The Power of Purpose

This is an essay that I wrote for a writing competition last year. I hope you find some morsels of wisdom and encouragement.

Carl

What do you want to be when you grow up? What do you want to do with your life? Like me, many people vividly remember questions like these that were a common staple of our adolescent years. From our earliest years we were programmed to think in terms of doing. What will I do? What will I accomplish? Driven to excel, to achieve, always striving for a defined image of success.

In the process of doing we have ignored and all but forgotten the process of “becoming.” What am I to become? When the titles, accolades and achievements are stripped away who is the person that is revealed? The process of becoming is God’s divine plan for building men of purpose.

It has been said that “knowledge is power.” There is no greater knowledge a man can have than to understand and know God’s purpose in his life. The man who understands his purpose is a man of focus and passion. Like the focused light of a laser beam, the understanding of his purpose cuts through the darkness and ambiguity that life so often brings. The man who understands his purpose has a clear mental picture of who God intends for him to become. The purpose of his life becomes the filter through which all activities, questions and decisions are passed A man who becomes all that God wants him to be, will accomplish all that God wants him to do. In this process of “becoming” the result of “doing” naturally takes place.

So how does one harness the power of purpose? How does one come to know and understand the unique calling upon his life? For me the starting point of understanding my purpose was the realization that God had created me with a specific finished product in mind. A purpose that is as unique to me as my fingerprint. Consider the words of Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”[1] Understanding that God had a specific plan for me was the foundation for this process of becoming. It is exciting enough knowing that God has a unique plan for my life, but to understand that God’s plans are for my personal development and fulfillment is simply amazing! The realization that God has not left life to be a random series of events, but instead the planned shaping and refining process of a Master Builder brings unshakeable peace.

Consider the power of unshakeable peace. On March 4, 1933 President Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn into office. The country was in the midst of the Great Depression and fear had gripped the nation. In his inaugural speech, President Roosevelt spoke these famous and profound words: “So first of all let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear…is fear itself…nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” What prevents men from reaching higher and pushing themselves further? Fear! Throughout time great men have been paralyzed and defeated by fear. Fear of failure, fear of exposure, fear of ridicule and fear of death. The prophet Elijah was a great hero of the Bible, the accounts of God working in his life are simply amazing and inspiring, but the Bible shows something else in Elijah’s life. Elijah knew firsthand the paralysis of fear. Look at this account from 1 Kings 19:3-5: “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.”[2] Elijah was a man defeated by fear. Like Elijah many of us have been held back by our fears, but what about the man with unshakeable peace? The man who understands his purpose does not view adversity as a source of harm, but instead sees it as a tool of refining. The man of purpose enters into the turmoil of life with the confidence of knowing that his trials are part of a larger plan to shape and mold him. He is at peace with all inevitable outcomes knowing that his God given path has already been laid out before him. He no longer faces adversity wondering when it will end, but instead anticipates the changes it will bring about in his life. Adversity is no longer measured by the pain inflicted, but instead by the lessons learned. The man of purpose is no longer hampered by his fears; he is at peace under all circumstances. As a result of his unshakeable peace, he is willing to undertake challenges that ordinary men will not face. His purpose drives him to move forward when others retreat. The fulfillment of his purpose is worth any risk or challenge that may be faced.

Have you ever watched a hamster or gerbil on an exercise wheel? They run their little hearts out and yet they remain stationary. Many people today live their lives in much the same way. Running here and going there from the time their feet hit the floor in the morning until their head hits the pillow at night. Our world is filled with busyness as we try to squeeze as much into our days as we can, yet most people still do not give adequate time to the priorities of life.

Consider the power of purpose when it comes to determining priorities and the allocation of our most precious resource…time. A few years ago I received an inspirational mouse pad from Successories, Inc. On this mouse pad is the following thought: The Essence of A New Day: “This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind…let it be something good.”[3] The man of purpose views each day as a precious gift from God. He is aware that tomorrow is not promised or guaranteed and therefore he seeks to be the best steward of his time that he can be. Purpose becomes the filter through which all demands on his schedule are filtered. The man of purpose makes time for those things that contribute to the fulfillment of his life’s purpose. Those things that do not lend themselves to fulfillment of that purpose are eliminated from the calendar or given a lesser priority in his life. As a pastor, I have had the opportunity to interact with many people during the final days of their lives. I have yet to hear anyone say that they should have put in just a few more hours of overtime, worked a few more weekends or been away from home a little more during their lifetime. More often than not what I hear are the recurrent themes of faith, family and friends. The man of purpose is intentional to keep the priorities of life a priority. He realizes that his time is a non-renewable resource. Once a moment has been spent, it is gone for good and the man of purpose is not willing to waste one precious minute. At the end of the day the man of purpose is energized, because he sees that the use of his day has contributed towards the fulfillment of his God given purpose.

What is your legacy? What will be the impact of your life? I once read an email that suggested that each of our lives is represented by a dash...the line between the date of birth and the date of death on our tombstones. The email ended with the question, “how will you spend your dash?” When it comes to the issue of purpose there is no greater power than the power to have a lasting influence on the life of another person. When I consider who I am as a man, I see the fingerprints of a few key men and women upon my life. God used these individuals to mold, shape, encourage and at times correct me as I have traveled through this journey of life.

It was Godly parents who provided the Christian influence of my childhood. It was their instruction in the Bible and their fellowship within a local church body that provided the solid moral foundation of my life. Upon this foundation, God has continually built through the input of others.

I vividly remember one powerful shaping encounter with my friend Dean. Dean is more than 30 years my senior and is more than a friend; he has at times been like a second father to me. As a man in my late twenties, Dean approached me about serving as a Deacon in our local church. I quickly dismissed the idea and informed Dean that I was not ready to take on that type of role. I shared with him that I had way too many faults and shortcomings to be a leader in a local church. At this point Dean said “If not being ready is your reason for not serving, you will never serve, because you will never be ready. There will always be something in your life that could be better.” That was a turning point in my life. Those words helped me to understand that my availability was much more important to God, and others for that matter, than my skills, talents or abilities ever would be. Today, Dean may not even remember that conversation, but because he lived out his life’s purpose as a Godly example to other men, my life was dramatically affected. Each life that my ministry has had an impact upon, may have never been touched, had it not been for those simple, but profound words spoken years ago. Dean was not doing anything out of the ordinary; he was merely living out the calling on his life…to be a Godly man of influence.

The yielding of my life to God’s plan and purpose is the greatest act of worship I can offer. To become the fulfillment of his divine design brings honor and glory to him. My greatest reward will be to one day stand before him and hear the words “well done thou good and faithful servant.”
[1] The Holy Bible, New International Version®
Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
[2]The Holy Bible, New International Version®
Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
[3] Copyright© 1998, Successories, Inc.