Devotionals

Self-Evaluation: Why Is It Necessary and How Do You Do It?

By suwandi setiawan · December 28, 2020 · 6 min read

In just a matter of days, as the year we have been living through comes to an end, companies are busy preparing annual reports for internal evaluation. They study their business data from the past year and make plans and targets for the year ahead. Usually their targets will be bigger than the previous ones.

Personally, we also need to do self-evaluation every year. Why is this important, and in what areas can we evaluate ourselves? Evaluation = Knowing Yourself Better Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know my thoughts; see whether there is any crooked way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way! – Psalm 139:23-24

Self-evaluation is a process of getting to know yourself. It may concern your weaknesses and strengths, your successes and failures, or your victories and defeats over a certain period. To do this, we can hold on to Psalm 139, one of the greatest psalms because it speaks of God’s omniscience and omnipresence.

David, who was called “a man after God’s own heart” (someone who was pleasing to God’s heart), apparently took time to evaluate the things he had done. Not only that, David also asked for God’s guidance so he could know whether the path he had been taking was truly right.

In self-evaluation, you reflect on what you did successfully and what you did not do successfully. You note and give thanks for your successes, and you try other steps to reach what you have not yet attained or still need to develop. You learn from your own journey over the past year, so that your journey ahead can be even better. So You Are Not Swept Away by the Current Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we be swept away by the current.

The writer of Hebrews teaches us to pay closer attention to our lives. We must not simply live carelessly, without regard for all that has taken place over this past year.

If you go through year after year without evaluation, it is like living without direction. Worse still, you are merely drifting along with the current of life without a clear purpose. A proverb says that only dead fish go with the current. So, the principle of just going with the flow is no different from a dead fish that does not care where the water is going. Have a Clear Goal So I do not run without purpose and I am not a boxer who punches aimlessly. – 1 Corinthians 9:26

The apostle Paul, even though he was chosen by God, did not merely live as things came. He had a definite purpose, and his life was not lived carelessly.

The same is true for you. Self-evaluation will help you have a clear goal or purpose. Do not be like a boxer facing an opponent by throwing punches wildly. Without a clear target, you will end up just beating the air, becoming exhausted, and in the end being easily knocked down by your opponent.

Not that I have already obtained this or have already been made perfect, but I press on, if only I may lay hold of it, because Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. – Philippians 3:12

On the other hand, having a goal does not mean you can become arrogant or relax. The function of a goal is to help push yourself to your very best limits, and to keep you more focused on what you want to achieve.

If your goal last year was not achieved, there is no need to be sad, much less disappointed. At the very least, you have challenged yourself to become better. You have done your best; surely there are things you can learn or gain from it, compared to having no clear goal or purpose at all.

Then, what things can we evaluate as the end of the year approaches?

Who Have I Been Throughout This Year?

Let us examine and test our ways, and turn back to the LORD. – Lamentations 3:40

Reflect on who you have been over the past year. Have you been someone full of joy and patience, loving, caring toward others, humble, and hardworking? Or have you been someone who complains a lot, is less thankful, always blames others, lazy, arrogant, hard-hearted, and quick to compromise with sin?

What Have I Done in the Past Year?

Examine yourselves, whether you remain firm in the faith. Test yourselves! – 2 Corinthians 13:5a

If this year you experienced many failures, do not immediately sink into despair and feel that everything is over. There must be things you can learn from or be thankful for in your experience. Appreciate your hard work, the valuable lessons you gained through certain events, and humble yourself to correct your mistakes.

Why Did I Not Succeed?

David succeeded in all his ways, because the LORD was with him. – 1 Samuel 18:14

If you failed this year, could it be that you forgot to include God in your efforts? Did you rely more on your own strength and involve God less in your plans? Have you worked hard against laziness, pride, negative thinking, or your pessimistic attitude? Could it be that the main obstacle lies not in the method you used, but in your mindset?

What Steps Can I Take Going Forward?

The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to lack. – Proverbs 21:5

What did not work yesterday, do it with another method, so that the result will be better than before. Be brave enough to try new things. Think about what steps can help you grow and move forward, then make a plan to achieve them.

Besides doing the three evaluations above, of course you can also add other steps that you consider necessary. Do not forget to ask advice from people you can trust. The more insight you gain, the better your plan will be for fulfilling your resolutions in the coming year.

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. – Proverbs 15:22

Come on, do your self-evaluation before this year ends. Good luck!

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