Write2Ignite

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:4-9, NIV

Setting Faith & Writing Goals For the New Year

As I was thinking about setting my faith and writing goals for the new year, I kept coming back to one passage of Scripture: Philippians 4:4-9. In this passage, Paul gives final encouragements to the church in Philippi. He urges them to guard their hearts and minds with simple but profound instructions.

The actions that Paul urges the Philippians to take–to rejoice in the Lord, to bring their worries to God in prayer, to focus their minds on worthwhile thoughts, and to put Scripture into practice–gives us a model for how we can focus our attention on the Lord. As we go through these verses and how we can apply them to our goals, I hope you’ll consider Paul’s perspective. When he urges believers to rejoice and not be anxious, he’s speaking from experience. He knows what it’s like to suffer for the Lord. He knows what it is to go without, to have little or to have much. Yet, he has also experienced the incredible, surpassing peace that comes from walking with God. 

The encouragement to focus our hearts on thanksgiving and joy in the Lord isn’t a dismissal of the struggles of life. Paul isn’t belittling the church’s trials or brushing off their worries. Instead, he reminds the church that we have a source of peace that can overcome all of our trials. No matter what 2024 may bring, I hope we’ll carry the encouragement of Philippians 4 with us, and that we’ll be intentional about seeking the joy of the Lord.

4 Faith & Writing Goals from Philippians 4

1: Rejoice in the Lord (vs 4)

As Christians, we have the greatest, surest source of joy to be found. Whatever we face in this world, we know we have eternity to spend in the presence of the Lord and His great love.

So how can we focus on joy in our daily walks? We could start by being intentional about noticing the goodness of the Lord. A few simple ways to do that include keeping a journal of blessings from God or answered prayers. We can spend time memorizing Scripture, delighting in the words He has given us. Or we could partake in fellowship with other believers, sharing the ways God is working in our lives and rejoicing with others as He works in theirs.

In focusing on the joy that comes from drawing near to the Lord, we also feed our writing. As children’s writers, many of us want to incorporate joy, wonder, and hope into our stories. Living joy-filled lives strengthens our ability to write joy-filled words.

2: Bring Our Worries to God with Thanksgiving (vs 6)

Each day brings with it new challenges, new stresses, and new opportunities to worry. Paul urges believers to not dwell in anxiety over our circumstances, but to go to the Lord with our needs. As we enter a new year, we can make it a goal to pray in every situation. To bring our hopes and fears, big and small, to God first, rather than trying to tackle them alone. Yet, even in our prayers of need, we’re reminded to give thanks. We always have something to thank the Lord for–from His daily blessings to the love He has for us. The very fact that we have a Heavenly Father who wants to hear our needs and wants a relationship with us gives us reason to be grateful.

The need for us to bring our worries to the Lord goes for our writing as well. Each project, each word we pen to the page has a different weight when we cover our work in prayer. Are we worried about our words finding the right audience? Bring it to the Lord with prayer and thanksgiving. Do we fear that we aren’t good enough to write the story dear to our hearts? Come to the Father with prayer and thanksgiving. As we start working on our writing goals for the year, let’s commit to praying over our words and letting our fears be calmed by the Creator who gave us our gifts in the first place.

3: Think about What is Worthwhile (vs 8)

Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–these are the things that should be occupying the most space in our minds. How often to we allow ourselves to dwell on lesser things? To spend our time thinking about minor worries, small aggravations, or unlikely possibilities? How often do we consume media that fills our minds with more negativity or distraction than anything of value?

Part of guarding our hearts and minds involves watching what we allow into our thoughts–whether from outside sources or internal voices. As writers, guarding our hearts and minds is especially important because our thoughts influence our words. The stories we tell will be shaped by the mindset we cultivate in ourselves.

This year, we can set goals for ourselves to be more attentive to our thoughts. A few possible goals might include dedicating more time to prayer during our commutes, consuming less social media, or watching less television. We could make a goal to read more books that push us to grow, or again, spend more time memorizing Scripture. Another idea is to keep a journal of beautiful things we see each week, including nature, art, or even acts of kindness. Any of these things can help point us back toward God, back toward things that are true and lovely.

4: Put Scripture into Practice (vs 9)

James 1:22 reminds us to be doers of the Word, not just hearers. While learning the Scriptures matters, hearing the Word of God isn’t enough. We have to be intentional about living out what we learn. As we start to apply the Bible to our daily walks, our lives change. We change. The Holy Spirit moves in our lives and we draw closer to Him.

One way we can start applying Scripture is to make it part of our quiet time with the Lord. As we spend time reading the Bible, at home alone or in church, we can write down one takeaway to work on during the week. (For example, making a point of including thanksgiving in our prayers after reading Philippians 4).

Our writing, as well, gives us an opportunity to put Scripture into practice. As we learn the truths of God’s word, we can apply it to our storytelling. We can share the message of hope we’ve received, and incorporate the wisdom learned from both hearing the Word of God and living it out day by day.

Final Thoughts on Faith & Writing Goals

As we set our faith and writing goals for the new year, I hope Philippians 4 will help us grow each day. I pray that we’ll put into practice what we learn from Scripture, that we’ll set our minds on the things of Christ, and that we’ll spend time in thanksgiving, rejoicing in the Lord always. And may the peace of God, which passes all understanding be with you each day of this year.

What are some of your goals for 2024?

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