Steady as she goes

I did not make New Year’s resolutions or goals for 2024. It’s been a few years since I have written goals for the year. But just because I haven’t made New Year’s resolutions does not mean that I don’t have or don’t set goals. I have goals, but they are not the classic type. They differ from the goals we see people setting at the start of every new year. I do not have classic New Year’s resolutions. So much energy goes into making them. Then, the year passes without them being achieved. This leads to a big letdown. So, rather than setting lofty goals at the beginning of the year, I have focused on achieving steady goals. Instead of a long list of resolutions, I’m “steady as she goes.“

Stick-to-it-iveness needed

I have set lifelong goals that lead me to other short-term goals along the way. One of my primary life goals is to spend time daily in devotional reading and prayer. I do this to grow in my relationship with God. No, it’s not a hot topic. Who wants to be disciplined to spend time reading and praying? It sounds boring. Sorry to say, but it can be boring having devotional time day in and day out. There’s always something to do—an appointment to keep, text messages to read, and laundry to fold. It can be tempting to set the mundane aside for other things. But I have learned, and am learning, that boring and mundane is not bad. There’s something to be said for the “stick-to-it-iveness” that is needed to keep up with lifelong goals.

Lifetime goals like this do not evoke great emotion because they are not exciting. Most of us would rather work on something that piques our interest or gets our adrenaline flowing. But things that require us to be disciplined do little to keep our attention. They rarely have a quick payoff. Reaching toward them won’t make me lose 20 pounds in one month. They also won’t make me rich in six months.

No temper tantrums, it’s just steady as she goes

I used to envy people who seemed to have it all together as Christians. They successfully made it through the storms of life. I wanted what they had. I did not realize at the time that to live above the struggle like those I admired, I needed to pay the same price they paid. As I grew in my faith, I slowly understood that our spirits mature as we prioritize our relationship with God. It’s from a place of maturity that we find the endurance needed to live above the struggles of life.

Grownups don’t have temper tantrums. For those who have grown, it’s steady as she goes.

The longer I journey with God, the more I realize that God and I have had different definitions of success. I used to think that success was measured by having a problem-free life. It didn’t take me long to figure out that if that was my measure of success, I’d never be successful. God’s definition of success is making it through no matter the problem.

That “stick-to-it-iveness” that I mentioned earlier? It’s called endurance, steady as she goes.

Hear Him whisper

My goal in life, my objective, is straightforward: to stay as close to God as I can. I want to be so close so I can hear Him whisper His quietest musing. The example that comes to me comes from 2 Samuel:

At that time David was in the stronghold, and some of the Philistines were in Bethlehem. David had a strong desire for some water. He said, “Oh, I wish someone would get me water from the well near the city gate of Bethlehem!” So the three warriors broke through the Philistine army and took water from the well near the city gate of Bethlehem. Then they brought it to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out before the Lord

2 Samuel 23:14-16 NCV

David’s men heard him say he wanted water from a certain well. It doesn’t say he was commanding them to go and get him water. He was just musing, and they heard it. They weren’t commanded to do anything; they only heard the desire of their king. And they made their way through the enemy lines to get him water.

This is a picture of how close I want to be to God. I want to hear Him whisper His musings. If I can be that close, I will hear Him when He gives His instructions. Knowing what God wants us to do isn’t rocket science (as my husband Jamie says). His will is in His word. As we dive deep into His word, we will hear His specific instructions when we need them.

Use SOAP daily

I keep a daily prayer journal. I’ve found it to be a valuable tool. In it, I have points that I aim to write down regularly. Sometimes, I won’t write about each point, but I do always manage to hit one or two of them. Each day, I will note a specific verse that speaks to me. I start my journal entry from there. I use an acronym that many use called “SOAP” when keeping my journal. SOAP stands for:

Scripture: as noted above, I write a verse (or verses) that spoke to me in my reading.
Observation: I write an observation about the verse (much like what I wrote above about David’s desire for water).
Application: Here, I note how this verse applies or can be applied to me.
Prayer: I list prayer requests or write a prayer for the day. I also note answered prayers here.

Stay clean

We use soap daily to stay clean. At least, I hope it’s used daily (I don’t do hygiene posts 🤣). Similarly, we need to use SOAP daily to stay clean and free from spiritual germs. SOAP is powerful. SOAP is also mundane.

Imagine your life without soap. It would get pretty wonky in just a day or two. Not being able to wash dishes, clothes, or the floors would quickly take a toll. We couldn’t take baths or brush our teeth (soap for teeth, toothpaste, 😬) either. It wouldn’t be a pretty sight or smell. Not only would we stink without soap, we would eventually get sick. Without soap (toothpaste), our teeth would eventually rot away. Soap is lifesaving.

Here in Africa, we run feeding projects, schools, and clinics. I have seen firsthand the consequences of lives lived without soap. Diseases run rampant, and many die needlessly simply because they do not have access to soap and water.

In the same way that we need soap physically, we need our spiritual SOAP. Why would we choose to be without it? No, it isn’t always convenient to stop, but the consequences of living without it far outweigh its inconvenience.

Musing and steady as she goes

What do I want in 2025? I want more of what I had in 2024, steady as she goes. I want to be so close to God that when He speaks musings, I hear Him. When I’m that close, I’ll know exactly what He wants and will be able to do it.