FIVE YEARS FROM NOW I AM GOING TO….

“This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. 14 Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.”  – Romans 13: 11-14.

It is very popular for interviewers to ask a job applicant, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” This is not a test of the applicant’s forecasting ability because no interviewer expects job candidates to be able to describe precisely what they will be doing in 1,825 days. The interviewer wants to understand more about the applicant’s career goals and how the position they are seeking fits into their long-range plan. How would you answer that question if someone asked you where you want to be spiritually in five years?

Your answer to a job interview and the spiritual question would be completely different. What matters to the job interviewer and God are entirely different. Pursuing particular accomplishments in life isn’t nearly as important as becoming the person God created you to be. So what part of your life, what habits, what actions need to change for you to be the person God intended you to be? What are the barriers to becoming that person today and in five years?

The trouble is, so many of us have tragically short attention spans. And the stick-with-it-ness is not as strong as it once was. So, we tend to underestimate what we could do in the long term if we just stick with it. Romans 13:11 says, “This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.”

We can’t become the person we want to be overnight. It takes time and steady progress. It also takes aligning our priorities around God’s priorities.  As Christians, we must reflect on our lives to consider what factors most determine where we are and where we want to be. Where are you investing most of your time, money, and energy? Which relationships and activities do you devote yourself to every day? Where do you currently place God on your list of priorities? If your relationship with God isn’t your top priority right now, what changes do you need to make to devote yourself to God first?

Let the Holy Spirit and God’s Word guide you as you look ahead to the future. The Holy Spirit wants to guide and teach you how to grow in faith. Growth is not about perfection. It is about trusting the Perfect One—Jesus Christ—in the process.

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:6).

Every day is an opportunity to lean into Jesus, experience more of who God is, and discover who you are becoming in Him. Start your next five years now.

Discussion Questions:

1. How do you see yourself spiritually in 5 years? 
2. To get there, what do you have to do differently?