Self-evaluation is a great tool in personal development. The ability to analyze our thoughts, emotions, and actions honestly can move us toward change. Putting that evaluation in the hands of God can accelerate transformation even more.
I am trying to do an evaluation of my spiritual life on a more consistent basis. The problem is that I have not found a way to do it effectively. I tend to evaluate certain parts of my life with rose-colored spiritual glasses and other parts of my life with aggressive negativity. So I am not sure if the results of my analysis are helpful. I always think I am a great husband and a mediocre pastor. I’m an awesome friend, but a substandard father. But I am sure that there have been seasons where the opposite is true. So how can I know if I am on the right track? What measure can I use to know if I am being successful in my spiritual journey?
This is a similar question we ask in radio. How do I know if I am being successful as a radio personality? There are measurements we use to help us make that determination. How are our ratings? How is our listener engagement? How are we doing at fundraising? Knowing these are the ways we evaluate, we can recognize seasons when we don’t meet those measurements. And as we look at the spiritual life we could ask similar questions. How much love am I showing to those around me, even my enemies? How much patience am I demonstrating? How much am I giving to the church or charity? How much am I resisting temptation? I won’t ask you to comment, but I will be honest with you that I can’t positively answer some of these questions.
One radio coach told me that there is another way to measure success. This is the question she asked:
“Are you working the process?”
That question has gone with me and has bled into my spiritual life as well. Am I continually going back to the things that bring success. The results are secondary to the process. If you do the process, the results will come, even when things may not be going perfectly.
So the process, in the spiritual journey, is to spend time with Jesus. As John Mark Comer put it in his book Practicing the Way:
“Where do I even start? You start here, with goal #1: Be with Jesus.”
I know we all want to be more loving, more patient, and more able to do the right things. But trying harder isn’t going to get you there. Be with Jesus. Spend time with him. And when you’re done spending time with him try this: spend more time with him! Let this be your focus. Let this be your process. Let this be your #1 goal.