If there’s anything that the past year has taught a lot of people, it is that life is too short not to focus on the important things; two of these things include our inter-personal relationship with people and our relationship with God. These culminate in the two greatest commandments of loving God with all of our hearts and loving our neighbors (Mark 12:31)
We are well into the new year so if you haven’t already gotten started with your spiritual goals, you should start now. We often make a big deal out of our career goals, fitness goals so why shouldn’t we do the same and even more with our spiritual goals.
By what standard do we measure spiritual growth?
When we begin to conform more and more to the image of Christ and live our lives in accordance with God’s word rather than the standards of the world then we can say that we are growing spiritually. The evidence of spiritual growth is also seen in the ability to effectively manifest the fruits of the spirits which are love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control… ( Galatians 5:22-23)
We are only able to really grow spiritually when we pay attention to our spiritual fitness. Being spiritually fit can be likened to the process of being physically fit. The same way we go on special diets for physical wellness we must feed ourselves with the truth of God’s word so that we are able to combat the lies that the enemy throws at us. Engaging in spiritual exercises such as personal retreats, fasting, quiet time and so on also help us tone our ‘spiritual muscles’.
Be SMART with your spiritual goals
I recently read a devotional that spoke about living purposefully to accomplish our God vision for the year. My favorite part of the devotional gives a guide on how to set goals that are smart. The goals must be:
Specific: They must be as specific as possible rather than just being generic
Measurable: You must have some way to measure your progress as your work towards them.
Actionable: The goals must involve practical steps and actions you can take
Realistic: While setting lofty goals are good, your goals must be real so that you can actually work towards them within the resources available to you.
Time-targeted: Your goals must have a specific time frame within which they should be completed and assessed.
Where to start?
If you are not sure where to start with setting your spiritual goals, here are some specific areas you might want to consider growing spiritually:
- Study of the word. You can decide to study a new book of the bible every month. This would require devoting some minutes or at least an hour to bible study each day. Joining a bible study can also help with achieving this goal.
- Worship and thanksgiving. Be intentional about thanking God for all that you are and have. Being intentional about thanksgiving helps you develop a thankful and positive attitude that would help you live a joyful life. You can create a thanksgiving journal that helps you record all the things you are thankful to God for.
- Preaching of the gospel. As Christians, we have been given the great commission of preaching the gospel and you don’t have to be a preacher to do this. You can start by sharing your salvation experience and faith walk with people in your circle; friends, family members, and colleagues.
- Giving to the needy and giving to support the work of God. There are so many people in our world who need our love and kindness. Make it a duty to be a blessing to others; offer your time, money, and resources to improve the lives of others. This year I have decided to sew monetary seeds into ministries that have blessed me; evangelical missions, Christian drama ministries, and so on. You can also volunteer your time at your local church.
- Prayer and intercession: The bible talks about how we should make intercession for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18) because the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:16)
