What is a Good Spiritual Goal?
Feb 02, 2026Summary
Have you ever felt shame for missing a spiritual goal, like failing to read your bible for an hour or missing a daily devotion? Most of us think a "good" goal has to be massive to count. But when we fall short, we don't feel inspired—we feel discouraged and disconnected. In this episode of the Arise, Women of God podcast, host Tamara K. Anderson and advisory board member Tiffany Fletcher ask the fundamental question: What is a good spiritual goal?
We tackle the pain of spiritual perfectionism by revealing the simple truth: a good goal is whatever takes you one step closer to God from where you are right now. Tiffany shares the powerful "Sunrise Analogy"—explaining how reorienting yourself toward the Light is more important than perfect performance. We also discuss the "Prodigal Principle," reminding us that God runs to us the moment we turn back, regardless of how long we’ve been away. Whether you need to replace comparison with contentment, practice gratitude, or simply pray while brushing your teeth, this episode gives you a rapid-fire list of 25 attainable ideas to start today. Tune in to learn how to set milestones that bring joy instead of guilt!
Episode Takeaways
- The "One Step" Rule: A good spiritual goal isn't about grandeur; it's about direction. It is simply the next baby step that moves you closer to God from where you stand today.
- Shame is a Barrier: Setting impossible goals (like an hour of study for a busy mom) creates failure, which leads to shame. Shame disconnects us from God. A "good" goal is attainable and connects you to Him through small wins.
- The Prodigal Principle: You don't have to earn your way back. As soon as the son turned toward home, the Father ran to him. God is already running toward you; you just have to turn.
- The Sunrise Analogy: Scientifically, a sunrise is just the earth turning back toward the sun. If you feel "in the dark," you don't need to manufacture light; you just need to reorient yourself (turn) back toward the Son.
Resource
Ready to set a spiritual goal that you can actually achieve without guilt? Download our FREE Guide to Goal Setting. It includes tools to help you avoid the perfectionism trap and stay consistent with the Spirit. 👉 Download the Guide Here: https://www.womenwarriorsoflight.com/offers/WyaLn2gS/checkout
Reflection Questions
- Are your current spiritual goals set up to make you feel successful or shameful? How could you shrink one goal to make it a guaranteed “win” today?
- Which of the 25 rapid-fire goals resonated most with you? (e.g., resting in God, obeying promptly, replacing comparison?)
- How does the “Sunrise Analogy” change how you view a “dark” spiritual season? What is one small turn you can make toward the Light today?
- Do you believe God is running toward you, or do you feel like He is waiting for you to perform better first? How does the Prodigal Son story challenge that belief?
Transcript
Tamara K. Anderson
00:00:00.560 - 00:02:15.950
Have you ever felt shame for setting a goal and then missing it and feel like you have completely failed? Most of us think a good goal has to be massive, like an hour of study time in your scriptures or a perfect daily devotion.
The problem is, when we fall short, we do not feel inspired. We feel discouraged. So today we're asking a fundamental question. What is a good spiritual goal?
And by the end of today's episode, you will know how to set attainable milestones that bring joy instead of guilt. And we're going to solve that pain of spiritual perfectionism by revealing one tiny shift that turns a religious chore into a divine connection.
Stay tuned. Ordinary women extraordinary faith. When God calls, we say yes. The Arise Women of God Podcast.
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Arise Women of God podcast. I'm your host, Tamara K. Anderson, and joining me today is Tiffany Fletcher, one of my friends and cohorts at Women warriors of Light.
And today we're moving from the I shoulda to the coulds of goal setting. First, we'll define why a good goal should actually be attainable and how to start exactly where you are today.
Second, we'll discuss the prodigal principle and why God is already running toward you. Third, we'll share a beautiful scientific analogy about how to reorient yourself with when life gets dark.
And finally, I'm going to give you a rapid fire list of 25 spiritual goals you could start today. But first, let's start where we are.
For me, a good spiritual goal is whatever is going to take me one step closer to God from where I am right this minute. It doesn't matter how high or how low I've been in the past. It's where I am right now. And the next baby step towards him. I don't know.
What are your thoughts?
Tiffany Fletcher
00:02:16.350 - 00:02:43.670
Yeah, I really like that. I feel like sometimes we get these grandiose goals that are so big that they seem impossible, but very exciting, right?
We love the exciting goals, but they sometimes are not very manageable. And I love that. Where we are today. Start from today. What is the spiritual goal that will help me get to where I need to go today?
And I think that that if we can focus on that, that is a good spiritual goal.
Tamara K. Anderson
00:02:43.910 - 00:03:06.710
It really is about just taking that next right step. But so often we feel like we need to leap a mile instead of just taking a small step.
We set an hour study goal when we only really have about five minutes. Here. Tiffany is going to share how this grandiose thinking actually ends up creating a barrier between us and God.
Tiffany Fletcher
00:03:07.410 - 00:04:50.780
A good spiritual goal is one that you're going to do, one that. That is something that you can actually accomplish, right? Like when I was a young mom, a half hour of scripture study a day, it's just not simple.
It's not something that I was able to accomplish. And then I beat myself up because I wasn't doing it.
And I thought that it was a terrible person because I wasn't keeping this goal that I had created for myself. And it was what I felt I needed to do to connect with God.
As I grew spiritually in my understanding of what connecting to God is and how things can be meaningful, even if it's just pondering one scripture, then my goal changed, and I was able to create goals that were doable for me. Reading one scripture a day and pondering it, memorizing one scripture a week, those became goals that were doable for me.
When we set goals, there's always such a beautiful sense of accomplishment when we accomplish it. But if we set goals that are so grand that we aren't able to accomplish it, then we. The shame starts coming in.
