Goal Setting…

I decided weeks ago that the theme for this first week of January would be about goal setting. Not gonna lie…I have mixed feelings about the whole goal setting process.  Why, you ask?  Well, I hate the idea of joining in on the proverbial band wagon.  It feels a little cliché and there’s a part of me that just wants to rebel against it. But there is an even bigger part of me that is just stuck. It is harder to fail at something if you keep it low and slow–at least that’s what I’ve told myself.  Goal setting pushes you out into new places that require the development of new skills and the strengthening of the ones you already have.  Fear of failure keeps you locked down, but eventually you just want to break through.

I don’t do New Year’s Resolutions–at all.  Resolutions are usually vague unquantifiable promises. New Year’s Eve motivates many people to look back on the year and with an induced guilt, motivation, promises are sputtered of a better year to come.  I’m not particularly interested in delving into a whole diverge of “coulda, woulda, shoulda’…”. It is what it is, and there is no going back.  (Sigh) Yeah, I like the idea of setting specific measurable goals because that feels like a better way to get at life.

 

Rest and Waiting: A Moratorium of Goal Setting

About eight years ago I began a journey of learning what it means to REST.  If you follow this blog you will have read parts of that journey in many of the posts, because it has become a fundamental part of my spiritual formation.  Four years ago the LORD challenged me to trust him on some profoundly deep levels.  He asked me to walk for a season blind.  Not literally blind, but figuratively.

I had to let go of planning for a while, so real goal setting was set aside.   Looking back I can see that I was working on a specific goal, but at the time I had no idea how to map it out.  My goal was to learn how to rest and wait, which feels a little counter productive, but it was an important goal for my overall health.

The best way for me to describe this season is like walking in thick fog (learning the discipline of being still is harder than you think–just saying).  It was an emotional upend and for a long time it was really challenging to release the compulsion to do things.   And then, just as I was starting to find a rhythm and a method, life upended me again.

Staying Low when You want to Go

My Father passed away suddenly and the LORD just reminded me to walk the way I had been practicing all year…Trusting HIM, but seeing nothing.  I became very accustomed to just staying low, resting under the wings of the Almighty.  It became easier to not plan anything.  It became a way of life, resigned to not participating in major goal setting. Interestingly enough, as I traveled and ministered I received prophetic words that spoke of big, crazy new things that were coming.  Things in me that were growing and developing, preparing to be birthed.

I felt that I should consider goal setting so I might be ready for whatever might come, but never really felt released to actively engage in the discipline.  So weird.  Instead I continued to hear the words, Rest and Wait, with the addition of, “Keep your eyes on Jesus.”  It’s important to know how to stay low when you want to go, because timing is everything.In restless obedience, that is what I did, I practiced the discipline of rest, waiting and keeping my eyes on Jesus, because I knew deep down that these disciplines would yield incredible strength for what  was yet to come.

 

Getting Unstuck

Do you know how hard it is to get motivated after long periods of inactivity?  My daughter laughed at me the other day as I came back from doing a couple of minutes of burst activity. Sometimes you just need a little help getting started and the right tool can go a long way in the process of goal setting. I got a Fitbit for Christmas and it encourages me on the hour to move around and as crazy as it sounds, having a reminder that encourages you to move for a couple of minutes is almost necessary.  She laughed because I came back out of breath. (Please note: I am NOT being paid in any form to advertise Fitbit.  I just REALLY love this little product and the process of using it is applicable to this post).

Retraining the body is, quite frankly, uncomfortable and I will admit that there are moments I’d like to simply pass! I have not had much success with goal setting in this area of my life.  Do you relate?  The same can be said from a spiritual context.  It’s easy to say I want more of God and I’m willing to surrender, but doing it is an entirely different thing. Developing spiritual muscles through spiritual disciplines takes practice, just like any form of physical activity.  After my first day of trying to meet the goal of 250 steps an hour I could feel it, which is my confession and sad commentary of months of inactivity.

 

Fear: The Goal Setting Foe

Fear has been a huge obstacle for me but I have come to the conclusion that the discipline of REST and WAITING is critically important because it is the process of learning to quiet the soul and listen to the voice of the Father. Goal Setting can quickly become a system of doing.  A certain busy, activity that binds us to a religious spirit, which refuses to acknowledge grace.  I’m not saying that goal setting is bad or religious, but like anything else it can become distorted.  Rest and waiting provides a place to lean in, listen and learn. This is the place where minds are renewed.  Fear is a hard thing to expel even when you know it must be done.

