Scripture Reference
S.M.A.R.T. Goals
Back in my days in the corporate world, we were introduced to the idea of not just setting goals, but actually doing it with meaning and purpose. Not exactly sure who "invented" the idea, but it was
presented as making "smart" goals, but the "smart" was an acronym. Using the "smart" goals process is a good way to set goals for any area of your life, but we are going to take a look at how each letter could
apply to your Spiritual goals. Let's look at each letter and it's corresponding word, then we'll come back and put it all together.
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S = Specific. Goals should always be clear and simple. Not necessary easy. In fact, if a goal was easy to achieve, we probably would have already achieved it. Some people who have trouble
reaching their goals fail in either the "clear" part or the "simple" part. Or sometimes both.
- I need to get my life together.
- I need to start working on my future.
- I need to work on my relationship with the Lord.
Those have the appearance of being specific, but are they really? And are they really clear? Getting your life together could be a million different things, as could working on your future, as could
working on your relationship with the Lord. The problem with non-specific and non-clear goals is that they are often overwhelming. If somebody told me they needed to get their life together, that
could potentially be a lot of work on a lot of things and take a lot of time. Like, where do I start with that as a goal?
Another problem with non-specific and non-clear goals is that can lull you into a sense of accomplishment without actually doing anything significant. If the goal was to start working on your
relationship with God, you may think of last Thanksgiving when your Grandpa asked you to give the blessing for the big family meal. I mean, that's great. Grandpa doesn't just ask anybody to do that, right?
So, a big deal, and that may make you think, I must be working on my relationship with God. I would argue that's barely working if at all.
So we need to get specific and we need to be clear. Good news is you're working with a Heavenly Father is all about "specific" and "clear". Go back and read Leviticus and Deuteronomy. The laws, the rules
for sacrifices. All very specific and all very clear.
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M = Measurable. Goals should always be able to be measured with numbers and/or with data. This allows you to track your progress as you move toward the goal, and can very often give you your
starting point--the actions you're going to take first.
If your goal is to read the Bible more, that's fairly specific and clear. But what does "more" mean. If you added to that some numbers, your goal might be, "My goal is to read the Bible for at least 5
minutes a day for a minimum of 5 days a week." You could also add some data. "I want to read through the Bible in a year by following the Navigators one year Bible reading plan." That goal of reading
the Bible more is now quantified in such a way that you know exactly what you need to do from the outset.
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A = Attainable. Or you may see this one come up as the word "achievable". Basically, this where your humility, honesty and ability to self-evaluate, along with seeking the Lord's wisdom, come
into play. And you want to ask yourself if you need to dial back a bit on your goal. I might set a goal to do 100 pushups a month from now. I would definitely need to dial that back, because at the moment,
I can do about 5 pushups--6 on a good day. Perhaps being able to do 10 is more attainable or achievable.
To cite our earlier example, I would have no problem reading the Bible 5 days a week for 5 minutes a day. I, personally, would struggle to read through the whole Bible in a year. Not saying that isn't a
valuable thing to do. I just know that I tend to lose focus when I read at lot at the same sitting, and I'm so used to taking a verse or two at a time and really digging into them. I think I would end up
lost, overwhelmed, behind, and not learning much.
Doesn't mean I don't need to challenge myself with a goal. And it doesn't mean I don't push myself and my limits in ways that require me to be dependent on the Lord. I want do do that. But the last thing I
want to do is set myself up for failure.
A good thing to remember with attainable is that the Lord knows you better than you know yourself. Seek the Holy Spirit's guidance on whether a goal you are pursuing is attainable or achievable.
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R = Relevant. Now we need to think a bit about whether the goal fits with your God-given gifts and what He has already called you to do. Full transparency, I've struggled here. I've known my
Spiritual gifts for many, many years. And I've known clearly what God has called me to do for a large chunk of my life. But there have been times when I've found myself wanting something different or
something more. There are times when I have ventured off into something that was entirely Kingdom-focused and Bible-based, only to find out that the pursuit doesn't really fit with everything else going
on in my life at the time. In those cases, when I look back, I realize that I did not consider whether the new pursuit was relevant to my other pursuits.
