Lessons for Life with James Long, Jr.

Why Do Most Goals Fail?

• James Long

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ABOUT JAMES and LESSONS FOR LIFE

Are you seeking hope, wisdom, and practical solutions to life’s challenges? Dr. James Long, Jr., pastor, counselor, and professor with over 30 years of experience, helps people discover God’s solutions to emotional, relational, and spiritual challenges. Each episode of Lessons for Life points you to the peace and freedom found in Jesus Christ.

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Hey, welcome back to Lessons for Life with James Long Jr. If you've been tracking with us this first week of January, we've been talking about how to set gospel-shaped goals that actually last, goals that go deeper than willpower and lean into God's transforming grace. Now, in our last episode, we looked at how to move from vague resolutions to specific resolves grounded in scripture and intentional living. Today we're going to talk about something most people overlook, and it's the reason most goals fail. Not because they weren't written down, not because the person lacked motivation or discipline, but because they ignored the heart. The problem beneath the problem. Now here's a truth worth writing down. Change that doesn't begin in the heart will rarely reach the habits. Jesus said in Luke chapter 6, verses 43 through 45, No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of the evil treasure produces evil. For out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks. That's not just about speech, it's about all behavior. Our actions, habits, and even our failures trace back to the internal soil of our heart. Romans chapter 12, verse 2 gives us this pattern. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. Biblical transformation doesn't start with changing your schedule, it starts with letting God change your mind and your desires. Why your goals might be failing. So why do most goals fall apart in February? Because they are set to fix a surface level problem. I want to lose weight. I want to read my Bible more. I want to stop getting angry. Then these are not bad goals, but if we stop there, we've only pruned the branches, we haven't touched the root. The root is why we overeat when we're stressed, why we scroll endlessly instead of opening our Bible, why we lash out instead of listening. Surface level goals can't fix soul level problems. We need to invite the Lord to go deeper. Heart level questions that matter. Now here are three journaling prompts that I encourage you to reflect on this week. Here's the first one. What do I consistently desire most in moments of stress or temptation? What I run to reveals what I rely on. Second, where do I feel resistance to God's truth and call to change? See, resistance often reveals the places we haven't fully surrendered. And number three, what do I fear might happen if I truly let God take over this area of my life? See, fear is often a sign that we're trusting something other than God. Let the Lord meet you right there. That's where transformation begins. This is also where freedom begins, not in behavior modification, but in heart renovation. A better goal-setting path from the inside out. So, friends, before you write down another to-do list or adjust your schedule, I want you to pause. I want you to take time to reflect with the Lord. I want you to ask, is this goal motivated by guilt or by grace? Is it rooted in the fear of man or a love for God? Is it about control or is it about trust? See, the path forward isn't just about setting better goals, it's about letting the gospel transform you at the core. If you'd like help processing through these deeper questions, I've created a free heart-level reflection guide that you can download. It includes journaling prompts and scripture to guide you in your personal time with the Lord this week. And if you're looking for biblical encouragement and accountability this year, I would love you to join our Lessons for Life community. It's where we go deeper into applying God's word to real struggles, emotional, relational, spiritual, and practical. You can join at community.jamselongjunior.org. That's community.jameslong l-o-n-g, and then j-r dot org. And remember, lasting change always begins with the heart. Until next time, keep walking with the Lord and let your goals be grounded in grace. Can I pray for you before we go? So, Lord, as we've uh looked at these first couple of um lessons of this new year, or three lessons of this new year, we've talked about resolutions, we've talked about resolve, and now we talked about why those resolutions struggle and why we fail. Lord, I pray that you would help us to go deeper, not just write good goals, but Father, help us to get to the why behind the what. Help us to get to the why behind the how, and help us to change from the inside out. Father, that can only happen by your work in us and through us. So I pray that this year will be a year where you will do transformative work in our hearts, where you will change us from the inside out. In your son's matchless, holy and powerful name we pray. Amen. Well, thanks for being with us. We look forward to journeying with you this year. Make sure that you follow us at jameslongjr.org and consider joining our community as well. We look forward to having you as part of our membership. All right, be blessed. Take care.

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James Long, Jr.

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