A businessman was having a terrible time getting anything accomplished. He was distracted. Constant interruptions plagued him. At the end of the day, he faced a pile of unfinished work and felt like a complete failure.
The businessman hired a consultant who charged him a cool million dollars to give him this piece of organizational advice that solved all his problems. I’ll pass on the advice to you for free.
“Set goals,” said the consultant. “Put your goals on the calendar and each day make a list of mini-goals you need to accomplish to meet your main goals. Everything else comes second.”
Maybe you’ve felt like this businessman. I know I have. As Christians we’re fighting an uphill battle all fronts and it is easy to get burned out. St. Paul describes our efforts as a race against time through an obstacle course to accomplish one main goal: the high calling of God to become like Christ (Hebrews12), obedient, faithful, patient, self-controlled, etc. And is it ever easy to get distracted! And tired!
As Christian women leaders, we are planning programs, meetings, and Bible studies all the time. Those things are important, but even work for Jesus can distract us from the all-important target of becoming like Jesus. With the objective of becoming more like Christ in view, we need to set mini-goals to help us reach it. What does it take to become a spiritual champion and win “the prize that is set before us?”
1. You become like the company you keep so set a mini-goal of daily time alone with Jesus.
Isaiah rose early in the morning to seek the Lord. Daniel prayed three times a day. Jesus went alone to the mountains, and afterwards, could walk on water. As a leader, you MUST establish a daily pattern of time alone with God and make it at least as important as eating.
2. Set a mini-goal to study the Word by memorizing portions of it. If you consider memorization an old-fashioned idea, reread Psalm 1, the Psalm of spiritual champions. It and many, many other scriptures emphasis the transforming spiritual experience gained by memorization or hiding the Word in the heart for further meditation. The Word is the Bread of Life or refreshment for weary souls. Eat it and thoroughly digest it.
3. Set a personal growth mini-goal with an accountability partner. Your personal growth goal might be to ripen spiritual fruit, such as develop more self-control by fasting one day a week. Or to stir up a spiritual gift, such as evangelism by exploring and practicing witnessing. Spiritual growth goals can be so difficult to quantify and measure that some will not even try. But just by focusing on becoming more like Jesus in a certain area, you will make progress. Find another woman more mature in her faith (Titus 2) to disciple you and to tell you the truth about yourself in love and pray with you that you might be healed (James 5).
Let me encourage you to prayerfully practice these mini-goals as you push toward the main goal: to become like Jesus. Don’t miss out on the unimaginably great prize God has in store for women who cross the finish line and inspire others to run with them.
© Rebekah Montgomery 2005
Please Request Permission To Use