As a school teacher, I have a bit over 2 months off during the summer. I usually have a ton of stuff to do, but this past summer, that wasn't the case. So, I started thinking about and looking for
options of how I could use the free time. I settled on a goal of saying "yes" to opportunities to serve the Lord. As you might imagine, all kinds of doors started to open and many potential
opportunities came along. But not all of them were relevant to the gifts God had given me and what He has called me to do. So I had to be careful to not just to say "yes" to everything, but to those
things that were relevant to my gifts and calling. I was a little bit proud of myself that considering the "relevant" of Spiritual goal actually kept me on track to have an amazing and impactful summer.
Maintaining an intimate relationship with the Lord ensures that you know your gifts, that you're using them for the Kingdom, and that you are doing what he has called you to do. So before
you set a new goal or pursuit, ask Him for guidance on whether the something new is relevant to those realities.
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T = Timely. I've always heard this as "timely", but I think maybe "time-bound" is a little bit clearer. Two main questions here.
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Do I need to set a particular time period or deadline for the Spiritual goal I'm pursuing?
In theory, if my goal is to make a permanent life change, then technically it shouldn't have an end date. From experience, I will say that it's almost always a good idea to include a time
component in your goals--Spiritual or otherwise.
Let's go back to our goal of spending 5 minutes a day reading the Bible 5 times a week. Let's assume we decide that the goal is relevant, which almost certainly it would be. Then I might want to
say, let's do that for a couple of months. Well, at the end of the two months, we don't need to quit reading the Bible. But after two months, we may need to reconsider the "measurable" part. You
may determine that 5 minutes isn't enough and you need to increase it to 10 minutes a day. And you may realize that 6 days a week is more suitable to your Spiritual growth than 5.
Whatever the goal, setting a deadline or time frame helps make sure you put yourself in a position to make adjustments down the road. And at some point, the Lord may move you onto another Spiritual
pursuit. (Just FYI, the Lord will never move you away from reading your Bible every day.) With a deadline or time frame, you and the Lord have a specific time when you can talk about what's next.
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Do I need to wait for a particular time to even start pursuing a Spiritual goal?
I've mentioned this before, but I've found that God leading us to pursue something Spritually often comes in two parts. Part 1 is what He wants us to pursue. Part 2 is when He
wants us to pursue it. Those very often don't happen back to back.
The Lord may set a vision for you that is specific, measurable, attainable and relevant. That doesn't always mean you should immediately sprint off to pursue that goal. Sometimes the Lord
wants us to wait. Maybe so He can complete another goal in our life. Maybe some other things need to come together first.
Let's Do This!
Your Heavenly Father who has a historical track record of being specific and clear, who so often provides very specific measures and numbers, who gives us the heart, mind, soul and strength to
do great things with Him, through Him and for His glory, who makes our life meaningful and significant and impactful, and who orchestrates life so that He is never late, but seldom early. That amazing, awesome
God is calling you to do something S.M.A.R.T. So, when He gives you the green light, pursue that goal with reckless abandon, keeping your eyes not only on the prize, but on the Author and Perfector of your faith,
your Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ! I hope you are excited about where the Lord wants to take you. I know He is excited to journey alongside you.
Challenge Questions
These questions will give you something to think through, pray about, spend time with God on, and discuss with others this week. Hopefully you're writing stuff down!
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Is there a goal, Spiritual or not, that you've pursued and reached the goal, or maybe didn't reach the goal? What did you learn from that process?
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Can you imagine a scenario or think of an example where you have a goal in mind, but applying the S.M.A.R.T. filter would result in you not pursuing the goal?
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Think about a Spiritual goal you've settled on and apply the S.M.A.R.T. principle to it. How did each part of the principle change or refine your goal?
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How do you think refining with the S.M.A.R.T. principle will make your goal more likely to be reached?
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Which part of the S.M.A.R.T. principle refining process had the most impact on your goal?
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Do you know someone who pursued a Spiritual goal and was successful? Maybe you could call or text them and ask them to share with you what made it possible to be successful?
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Do you know someone who pursued a Spiritual goal and never reached it? Maybe you could call or text them and ask them to share with you what kept them from being successful?
Praying Us Out
Lord, you are the all-knowing, every-present, infinite and timeless God. How blessed are we that You love us so much that You never want us to become stagnant. But that You always desire for us to
grow, to learn, to become more mature, and most importantly to become more like Jesus. I just pray for each person who reads this devotional challenge, that they might spend some time with You, not just talking
about a goal they should pursue, but listening for Your guidance to make the pusuit laser-focused, to push them to depend on You, and to bring You glory through the steps they'll take in
accomplishing their goals. I ask that. We ask that. In the strong name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
