I have received lots of feedback from this week’s messages thus far and I pray they continue to bless you as we seek to prepare for 2016. The emphasis of this week is closing out 2015 strong. To do so we must consider, evaluate, and ultimately judge where we are (progress wise) on the road to our destiny. Back in January I shared with you the following about purpose and vision:
- Purpose gives birth to vision.
- Vision informs your plans.
- Plans help you to develop measureable goals.
- Goals are incremental steps that take you towards an expected end.
- Discipline is required to complete your goals. Discipline is a self-imposed standard or restriction motivated by a desire greater than the alternatives. Discipline is about making decisions that are dictated by a determined destiny.
I am sure many of you went through this process back in January. You prayed, you sought the Lord concerning His vision for 2015, you established some goals, and you then entered the year in pursuit of purpose. Before you repeat the process for 2016, let’s slow down long enough to see where we are. How well did you do in 2015? Did you complete your goals? Did you take those incremental steps? Did you follow the plan? Did you exercise discipline? These are key questions for the believer who is determined to arrive at God’s overall expected end for their lives.
In Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth, while addressing the importance of self-inspection before taking communion, the Apostle said, “If we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way.” (1 Cor 11:31). While this is a completely different topic, the same applies. If you judge yourself accurately, you will not need God to judge you. Actually, in this case I believe you need both. You should judge yourself and also ask God to judge you. You should want feedback from God as to how you are doing on the road that leads to His purpose for your life.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
- Author W. Clement Stone said, “You should not expect what you do not inspect.” Writing a goal down in January and then never looking at it again is useless. The point of having a plan and documenting goals is to review them regularly so they can influence your activity.
- You should want to be judged. Judgment is only bad for the person who has not performed. The child who is doing well in school loves report card day. The employee who excels at work looks forward to their annual performance report. So if you know you are doing what you are supposed to be doing, you should not be afraid of God’s judgment. You will actually welcome it.
- You should want to know what you are NOT doing well. When you judge yourself and openly welcome God’s judgment, you put yourself in a position to grow. You are not doing everything well. You are not winning in every area of your life. But judging yourself and welcoming judgment will help you identify the areas you need to work on.
- Another added added benefit to judging yourself and welcoming God’s judgment is identifying things the Lord wants you to STOP doing! Sometimes your “To Do” list is not as important as your “NOT To Do” list. Releasing yourself from unproductive and unnecessary activities (and people) actually helps you to focus your efforts on the things God wants you focused on.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for teaching me about Your grace and my requirement to live by faith. You made plans for me before the world began. My goal is to find, follow and finish those plans. To that end, I continually seek You for divine vision related to my purpose. The vision You give me gives birth to plans, the plans contain measurable goals, and I have the discipline required to review the plans and goals on a consistent basis in order to complete them. It’s the end of 2015. Before I cross over into 2016 I open my heart to judged. I want to know how I did in 2015. I want to know where I am on the road to my destiny. I want to know what to continue, what to stop because it’s complete, and what to stop because I am not supposed to be doing it. As You speak, I listen and obey. In the areas where I am doing well, I welcome Your validation. In the areas where I am not, I welcome Your correction. Living this way I am determined to arrive at Your overall expected end for my life. I declare this by faith! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
