Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. {Colossians 3:2}
It’s that time of the year again, where we make our New Year’s resolutions and set new goals. Are you one of those who sets them, or are you one who decided a long time ago not to even bother? I’m one of those who still believes in setting goals for the New Year. I used to make New Year’s resolutions, but I’ve given up on calling it that because it just doesn’t work for me. I’ve come to accept that on my own without the help of the Lord, I’m a failure at changing. Studies back me up on this anyway. They say only 8% of people who make New Year’s resolutions fulfill them. About 40% of us out there make them. So why even bother? But I do like to set goals and try to see if I can accomplish them. So far in the past three years I’ve been writing down my goals and I’ve been having over a fifty percent success rate. Now if I can only set goals that are more realistic to raise my chances to at least eighty percent, that would be wonderful. What it all comes down to though, is that I feel that what really matters is setting goals that draw us closer to the Lord. At the end of the day and when this life is over, what matters in the end is the Lord. Even if we fail at accomplishing our goals pertaining to this world, if we at least are accomplishing goals that are bringing us closer to the Lord, then in the end we are successful.
They say it is important to write down your goals. Again and again, studies show people who write out their goals have over an 80% success rate in achieving them. So here are my goals I’ve been thinking of so far in regards to my spiritual walk with the Lord that I would like to accomplish this year. I’m not going to make this a long list, I will try not to – five at the most probably. If I can at least accomplish three of them, I will deem myself successful.
1. Get rid of excess in my life. I just feel like there are things that are important and then there are things that are just a waste of time. I need to look at myself and admit to time-wasting activities and work on getting rid of them – one at a time. If it’s not important to my end goal, which is spending more time with the Lord, then I’ve got to get rid of it. For example, my Internet usage. I feel like I just waste too much time on the Internet. I need to assess my reason for surfing and where I go and stop wasting time. I love watching homemade card-making videos on you tube but really, how much of that do I really need to watch? Is this even really important? I must stop the excess. I could go on and on with what I’m seeing in my life that are in excess and time-wasters. I want to work on these things.
2. Read more. Because I’ve been spending so much time on the Internet I’ve neglected my reading. I used to do a lot of reading. I find I’m not reading as much as I used to do, even my Bible. When I read my Bible I do a quick reading and don’t take notes anymore like I used to do. I need to get back to it. Hopefully once I’ve cut down wasting time concentrating on my hand made cards (especially on you tube), I can spend more time back to my reading.
3. Spend more time on meditation. Now this is not the world’s kind of meditation. I don’t sit cross-legged and concentrate on my breathing and in my surroundings or on my body parts, etc. I’m talking about just lying down on my day bed or on the couch, with a blanket over me and I commune with the Lord. I talk to Him. This is what I enjoy and love so much, because this is my heart to heart talk with the Lord. I just freely talk to Him about whatever comes in my heart, and I tune into Him in my heart and I can hear Him talk back to me. This is different than my prayer time or supplication time with the Lord. In my prayer time, I bring the world’s problems to Him. I have a prayer list I read to the Lord with my loved ones names, my relatives, my friends, the churches I know, ministers I know, leaders, missionaries, countries, and I ask the Lord’s blessings and salvation on every one of them. Every day of the week I have a group of people I pray for from my prayer list so that I don’t become overwhelmed with the amount of people I pray for. The Lord actually was the one who showed this to me, to divvy them up based on the day of the week so I don’t feel overwhelmed. On the other hand, my meditation with the Lord is about my life and my desires. It’s whatever I feel in my heart I want to talk to Him about. I also love Him through this. I think about His goodness in my life and I thank Him and love Him. I tell you time flies by quicker for me when I’m meditating on the Lord than when I’m reading my prayer list to Him. To me, prayer or supplication time is work. Meditation is rest. But I notice my meditation time has been dwindling. I’ve become too busy lately and have been wasting too much time on the Internet, and because of it I’ve become more sad in my soul. I need to get back to my meditation time with the Lord so I can feel happier again.
4. Keep writing songs. I have over four hundred songs I’ve written so far since I started writing when I was seventeen years old. Even though it might sound like I’ve already written enough to last me a lifetime, still writing songs give me joy. It also brings the Lord to me. I find that when I write a new song to Him and I sing it to the Lord, I feel His presence in my heart. I feel His love and His joy. He fills me so much. I feel fulfilled. Just for that alone, I can’t stop writing songs. I must continue to write even if it’s very simple. What matters is I have a new song for the Lord and I make Him happy, because I feel fulfilled in this work.
5. Work on my book. I’ve been working on a book the Lord had told me to write a few years ago. I am off and on about it. I haven’t been too consistent. I really don’t know when I will finish. I feel like it’s an on going project.
6. Continue to write on my website and record my podcasts. There’s really no other choice for me about this right now. Whether I like it or not, this is the work the Lord wanted me to do and I get prompting in my heart every week to work on it. I just thank the Lord that He helps me write and gives me ideas on what to write about. Without His help I couldn’t possibly do it. I thank Him all the time for helping me. And on that note, my last goal for the year is –
7. Being grateful. I think this is so key to happiness in life in general, and to our happiness in our walk with God. Without being grateful we can end up spiraling down into a world of sorrow and joyless living. Sure, there are a ton of things to complain about. But when we refocus our minds to what is good and what is lovely and what the Lord has done for us, there is no way bitterness can enter into our hearts. There is no way we can stay discouraged and depressed. Being grateful is the antidote to discouragements and depression. Being grateful is the only way to live if we’re going to live at all. How can we accomplish our goals otherwise if we’re not inspired and happy? We will fail if we’re always looking at the dark side of life. The most important thing in this walk with God is staying grateful and appreciative of all the things He’s done for us. Always thinking of what is good and what is lovely.
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. {Philippians 4:6-9}
Well, I went a little over my estimate of 5 goals to write about, but these are the things most important to me. I encourage you also to set some goals for the coming year, and use them to draw closer to the Lord. Make a list like I did, and work on it each day. And remember, ask the Lord to help you with your list. Without Him helping us, we will likely fail. But with Him on our side, we can do it!
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. {Philippians 4:13}
Prayer
Father, thank You so much Lord Jesus, for You in my life. Thank You that You promised to never leave us nor forsake us. Thank You that Your word is true and You never lie.
I pray, Savior that You would please help us to draw closer to You in the coming year. Help us to refocus our eyes on You. Help us to set our hearts and affections upon You and not upon the things of this world. You above all things are what matters in the end when this life is over. Help us please Father, to set goals that will brings us closer to You this year, each and every day. I pray this in Your most wonderful name, Jesus. Thank You, Father. Amen.
#repost12/2018
