Are some of your New Year resolutions big enough for a decade?

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I recently read this little story about a king on an outing …

    A king was hunting in a forest when he stumbled upon a tree with several targets drawn on its trunk. Right in the center of each circle was an arrow.

    “Who is this fine archer?” the king asked his men. “I must find him and recruit him for my army.”

    Just at that moment, a boy carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows walked by. Overhearing the king, he admitted that he was the one who had shot the arrows.

    “Are you sure you didn’t just push the arrows into the middle?” asked the king.

    “No, sire,” said the boy. “I shot them from a hundred paces.”

    “That is amazing!” cried the king. “From now on, consider yourself to be in the service of your king.”

    The boy was overjoyed!

    “Now, tell me,” continued the king, “how did you come to be such an excellent archer?”

    “Well,” said the boy, “first I shoot the arrow at the tree, then I paint a ring around it.”

What’s the lesson of the story? Many people are guilty of setting goals they can’t possibly miss.

New goals are often on the forefront of our minds just days before the start of a New Year. However, like it or not, January 1 not only is day one of a New Year, it’s also the start of a new decade as we begin the 2020’s. That’s a perfect opportunity to challenge yourself to some really big new goals, or at least one; a goal so big that it would take you a decade to achieve!

When was the last time you challenged yourself with a goal that ambitious?

Beginning something that will take years of investment of your life requires a LOT of prayer, a LOT of planning, and a LOT of wise counsel before launching. A vivid imagination also helps! Just imagine …

  • What a decade of personal growth (especially spiritual growth) would look like …
  • What a decade of giving, even to the point of sacrificial giving, could accomplish …
  • What a decade of loving others could do to your relationships …
  • How a decade of serving in God’s kingdom could glorify God and benefit others …
  • How making some time to enjoy the life God has given you could bring joy to your own life …

    • It’s easy to set a goal you can’t miss. It’s not even hard to set a goal that will take several months of your New Year. But what are you going to do if God gives you another decade? What’s your goal or goals that will take most of the 2020’s for you to accomplish?

    Scotty