And the frustrations and the feelings of not enough. And that isn't what God wants us to do with spiritual goals.
He doesn't want us to set goals that are going to make us feel ashamed when we don't reach them.
He wants us to set attainable goals that are small and simple that we can do today that will help us come closer to him and become better versions of ourselves, better disciples for him. Instead of feeling shamed, we will feel connected. And instead of feeling like we're a failure, we will feel that we have succeeded.
And that feeling alone connects you to God. Whereas the shame, it doesn't. It doesn't connect you with God. It takes you away from Him.
Tamara K. Anderson
00:04:50.940 - 00:06:09.240
Shame is the adversary's favorite tool to keep us all stuck. If he can make you feel like you aren't enough for God, perhaps you'll stop trying to connect altogether.
But the older I get, the more I realize God is not looking for a perfect performance. He's just looking for a steady direction. God gives you more grace than you probably can ever imagine.
That is something I've come to know and understand. The older I get. I think when I was very young, I saw God as a very rigid God, very punishing.
And the older I get, the more I see him as kind and merciful and loving and. And I think as we get closer to him and as we get to know him better, truly, we can embody those traits in ourselves.
And don't be discouraged when it takes you years, perhaps to achieve a goal. Give yourself grace on that too, because this is a long process. It's not something we can accomplish.
Better spirituality in one month, yes, we can improve, but the goal, it's a marathon and not a sprint. So this is a goal that it's going to take a lifetime to achieve. Better and stronger connection with God. So be patient.
Tiffany Fletcher
00:06:10.680 - 00:07:05.140
It's important to remember that Christ was perfect so we don't have to be. We can turn to him and he can give us grace for when we fall short. And I love, I love the story of the prodigal son.
Because there is a son that turned away from his father right. He turned away. He went to right us living. And we're not. Most of the time, we're not in righteous leaving, we're just living in chaos.
Because life, that's what it is. But as soon as that son turned back to his father, his father ran to him. And that's what, that's what Christ will do with us.
He'll run to us every time we're willing to remember Him. He doesn't care if it's been a week or a year or a lifetime. As soon as we turn to him, he will run to us. That's the kind of God that He is.
And so, yeah, give yourself grace and recognize that perfection isn't required just to steady. As long as you're facing him, you are in the right place. And that's important to remember.
Tamara K. Anderson
00:07:05.380 - 00:07:19.900
I love that God runs to us the moment we turn back to Him.
Next, Tiffany's going to share a scientific analogy that I think perfectly illustrates what it looks like to turn back when we feel like we've been in the dark for too long.
Tiffany Fletcher
00:07:20.060 - 00:08:31.970
I used to read books to my kids, science books, and I remember reading this science book that talked about there's no such thing as sunrise and sunset. That instead what we think is sunset is the Earth turning away from the sun. And what we think of sunrise is the Earth turning back to the sun.
And I think that sometimes that's kind of what it needs to be in our goals.
Sometimes we'll turn away and it will get a little bit darker and we'll recognize it and we'll say, oh, okay, I need to realign my spiritual goals because I'm feeling that I don't have as much light today as I. As I need.
And so I'm going to reorient myself so that I'm turning back to the sun or the light and that I am able to then find goals that will help me reorient reorient myself so that I am facing him and moving towards him in that direction. And that is when the light returns.
And I think that especially in our lives, if we are feeling chaos and and it feels crazy, maybe we can ask Heavenly Father what goal we need to create that will reorient ourselves back to him to face him so that we can once again see that daylight in our lives and feel that light.
Tamara K. Anderson
00:08:32.530 - 00:11:41.950
So ladies, if you are ready to reorient yourself but you just don't know what the next step looks like, I would love to give you a menu of options. Remember, pick one. Just one. Ladies, please don't try to do the whole list. Here are some beautiful ways to move closer to God.
I thought I'd give you a list of possible spiritual goal ideas, so if you're looking for a good one, maybe one of these will resonate Grow in daily intimacy with God through consistent prayer. Develop a habit of listening for God's voice before making decisions.
Read the Bible regularly with the goal of understanding God's heart, not just gaining knowledge. Trust God more fully in areas where fear or control has ruled. Surrender one specific area of life completely to God.
Strengthen faith during trials instead of withdrawing from God. Practice gratitude as an act of worship even in hard seasons. Cultivate a spirit of humility and teachability.
Forgive someone as an act of obedience and healing. Replace comparison with contentment in Christ. Grow in discernment to recognize God's leading. Speak words that build others up and reflect Christ.
Live more intentionally led by the Holy Spirit. Develop boldness to share faith when God prompts. Serve others regularly with a Christlike heart. Learn to rest in God and release striving.
Obey promptly instead of delaying out of fear. Increase dependence on God rather than self reliance. Walk in greater peace by trusting God's sovereignty.
Strengthen spiritual resilience through prayer and scripture. Seek God's will before setting personal or professional plans. Grow in love for others, especially those who are difficult to love.
Align daily choices with biblical values. Become more aware of God's presence throughout the day. Step forward in the calling God has placed on your life.
Which one of those goals resonated in your mind and soul today? Drop it in the chat below. Maybe it's just resting in God or praying while you're brushing your teeth.
Whatever it is, that is a good goal because it is a step toward the light. If you want a physical roadmap to help you track these small wins go download our free A Guide to Goal Setting for Christian Women.
I'll drop the link in the show notes below. What's so great about this guide is it's designed to help you avoid that perfectionism trap and stay consistent with the spirit.
So ladies, go take your baby step today. God is already running to meet you. Arise. Do it God's way. God strong.
