We do it every year, don’t we? We set new goals and reevaluate our life's direction. How many of our goals change and how many remain the same year after year? Why do we have to keep setting the same goals, and what keeps us from changing?
It's a battle with our flesh.
We're born with this sin-nature that causes us to keep going against our pursuit of the holy. The enemy doesn't want us to change, to become more godly. He works against all the things that God wants us to be and do. And when we fail to meet a certain goal, he makes us feel bad for it. At least that's how I feel about it.
We're born with this sin-nature that causes us to keep going against our pursuit of the holy. The enemy doesn't want us to change, to become more godly. He works against all the things that God wants us to be and do. And when we fail to meet a certain goal, he makes us feel bad for it. At least that's how I feel about it.
We can also be tempted to look back too much.
My almost two-year old son recently learned how to walk backwards a few weeks ago. Now he likes to walk around backward really fast. The problem with this is that he doesn't always watch where he's going and has to turn around to gain his bearings on where he's going again.
We can do the same thing when we're too retrospective. We get so busy looking back that life takes us by surprise, and it takes us awhile to figure out where we're going again. It's great to reflect on how God has worked in our lives, especially if we're going through a particularly trying time. It's even better to look forward because too much looking back can distract us from the ways God wants us move forward and grow.
In setting my goals this year, I've been asking myself: Where does God want me, and how does He want me to align my heart with His?
We're now a week into 2014. Let's look forward to what the Lord has in store for us!
Really good thoughts, Chrysti. As I read your words - the thoughts that crossed my mind were very much along the same line, but one thing that jumped out... what if the fact that I seem to have the same goals year after year after year comes from the truth that I'm not actually making progress because I'm trying to change instead of working with God where He's trying to change me. What if my goals and resolutions don't line up with God's for me because I'm looking at the wrong things?
ReplyDeleteYes, that's a good thought, Richelle! That's why we need to align our hearts with God's to make certain we're heading in the right direction, whether we're working on an "old" goal or trying to set new ones.
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