One of the problems that I often hear from people in the church is that there aren't enough simple, applicational explanations for how to obey a specific biblical doctrine.
It is easy for doctrinally sound sermons or books to get stuck in the philosophical realm. With so much history, and connected passages, and cultural breakdowns, they can end up barely scraping the surface of the doctrine applied. I wanted to create a space where biblical application is valued and always presented.
Therefore, each Thursday blog post will be short, succinct, and all about putting doctrine into practice.
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I talked in my Monday blog post about the biblical reasoning for setting spiritual goals. Now let’s focus on the how-to.
Step 1: Pray
If setting spiritual goals is something we do for God, we better start the process by inviting Him. We pray for direction and for the Spirit to reveal what we desperately need to achieve and turn away from. Also important. Don’t stop approaching the throne in prayer. God is our life support (Philippians 3:13-14).
Step 2: Reflect
Consider two main areas of your life to reflect upon when setting goals. Where are you currently serving? Where are you deeply struggling? Those questions are important because goal-setting is about enhancing and fixing.
Step 3: Create Goals That Glorify God And Serve Others
Spiritual goals shouldn’t be about you unless they ultimately lead to God’s glory or serving people. I think it can become incredibly common to make the goal of, “I want to read my Bible everyday”. That isn’t necessarily a bad goal, but transformation takes place when what you learn turns into practice, so don’t stop there. Pair it with the goal of “Share what I learned from my reading with someone 3 times per week” or “lead a Bible study based on what I’m learning”. Don’t settle for passive goals or ones that only make you feel better about yourself. That’s what the Pharisees did. All of their knowledge and even their practices were about themselves (Mark 12:38-40).
Step 4: Measurable & Forgiving Goals
It is important to recognize two things. Ambiguity is the bane of productivity. And you are a weak, fallen human who struggles. You need structure and you are going to mess up, especially when it comes to following spiritual goals. A wise friend of mine once explained how he didn’t want his spiritual goals to be like resolutions, goals that often fall flat because they are often general rather than specific or so rigid that failure led to inaction. We need to account for that slow process of growth when setting our spiritual goals.
Step 5: Invite Accountability
This is an incredibly hard step for many people. It can be extremely personal and reveal your weaknesses. We may not enjoy feeling corrected, but our entire faith is based on a God who is transforming our hearts by challenging the way we act and think (Romans 12:2). The lie we often get caught up in is that an accountability partner’s only job is to catch us when we mess up. Not so. They are there to cheer you on and help point you back to your goal when you feel discouraged (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
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