My LG phone has set up a Health app for me. I didn’t really want it, but I went ahead and set a goal of 10,000 steps a day. The frustrating thing about it is that I don’t have my phone with me every second of the day! There may be hours that it’s sitting on the counter charging while I’m running all over the house – upstairs, downstairs, inside, outside, working like a horse, while my phone is sitting there sneering at me, not logging one single step. At the end of the month I got the message you see pictured above,
You didn’t reach your goal last month.
It may be helpful to change your goal to 9,000.
But you know, even though I know that this app isn’t correct, this message made me think. Sadly, I’m afraid that is my heart’s inclination when something is hard. Change my goal. You see, then I can feel better about myself. We each have two choices ~
Lower the goal and feel good about me
or
Raise the bar and feel good!
That doesn’t apply only to physical health goals, it applies in all areas of life. But let’s think about one area in particular – our Christian life. Do we…
- set a goal to read through the Bible?
- sign up to attend a 12-week Bible study?
- commit to witness to the lost?
- agree to help with a ministry at church?
- volunteer teach a Sunday school class?
- realize we need to pray more?
- pledge to give to Faith Promise missions or to tithe faithfully
Then things happen. Life gets busy. We feel overwhelmed. We get caught up with other responsibilities and we carelessly lay aside the commitments we made. We get the mental message:
You might want to lower your goals.
After all, it would be easier. It would make life less complicated. We might feel better about our self.
But not really.
When we have set a spiritual goal for ourselves and then the Holy Spirit brings it to our mind, unlike my Health app, He will always be accurate. He knows. He sees. Oh, not to make us miserable, but to help us, like the 10,000 steps would benefit me. He desires to bring us to a place of obedience.
So when you realize you’ve missed the goal, all you have to do is start again. When this new month rolls around in a few days, I’ll have another clean slate with my LG Health app! Our gracious God forgives and wipes the slate clean when we tell Him we’ve messed up again and we need His help!
As far as the east is from the west,
so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
What spiritual goal have you set aside? What responsibility have you shirked? Perhaps this post is the Lord’s gentle way of nudging you to get you back on track. Confess it, ask for His help to do it, and then take the next step in following through. We don’t live our Christian life based on feelings, but when you obey He gives joy, so you will indeed be feeling better when you get back on track!
Oh, and look at the message I just got on my phone…
Another lesson for me is, wear something with pockets so my phone will track every single step I take!!
Do you have spiritual goals you need to give attention to? Start back today!
Over 30 years ago I received a mason jar containing the sticky substance called, Sour Dough Bread Starter. I have kept that dough going all these years, making untold number loaves of bread, English Muffins, and Cinnamon Rolls! If you’ve ever had sour dough, you know what a delicious flavor the “sour” starter gives the bread. I don’t know the science behind it, I only know it’s good and I want it the rest of my life!
