Goal setting!

Luke 2:22-32

And when the time had come for purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem, to present him before the Lord there. It is written in God's law, that whatever male offspring opens the womb is to be reckoned sacred to the Lord; and so they must offer in sacrifice for him, as God's law commanded, a pair of turtle-doves, or two young pigeons. At this time there was a man named Simeon living in Jerusalem, an upright man of careful observance, who waited patiently for comfort to be brought to Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him; and by the Holy Spirit it had been revealed to him that he was not to meet death, until he had seen that Christ whom the Lord had anointed. He now came, led by the Spirit, into the temple; and when the child Jesus was brought in by his parents, to perform the custom which the law enjoined concerning him, Simeon too was able to take him in his arms. And he said, blessing God: Ruler of all, now do you let your servant go in pea  ce, according to your word; for my own eyes have seen that saving power of yours which you have prepared in the sight of all nations. This is the light which shall give revelation to the Gentiles, this is the glory of your people Israel.

Food for thought

“Now do you let your servant go in peace.”

Do you have goals in life? Is there anything that is driving you? Which goals would you like to accomplish before you die? When would you think is the best time for you to depart from this life? What do you want to be or get before you die? These are the questions that Simeon must have made before he set out his goal in life: see salvation as promised by God. On achieving his goal he said, “Ruler of all, now do you let your servant go in peace, according to your word; for my own eyes have seen that saving power of yours which you have prepared in the sight of all nations. This is the light which shall give revelation to the Gentiles, this is the glory of your people Israel.”

Simeon set himself a goal, and when he achieved it, he told the Lord that he was ready to leave. So, do you have any goals in life? If not, consider setting some goals, which will drive you; you will have a constant source of motivation, and you will feel more in control – in every area of your life. Without any goal, you simply drift along life, aimlessly. Goals not only narrow your focus, they are also an immeasurable source of motivation.

Having goals and having a vision will ultimately dictate your actions. It will force you to act in congruence with your goals and vision, and accept that there are certain activities you must do and others you simply cannot do. Like blinders on a racehorse, whereby the horse only sees what is ahead and where it needs to go - it does not get easily distracted by the other racehorses nor does it lose focus from the cheers emanating from the stands – a person focused on their goals will head straight for those targets without letting anything else that comes along pull them off course. Someone once said: “Everything you do takes you closer to or further away from your goals."

This quote may help you: "Every few months you should spend a few minutes thinking about your four life goals – one for your wealth, one for your health, one for your social self and one for your personal enrichment."