Blessed New Year. Today marks a new year and everyone loves to have a good start. A good start is to have a good plan. Today may you take some time to plan for progress spiritually. Spiritual life is the thermostat of the soul and the body. When you set it right it governs how you use your time and how you respond in relationship with God and that is essential for life in Christ.

Not everyone is keen on planning because we love the uncertainty of spontaneous events. Many of us do not see through our plans, as a result, we do not see the need to plan. We rather have things happen spontaneously. Not everything can be done spontaneously. Can one build a plane without plans? Not likely so. We agree that big projects need planning. Is not our spiritual life a big project in 2020?

Our Lord Jesus urged His disciples to count the cost before following Him. He used two analogies to do that. One of building a tower and another of engaging a war. Luke 14:25-33. Both are big projects to think of it.

How do we plan for progress spiritually? Here are some suggestions to get you started.

1. Pray and give thanks to God for the past years of your life. Ask God for wisdom as you take time to ponder and plan for 2020. Proverbs 16:3 Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.
2. Ask questions about the past. What are 3 spiritual events that most shapes your life? Eg. The day I knew I can be a child of God. Or the day I obeyed the Lord in giving up pornography. Or the moment I survived the near-death accident. Knowing the spiritual events that shape your life helps you focus on things that impact you most. These events help you narrow down to things that are most important to God and to you.
3. Ask questions about what you hope to be. What are the 3 most important things to you in 2020? Eg. Knowing Christ deeper. Or build a deeper relationship with my family members. Or manage my finance to honor the Lord. Or to be more prayerful in 2020.
4. Set a monthly theme. Eg. Theme: Knowing Christ deeper. Plan: I will read a passage of the Gospel every morning. Or. Theme: Building relationships with family. Plan: I will have a family dinner every Friday with my family without looking at my mobile phone.

Set up the 12 months theme and the plans. Remember, you cannot plan everything but these will definitely help you start somewhere.

May the Lord lead you as you plan for progress spiritually and honour Him with the rest of the year.