What’s Your New Year’s Resolution? 7 Ideas for 2024 Spiritual Goals and How to Reach Them
It’s the beginning of a new year. You know what that means—New Year’s Resolution time! This can be an exciting time to make a positive change in your life. For many of us, a New Year’s Resolution is a goal to improve our health, build up our finances, or even shed a bad habit. For believers, it’s also a great time to grow closer to God by achieving a spiritual goal.
Change isn’t always easy though. The Fisher College of Business reports that 23% of people quit working on their New Year’s Resolution by the end of the first week of January. And a whopping 43% give up by the end of January! Only 9% of Americans stick to their resolutions.
So how can we be successful? We’ve actually been preparing all year through a number of Parkway Exclusive articles you may have already read! And we have seven great ideas for spiritual resolutions. So read on—we’ve got you covered.
How to Reach Your Spiritual Goal This Year
Step 1: Thoughtfully and prayerfully choose your spiritual goal
Start by asking God to lead you in choosing your goal.
Now ask yourself a couple questions:
Have you been feeling a tug to start or stop doing something?
Is there a spiritual fruit you need to work on (Galatians 5:22-23 lists all 9)?
Is there a specific sin God has been asking you to overcome?
You want your goal to help you grow spiritually, but don’t choose something too difficult for you. For example, an hour of daily prayer might be very achievable for one person. However, if you’re in a season of being a busy parent or juggling multiple jobs, an hour might be too much.
Remember to focus on only one goal that isn’t too small or too big. You want to challenge yourself, and we all have a mountain of things we’d like to change about ourselves. However, making a list of a dozen or more goals for the year will probably be a bit too overwhelming for most.
Step 2: Write down your goal and your motivation for achieving it
Post your goal where you’ll see it every day. Consistency is a key to change, so seeing your goal every day will remind you to work on it. Writing down your motivation will help on the days when you feel like giving up.
Step 3: Get support
Find an accountability partner. If you’re trying to develop a new discipline, find someone who will check in with you periodically. If you’re working on a specific sin or bad habit, find someone who sees you frequently and isn’t afraid to call you out—lovingly, of course. 😊
Step 4: Memorize Bible verses about your goal
“For the word of God is alive, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword.”
Find some scriptures that pertain to your goal and commit them to memory. Read them multiple times, write them down, and post them around your home. This will help you to be able to quote God’s relevant word to yourself when you need to buckle down and take steps toward your goal. For example, if your goal is to give sacrificially this year, you might benefit from memorizing this scripture in the book of Luke:
“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you. ”
Step 5: Read the Parkway Exclusive article, Spiritual Disciples and How to Make Them Stick.
This article is filled with excellent ideas to place you on the road to success when you’re trying to make spiritual disciplines in your life stick!
7 Ideas for Spiritual Goals in 2024
Now that you know how to be successful in reaching your goal, here are seven ideas for spiritual goals you can set in 2024. We’ve also included links to helpful past Parkway Exclusive articles related to these topics!
1. Read the Bible Daily
Whether you want to read the entire Bible this year or you just want to form a habit of reading God’s word, you can find reading schedules online or in a Bible app (such as YouVersion). “5 Practical Tips for Reading Your Bible in Under a Year” provides great tips, no matter how much you plan to read.
2. Daily Prayer Time
Commit to focused daily prayer time or improve your daily prayer by also praying in the Spirit. For more information read “What Does it Mean to Pray in the Spirit?”
3. Make Fasting Part of Your Spiritual Life
Two great resources are: “When Should You Fast?” and “4 Tips for Successful Fasting.”
4. Nurture the Fruits of the Spirit
These are listed in Galatians 5:22-23: Have you been struggling with one of the fruits? Has God been prompting you to work on one? If so, this is a great goal for you! Memorize scripture about that specific fruit. Most importantly, follow Step 3 mentioned above and get support from a friend or family member.
5. Join a Ministry
Working in a ministry is a great opportunity to serve the body of Christ. It’s not only rewarding but also helps us grow spiritually. If you’re not sure how to find the right ministry, read “How Do You Know Which Ministry is Right for You?”
6. Share the Gospel
Commit to sharing the gospel message by witnessing, teaching a Bible study, or hosting a Bible study in your home. The article, “How to Share the Gospel in the Workplace,” pertains to not only the workplace but also anywhere else you meet people who need to hear the message. Remember to set a measureable goal, such as the number of people you want to reach.
7. Work Toward Achieving Financial Peace
Read “Financial Peace: A Godly Approach to Money Management.” Then decide which step (or steps) you can complete in a year. How much you can complete will depend on your financial situation.
Ready to Make Your 2024 New Year’s Resolution?
As we begin this new year, let’s deepen our relationship with God and become a bright light to our troubled world.
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”