God said, "Caleb, this land is for you. It is my plan for you to posses this land." Caleb's goal, then, was to claim what God had already promised.

Caleb did not just set a goal for his life. He did not simply set his mind on something that grew out of his own desires. His goal was in line with God's purpose. He wanted to fully experience what God had planned for him.

We have a mania for success in our culture today. I believe this desire for success is built into the human psyche. But what we need is a clear understanding of how success is to be measured. What is success?

Success can be measured in four different ways.

Sometimes we measure success by internal opinion. We have an image of what we want to be, desires that we want to realize. If we establish that image or realize those desires, we feel we have succeeded. If we don't, we feel we have failed. The standard by which we measure our success or failure is internal.

Sometimes we measure success by external opinion. In this case, our success or failure is measured by the judgment of others. If they judge us to be a success, we are. If, in the eyes of our peers, we have not lived up to their expectations, we are a failure. Pleasing our peers becomes our primary purpose for living.

At other times, we measure success by external standards. Certain criteria within society are fixed standards of achievement in any field. To hold a certain position, to obtain a certain degree, to pass a certain test, to receive a certain certification makes us a success.

There is, however, a fourth way to measure success, the true measure of success, and that is by an eternal standard. True success is determined not by our feelings, not by the opinion of others, not by fixed standards in society, but by God.

If you please God, it doesn't matter who you displease. If you displease God, it doesn't matter who you please. What God thinks is the key.

True success means to reach the goals that God has for you in His plan, and thus to have God's stamp of approval on your life. Caleb understood the meaning of real success. So when he set the goal for his life, his goal was in line with God's purpose and plan.

Whenever you set a goal for your life and say, "I want that mountain," you had better be sure that this mountain is what God wants you to have. If your goals are not in line with God's purpose, you might reach your goals but miss out on the blessings God wants to pour into your life. Make sure your goals are in line with God's purpose.

Goal-Setting is for Everyone

Notice this second thing that is revealed in our text: goal-setting is for everyone. Hear what Caleb said in verse 10: "And now behold, the Lord has let me live, just as he spoke, these 45 years, from the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, when Israel walked in the wilderness, and now behold, I am 85 years old today." Eighty-five years old! That's the time most people are sitting back and settling in. But not Caleb! At 85, after a lifetime in which Caleb had "followed the Lord ... wholeheartedly" (Joshua 14:14), he set his eyes on the land of Hebron and said, "I want that mountain!"