It’s that time of year again. The start of a brand new chapter. “New Year. New Me” posts are flooding our timelines. Everyone is painstakingly putting together vision boards and setting their goals for the New Year. Financial and fitness goals, career and travel goals; everyone has their sights set on reaching new heights.
Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to move to a new level in life. God knows the desires of our hearts and he wants to bless us with good things. In Jeremiah 29:11 it says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” But, God’s good and prosperous plan doesn’t always mean receiving more (at least not in the worldly sense).
The world has conditioned us to believe that more should always equate to a noticeable increase in tangible things and this often dictates our New Year goals and resolutions. For example, you set a goal to obtain more success in your career to gain more money to afford more things and as a result you’ll be more happy. Or you set a goal to go to the gym more to get more fit to feel more confident and maybe even get more attention. This can be applied to all of the goals that we set from a worldly perspective and they often lead to a fleeting sense of fulfillment. Because when the goal is always more, enough is never enough.
But, this year I felt a nudge from the Lord to set one main goal and that was to steward well. To take my eyes off the next level and to focus on, appreciate and take good care of the blessings God has already given me. I had to come to the realization that I am spoiled brat under the Lord’s provision lol. My whole life is one big answered prayer. But still, without fail, I set my eyes on the next best things without taking time to fully appreciate all of the goodness God has given me in this current season of my life.
So this is how I’ll be reframing my goals from a worldly perspective to a kingdom perspective.
My fitness goals will no longer be centered around reaching a certain dress size. Instead I plan to be intentional about taking care of the body God created because it’s a vessel of the Holy Spirit and was created with care by God. Who am I take for granted being able bodied and having access to healthy food. I need to steward my body well.
My career goals no longer include climbing the corporate ladder at breakneck speed. I want show God appreciation for blessing me with the career that he has given me by working as unto him. I trust that he will open the necessary doors for me at the right time and that my hard work in my current role will not go unnoticed. I plan to steward my job well.
My personal life goals no longer include a bigger house or nicer car or designer this and that. I want to appreciate all of the amazing things that God has already given me. I’ll be taking better care of the home I have, pouring into my children, husband, family and friends. I want to steward this beautiful life God has given me much better than I have been.
Because when someone you love blesses you with so many good things, you show them how grateful you are.
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