“Right about now gyms are filling up, diets are being launched, and the self-help industry is having their “black Friday.”
Goals are valid and important… hard to measure growth without goals… I would challenge us to do one thing before putting our name to any goal…
• Seek to be clear about “the why” before “the what” of those things we are seeking to accomplish…
I believe it’s true that truly eternal, and transformative, goals begin with this principle:
• “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.”
• It’s making the purpose of life the driver for the goals that direct our lives… this transforms the “why” we do “what” we do to something deeper…
• His love for us honors His name… We’re forgiven, not because we deserve it, but because in salvation’s expression of love it brings Honor to King Jesus… God isn’t begrudgingly brought to this… It pleases God that He would make us His own…
• Paul’s trials would eventually bring glory to God… This would be true of all the apostles… This is true of us if we suffer well… if we endure…
• Jeremiah and Daniel’s petition. and prayer, to God wasn’t based on Israel’s basic goodness… but that God’s name would not suffer shame… That God would receive glory in moving on this people’s behalf…
This life isn’t about me… it isn’t about you… it isn’t about others… it isn’t about nations… it isn’t about our legacies… it’s about one thing…
• This life is about the glory of God, and His glory alone, and in the presence of His glory we are undeserving recipients (in our own labors) of His blessings… we are blessed when He is glorified…
To bring glory to God and enjoy His presence…
• If we can live life through this prism, we can truly know the joy and fulfillment we were created for… You were made for this…
• This must be “the why’s” to our “what’s!”
• Make your prayer, God what are Your goals for me? If He is “the why” let Him direct your “what.”
Our motives matter:
• If we’re helping others (which is a good thing) to feel good about ourselves, what happens when the weight of the labor is more than the personal gratification, we receive from it… We either walk away, or our efforts leave something to be desired.
• If we’re helping others that they would feel good, what happens when their response to us are ones of ingratitude… We either walk away, or our efforts leave something to be desired.
• But, if our motives for helping others are driven from above, to honor God, to walk in love toward God and humanity. When we don’t necessarily feel good, or we’re greeted with ingratitude, the work will continue on in excellence! Because our labor is not to men but to God.
Too often our goals, no matter how good they are on their own merits, are driven from a selfish motivation.
Whatever you’re seeking in the new year, whether it’s physical or spiritual, a reading goal, a financial goal, a relationship goal, or whatever.
• If Christ is at the center of your priorities and goals… If you’re living for His glory… whatever your goal is, will be done better and in balance.
In this new year, live your life to bring glory to God and enjoy His presence. That you can live to your fullest potential in Christ!”