As 2017 vastly approaches, people scramble to create new goals and break not-so-pleasing habits they lived out in 2016. We often create new goals and anticipate January 1st with utter excitement.
But, we tend to fall off those goals as the days pass and the enthusiasm fades. We have all been there, especially myself! The goals that once seemed achievable no longer look feasible, and now you’re back in the same rut as the year before. The excitement that once bubbled inside you now trickles to disappointment and feelings of failure.
I’m here to encourage you to take an unconventional approach to creating new ambitions for the new year. Although new adventures can be a bit frightening, they hold new growth in one’s life. Authentic growth does not happen by sitting on the sideline, but by venturing into new dimensions.
Here are 3 steps or the 3 “A’s,” you can take to experience success in 2017:
1. Ask God (Approval)
Now, I know this may sound a bit cliché, but have you ever considered asking God what He desires for you to accomplish? In our sinful nature, we tend to create our own plans/goals without considering God’s final word.
If we evaluate some of our feeble attempts to achieve certain goals, some of us can admit they failed because it was not in God’s plan for our life, and we would have saved ourselves plenty of heartaches, if we had first inquired God’s opinion in the first place.
It’s vital that your goals line up biblically and with the plans, He has personally for your life. If you are unaware of what God has for your life, then how can you summon new goals without God?
We should desire to create goals that glorify Him and fulfill the purpose He has for our life.
God tells us in his Word that He already has plans for our life, which one can find comfort in knowing our life is not meant to be lived accidentally, but purposefully.
Jeremiah 29:11( NLT)
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
2. Have Accountability (Accountability)
Sometimes, the journey toward our goals can be challenging and we can become discouraged, which only contributes to the importance of having someone or a group of people who can keep you accountable.
The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NLT):
“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.”
When you have someone who can keep you accountable, the chances of you succeeding are far greater than the potential success you may have on your own. Find someone you can entrust with your goals, and will NOT allow you to slack!
You need people who will pray with you and keep you in prayer as you embark on accomplishing your new endeavors. Two people are far better than one!
3. Trust The Process (Assurance)
When God is on your side and you have the right people to hold you accountable, you must also trust the process. You may be wondering “What on earth does that mean”? Trusting the process means, trusting God through each part of your journey.
There will be numerous moments in the journey that will not make sense, but rest assure that God knows exactly want He is doing, and you must trust the process.
As you continue along this journey, God will provide you assurance in His promises. In our frail humanity, we attempt to make sense of what God has promised us. We tend to prognosticate how the promise will play out.
But, we must remember to trust the process toward the promises, even when “sense” is not part of the journey!
As we come to the closing of 2016, know that if you have approval, accountability, and assurance from God, success is no longer a distant dream exclusive to those deemed as “lucky” but it’s a God-driven, eventual reality.
Bring it on 2017! I’m ready for the new adventure!
Are you?