How to Be Diligent, Build Faith and Achieve Your Goal

Happy New Year! After taking a two-week break, I’m ready to get back in the chair and share my heart with all of you! Here we are at the beginning of 2017! Wow! I don’t know about you, but it seems like last year flew by with a vengeance. Do you know what I love about a new year? The word, “new.” It is fresh and exciting, full of opportunities, ideas and goals we have the potential to accomplish.

It is time to put the past to bed and live in the moment!

Each year I pray and ask God to give me a word I can focus on to help me achieve my goals. Last year my word was “Wellness.” We are created as triune beings, but if we are not well in one part of our being, every part of our self, suffers. It was a journey as I battled my mind, body and the enemy who wanted to give me anguish in my soul every day. God stretched me in ways I thought were impossible, but through the battle, God remained faithful and steadfast. He never gave up on me, gently reminding me He had my back and motivating me to stand strong against the adversary because all I needed to do was claim my victories! Through His word I just kept claiming promises even when it didn’t make sense. Why? Because God's faithfulness isn't dependant on whether or not I am faithful. God IS faithful because that is who He has ALWAYS been Share on XGod’s faithfulness isn’t dependent on whether or not I am faithful. God IS faithful because that is who He has ALWAYS been!

Now I’m entering 2017 and this year’s word for me is Diligent! Diligent kept popping up all over. If someone wasn’t talking about being diligent, then I was reading about the importance of being diligent. The cool part came when I was invited to participate in reading the book of Proverbs in January. The next thing I knew I was seeing some form of the word diligent all over the place. It was like God was speaking in stereo and giving me my confirmation.

It can be so easy to lose focus, fall back into my old ways and give up on what God is calling me to do. But, I can’t. Why? God has asked me to be diligent. If I am not persistent and don’t keep forging ahead with God’s calling, then I am disobedient. I also risk the chance of missing out on some blessings if I choose to be lazy rather than step up to the plate.
I have to set goals because it teaches and reminds me that I can do nothing on my own without God. Goals are something we set for ourselves knowing there will be hard work and determination needed to achieve them. If you set a goal, but don’t have to put any effort into your goal, what is the point? Goals allow us to think outside the box, grow in our relationship with God and understand the value of physical, spiritual and emotional effort.

Many of us have reached goals in our lives where we have no idea how we achieved them by human standards. Sometimes, I make up an acrostic to help me maintain my focus. This year I have an acrostic for the word, Goal.
G- God’s Grace
O-Overflowing
A-Above
L-Limits

I remember when I did my first triathlon. I was standing in the biking section, and a man walked up to me and said, “This area is for athletes only.” I don’t look like an athlete, but it doesn’t mean I’m not an athlete. It was a goal God called me to set and do, and I did it! Every time I do a 5k or write another chapter in my book, I know it is because God’s grace is overflowing above my human limits. When we recognize we accomplish these goals by divine assistance, we understand what it means to have grace overflowing above limits. The good news is, God has no limitations. My job is to be diligent in what He is calling me to do and let Him do the rest. Just because someone doesn’t think you can accomplish a goal doesn’t mean you can’t. I am challenging each of you to set a goal and let God’s grace overflow, pushing you above your limits. The reward is great, not just for your personal gain, but for your spiritual experience with God.

One of my personal goals for 2017 is doing a 5K once a month. This gives me the opportunity to help twelve charities, and twelve reasons to become a better, healthier me. It also provides me with the ability to impact people’s lives in twelve different ways. I want to give while I live! #givewhileliving

Diligence and goals go together. They are both purposeful and intentional. One of the first verses I read in 2017 was Proverbs 4:23 “Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.” This is where I desire to be diligent in my spiritual life. I want my heart to flow with life that brings thirsty souls to the living water of Christ.
My prayer for 2017 is this: Lord, let me be diligent in keeping my heart pure, tender and always flowing with your love, hope, and encouragement. As we begin 2017, I am praying this for each of you!

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