boards and why manifesting goals is unnecessary and a waste of time. God sees everything and knows your heart, so take your desires to the Lord in prayer.
Write out your goals to gather your thoughts. But, make sure you present these goals to God to confirm they are according to His will.
Soul Work Actions
Pray for God to show you His will.
Do everything to the glory of God.
Help others seek the truth of scripture in goal setting and vision boards.
As The Soul Coach, I am passionate about coaching you to set goals in God’s way, and I appreciate you reading this post.
