The reality is that most people are skilled at scrutinizing their work, life situations, cash accounts, and the behaviors of others, but they are quite inept at examining their own hearts and spiritual lives.
Spiritual evaluation is vital to the sanctification process of a true Christian because it reveals how Christlike we strive to be.
Your goal as a Christian should be to honestly say you are better off than you were a year ago. To mature as a disciple of Jesus Christ, first and foremost, in faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, persistence, holiness, brotherly kindness, and love, to name a few.
2 Peter 1:5-8: "And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things are in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."
As we end one year and begin a new, we should take a step back and perform some spiritual self-reflection.
1 Corinthians 11:28: "But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup."
Question yourself about your faith. 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye, not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?"
Galatians 6:4: "But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another."
The reality is that most people are skilled at scrutinizing their work, life situations, cash accounts, and the behaviors of others, but they are quite inept at examining their own hearts and spiritual lives.
Believers must think more deeply about their spiritual situation. It is conceivable for men and women to seriously backslide while remaining oblivious to the spiritual condition of their souls. Backsliding is an ever-present threat to Christians.
With that sobering fact in mind, what can we do as we go on the journey of spiritual assessment? When we embark on this critical task, we must keep a few things in mind.
God's Word As Our Guide
Our spiritual examination must take place within the confines of the piercing light of God's Word. Without that light, no spiritual evaluation will be accurate. The light of God's Word is required to uncover sin in the deep recesses of our hearts as professed Christians. The most harmful thing we can do is close our hearts' ears to God's Word. At first, it may seem imperceptible. We close our hearts to the light of God's word when we allow the concerns of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the longing for worldly things to choke out the Word of God in our hearts. These are the thorns that choke out the spiritual life created in our hearts by God's message. And these three formidable foes of spiritual life and progress are continuously vying for control of our hearts.
The heart that has been taken captive by the love of the world has a hard time reflecting on God's wWrd day and night. Proverbs 17:24 reminds us that "Wisdom is before him that hath understanding; but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth."
Community As Key
Spiritual evaluation occurs in the framework of covenantal communal life. Nobody is expected to live the Christian life on their own. God never meant for His people to live apart from one another. We require the spiritual care of other believers, just as they require our spiritual care.
Hebrews 10:24-25: "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." The instruction to not abandon the assembly of believers is inclusive with the encouragement to consider one another to stir up love and good deeds and the charge to exhort one another.
In addition to being in the assembly of believers, you must also pay attention to your born-again godly spouse as no one will notice your flaws and sins as vividly as your spouse. A godly spouse who will gently and lovingly point out areas of weakness or backsliding is one of the most precious gifts of God's grace a believer could have. Also, pay attention to godly people such as close friends, colleagues, and neighbors who know how to gently and tenderly point out your areas of spiritual shortcomings.
Our year-end spiritual examination should result in our hearts being fixated on Christ rather than on ourselves. When we recognize areas of deterioration and sin in our lives, we are to lay aside every weight and sin that so easily ensnares us and run the race set before us with endurance, looking to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.
Romans 8:13: "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but if ye, through the Spirit, mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." It is impossible for us to keep our gaze fixed on the world and the cross at the same time.
When we actively attempt to put sin to death in our lives, we direct our hearts away from the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and toward Christ alone.
We must always remember that there will come a day when we will have no time to reflect on ourselves; this is the most compelling reason for our spiritual evaluation as the year comes to an end.
Hebrews 4:12-13: "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight; but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do."
Our year-end spiritual examination is necessary to remind and prepare us for the day when every thought and intent of the heart will be revealed.
Luke 8:17: "For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither anything hid, that shall not be known and come abroad." Every thought, word, and action would be accounted for on Judgment Day. No one can escape the all-seeing eye of the one to whom we must account.
Our Ultimate Goal As Christians
Every day, we either become more like Jesus or less like him. The end of the year and the start of a new one are ideal times to reflect on our spiritual growth and adopt habits that will help us become more like Jesus.
Spiritual development is a process brought about by the Holy Spirit. It is never stagnant; no one has excelled yet, and every intentional believer is on their way to becoming the person Christ made them to be.
Consider these questions when evaluating your spiritual life:
-What did I do particularly well?
-Which spiritual habits have I kept?
-Who have I inspired to become followers of Jesus?
-What areas do I need to work on in my spiritual life?
-How have I experienced authentic repentance and victory over sin?
-In what ways have I felt God's presence and peace?
-How successfully have I meditated on God's words?
-How have I demonstrated genuine character and integrity growth?
-How have I felt grace and forgiveness?
-What sins must I confess and repent of?
-To whom do I owe forgiveness?
-How well do I comprehend the concept of being filled with the Holy Spirit?
-How visible is the fruit of the Holy Spirit in my words and actions?
-Am I willing to give up control of certain aspects of my life to the Holy Spirit?
-How frequently do I feel the Holy Spirit leading me into a closer relationship with God?
-How sensitive and obedient am I to the Holy Spirit's guidance and promptings?
-What difference have I made in the last year?
-What would be worthwhile to repeat in the coming year?
-In what ways has my life revealed and promoted God’s glory?
-How thankful was I to God this year?
Your spiritual journey as a Christian began the moment you admitted your sin and accepted Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. Your life's mission from that point forward, until death or the return of Christ, is to be like Christ himself.
God expects His children to mature spiritually, and His Word encourages personal examination as part of that process.
Your year-end spiritual evaluation lets you consider your spiritual development in terms of how well you dwelt in Christ, lived off the words of God, prayed, had faith in God, had fellowship with Christians, and how many souls you won for God.
We wish to be conformed more and more to the image of Christ as we evaluate ourselves at the end of the year. We do so to please our Heavenly Father and benefit His people, and we do so knowing that God has given us a never-failing reservoir of grace and mercy in Christ, to whom we must go when we recognize our numerous shortcomings and spiritual failures.
May He teach us to appreciate His divine grace and help us in our spiritual development now and every day until we are in heaven and can sin no more. Amen!
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