Listen below or on Apple Podcast | Spotify

Welcome to the 5th and final episode in our Faith-Led New Year Goals series.

Today, we’re talking about how to assess your productivity and goal progress as a Christian. Our culture measures accomplishments. But as Jesus followers, we’re called to look at much more than this.

I’ll share two other ways to evaluate your new year goal progress, from a Biblical point of view. I’ll also talk about what God may be trying to teach us as we pursue our goals.

 SHOW MENTIONS

This blog post…keep reading for written content found in our podcast episode.

ABIDE & FOCUS PLANNER: Our planner will help you prayerfully choose goals and spiritual habits to pursue. Then it will help you build monthly, weekly, and daily plans to work toward these goals and new habits. It includes tools for evaluating your goals from a Biblical perspective.

BLOG POST CONTENT

TIP #1:  START WITH THANKS AND PRAISE

If you’re productivity-minded (I’m guilty!), it can be easy to think about yourself first…how much did I get done? What didn’t get done? What do I need to do next?

But, I’d like to suggest you begin your reflection time by giving God praise. He’s the one who gives us opportunities, abilities, and successes. In the Old Testament, God’s people are continually asked to remember God so they don’t forget his role in their prosperity (Deut. 6:1-12). 

By thanking God first, you remember his role in your productivity. And bonus: you focus on the good, not disappointments or setbacks!

TIP #2:  USE GOD’S STANDARD TO EVALUATE

We are called first and foremost to love God and love others (Matt. 22:37-40 ). Nothing, not even our prayed-over priorities, should compete with this.

That means we need to evaluate our accomplishments, habits, and progress using God’s standard.

I’ve been guilty (more than I like to admit) of letting productivity be my primary standard. But love is number one. How we love needs to be our primary standard.

So how do we reflect using God’s standard of love?

For goals, ask:

• What did I accomplish?
• Did I sacrifice my call to love God or others to get this far? If so, what needs to change about how I work toward goals in the future?
• If I didn’t make as much progress as I wanted, was it because I prioritized love? How can God help me see my slower progress as success, rather than a shortcoming? 
• How can I pursue my goals without sacrificing God’s call to love?

For rhythms & habits, ask:

•  What habits and rhythms have I established? 
• Is maintaining this habit or rhythm negatively impacting my call to love in any way? If so, what needs to change?
• Are there any habits or rhythms I’m having trouble establishing? Is this actually a good thing because I’m elevating something else God values more than this practice? 
• How can I pursue healthy habits without sacrificing God’s call to love?

TIP #3:  ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED TO LIVE FAITHFULLY

Reflection will show you what to keep and what to tweak. Now it’s time to act. But, it’s easy to fall into one of two traps:

• trying to live God-centered by your own power.
• feeling overwhelmed by what God is leading you to do.

Sweet sisters, we are not sufficient. God is! So, don’t forget to ask Him to equip you.

Not sure what you need to live dependently on God? Here are some questions you can ask to figure this out:

• Am I prone to relying on myself to get things done? Why? Use your response to create a prayer to God.
• What skill, strength, or knowledge do I need to do this work? Ask God for it.
• Read Galatians 5:22-23. What Fruits of the Spirit do I need to work God’s way? Pray that you’ll walk with God and receive them.
• What will I need to lay down in order to do what God wants? Ask God for the power to give it up.

CONCLUSION

It’s a gift to plan and make progress toward goals. But everything we do, and the outcomes, need to be submitted to God.

So I encourage you to plan, and make space for regular reflection with God. When we go to Him, He sets us on the right, straight path (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Would you like help growing your spiritual habits? Then get a free copy of our Spiritual Habits Starter Guide below.