Waiting for the go ahead can make for some impatient moments.  2017 is here and I have no doubt that the transition and shift has happened.  One of my prayers over 2016 was that God would activate in me what he planted, so why I am surprised is beyond me.  I believe the word the LORD has given me for 2017 is Movement.  It’s time to move.  The bottom line is the season of rest and waiting is done.  Don’t misunderstand, REST and WAITING are integral parts of the whole, but the application of these disciplines have to work in partnership with TRUST as the LORD releases into new places. What I’m trying to get at is Goal setting in this season looks WAY different from it did before and that’s okay.

 

 

 

 

The Nehemiah Principle: Focused Vision in Goal Setting

So, here I am,  stepping into the deep, wild movement of the current,  embarking on intentional goal setting, all the while reminding my soul to trust.  You have to do that, you know.  Remind the soul of truth and do it often.  That’s a Nehemiah principle.

The book of Nehemiah is amazing and if you are struggling at all in the process of goal setting or succeeding the goals, read this book.  This man establishes an amazing precedent. He was a cupbearer to the King, a servant in an influential position.  When he heard the dismal report of the condition of Jerusalem and her broken walls his heart broke.  As he prayed He felt led by God to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls. Nehemiah’s goal was an impossible goal, because he was a servant to a foreign King. He was in exile.  But God is God and He specializes in the impossible. Nehemiah cast a vision for the people and continued to bring it before their eyes regularly because they easily became distracted with the immensity of the task, opposition, and constant rumors of attack.

Listen, truth needs to be rehearsed and it will take a while of doing that before it becomes the dominant message over lies.  Goal Setting requires a vision.  If you set a goal but don’t know the “why” behind it, you will lose interest and momentum.  Keep the vision before you eyes and remind yourself of what’s true taking it step by step.  Nehemiah’s testimony demonstrates how focused vision helps in successful goal setting and capturing.

 

 

 

Goal Setting, with God

As an active step of obedience I decided to go ahead and set some goals.  These goals are specific and with no provision of comfort or taking the easy road. I continue to remind myself to breathe because there are some things on my list that surpass my little skill set.  Failure is not fatal.  In fact, failure can be helpful in long-term goal setting.  Lessons learned are NEVER wasted. (That will be a phrase I practice and speak over myself and goal setting list).

The truth of the matter is that God created each of us unique and special and He ALWAYS provides what we need for the journey.  Actually, that’s His name, it’s who He is–Jehovah-Jireh.  We are designed for fulfillment, it is planted in us just waiting for activation.  It’s time to get past the fear and misplaced obligation. Goal setting isn’t about doing better, it’s about being whole.

 

 

 

 

 

Identity is the Foundation of Goal Setting

One of the difficulties of goal setting is that it can become an exercise of identity. You are not what you do.  Be careful and do not make plans outside of God’s leading. I know, that one’s tough. but it is better to quiet your soul, be still, know Him, and listen.

Breathe.

 

 

Remember the truth.  You are beloved of God, beautiful, unique, special, and called by name.  God created you perfectly and has given you every good gift so that you can walk in complete freedom afforded to you by Christ Jesus, by the finished work of the Cross.  You were created to be His, to be loved by Him and to love him back. Everything else that you do should flow out of that grace. Think about that for a minute and just receive that love and grace.  Soak in it and embrace it.

Next, look into your soul and prime the wellspring of your heart.  God knows you better than you know yourself.  He knows what you are capable of and He is with you to help in the places where extra strength is needed to achieve success.  Goal Setting isn’t about what you are already capable of doing, it is about leading you into MORE (Failure is not fatal).  I want you to know something, God loves your heart and he wants to release you to live out of it…unrestrained, one might say.

 

Embracing Movement: Breaking it Down

Some people love goal setting and nail it, while others set goals but struggle to find ultimate success.  And then there are people like me, who fight anxiety with the very thought of goal setting.  Well, (and I’m preaching to myself here too) trusting God is actually what really matters, because He has proven himself faithful. In the hardest, darkest, seasons He is present and spreads new mercy every day (Lamentations 3:23).  This is true, but many of us are so focused on the details of circumstances and disappointment that the faithful presence of God is completely missed.  The greatest lesson I learned in the season of REST and WAITING is: Keep your eyes fixed on God-Period.

 

 

 

Here’s to embarking on a new journey of movement into the wild, risky, crazy that the hearts speak out.  Be brave, say it loud, and embrace movement into new territory.  Trust God on profoundly new levels, pressing in to know his heart even more.

Take your New Day, embrace it, and savor every part of the journey

 

Be Blessed as you embark on goal setting with God and working the process.  Welcome 2017!