7 Tips for Setting Spiritual Goals for Spiritual Growth

Tips for Setting Spiritual Goals That Lead to Greater Spiritual Growth

Do you want greater spiritual growth this year? In this post, I will share how setting spiritual goals can lead to greater spiritual growth. 

Often at the beginning of the year, most people set goals and make new year resolutions. 

Whether or not those goals are met depends on each individual’s level of determination and persistence. 

Additionally, other factors could come into play such as environmental and situational factors.

But that is not the focus of this post. First, what is spiritual growth?

What is Spiritual Growth?

Spiritual growth in this context refers to the progressive development of a follower of Jesus Christ in godliness. And it entails being in right standing with God.

Such a person will increasingly grow to hate evil and love righteousness (Hebrews 1:9). 

He/She will take root downward, and bear fruit upward. (Isaiah 37:31)

The apostle Paul said;

11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. (1 Corinthians 13:11 NKJV)

That is the nature of spiritual growth, when you are growing spiritually, the changes will be evident in you. They will be evident in your words, thoughts, and actions because they will become more Christ-like.

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ and people cannot see any progressive change in you, check yourself!

It is an indication that you are not growing spiritually and that is dangerous. 

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Why is Spiritual Growth Important?

A quick recall of the parable of the fig tree will help you understand why spiritual growth is important.

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

Do you remember the parable of the barren fig tree?

It accurately describes God’s disposition toward stagnation and fruitlessness.

6 He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ 8 But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9 And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ ” Luk 13:6 – Luk 13:9 (NKJV)

It is evident from the above Bible passage that God is a wise investor and does not tolerate wastage. Hence the instruction to cut down the unfruitful tree.

At salvation, God deposits a measure of His Spirit in us and by that Spirit, we cry abba Father (Galatians 4:6). Through the help of that same Holy Spirit, God expects us to begin to grow and be fruitful.

Remember Jesus said in John 15:2;

2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. John 15:2 (NKJV)

Fruit-bearing is a sign of spiritual growth. God wants you to grow spiritually and to bear fruits of righteousness. If He has invested in you, He expects you to yield a commensurate fruit in return.

And to whom much is given, much is expected. (Luke 12:48b)

Read the related post on why you should use your talents and gifts for God.

Pertinent Key for Greater Spiritual Growth

What then should you do to experience greater spiritual growth?

Related Post: Indicators of Spiritual Growth

Set Spiritual Goals

Do you set spiritual goals? If so, how often do you do this? You should set Spiritual Goals the same way you set other goals. 

One advantage of setting spiritual goals is that it will help you maintain focus and avoid distractions. If you don’t set goals, you will do things randomly and there will be no way of assessing your performance at the end. 

A Spiritual goal in this context is something you’re trying to achieve as a follower of Jesus Christ. Our ultimate spiritual goal as followers of Jesus Christ is to be more like Him.

And the book of Ephesians enjoins us to imitate God.

​1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. (Ephesians 5:1 NKJV)

Whatever your spiritual goal is, it must be rooted in the Bible and aimed at increasing godliness. This distinction is necessary because the word spiritual is broad and anyone can claim they have a spiritual goal without it having a biblical basis. An example of such a non-biblical but spiritual goal could be to derail as many Christians as possible.

7 Tips for Setting Spiritual Goals

1. Evaluate your spiritual life, identify and document the areas where you are lacking.
2. Determine the root cause. In other words, why are you falling short in this area?
3. Select between 1 to 5 areas to improve upon within the year. Your selection should be realistic. Remember that your goals need to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound).
4. Develop actionable plans to improve on previously identified areas.
5. Execute your plan
6. Review how well you’re doing with following your plans. Make the necessary adjustments.
7. Rinse and repeat.

When setting spiritual goals, remember that your goals need to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound)

Example of Spiritual Goal Setting and Execution

Anne is an usher in her local church and she’s a women leader as well. Additionally, Anne is a wife and mother to two wonderful children Isaac and Joyce.

One of her 2022 goals is to improve her prayer life. 

Following the steps to setting Spiritual Goals outlined above, Anne has realized that she needs to step up her prayer life. During Anne’s evaluation, she identified the reasons her prayer life is almost non-existent.

• She’s busy as most of us are
• She has to leave home early for work and this makes her too distracted to pray.
• Often times she doesn’t know what to pray about.

Anne has identified the root cause of her prayerlessness, now she needs to plan a line of action. So she starts by;

• Reordering her priorities because she realizes that a prayerless Christan is a powerless Christian. Therefore she committed to spending at least 15 minutes in prayer before going about the day’s business.

To achieve this, Anne sets her alarm to wake her up 15 minutes earlier so she can pray.

• Next, she looks up Bible plans and passages on prayer. She also invested in a book on prayer which she reads every night before bed.
• And gradually, she becomes better at praying.

Of course, because Anne is human there are occasional slip-ups but based on her review and self-assessment, she’s doing fine. The above is an example of how you would set spiritual goals and execute them.

Related post: How to Overcome Self-Doubt and Achieve your goals

Summary

In summary, we have reviewed what it means to set spiritual goals and why it is important to do so. One reason is that spiritual goal setting helps us achieve spiritual growth by being deliberate in our actions. Another reason is that setting spiritual goals will give us something against which to measure performance.

It is important to grow spiritually and bear fruit so that we are not at risk of being cut off from God.

And lastly, it is fulfilling to set a goal and accomplish it.

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