I was reading “A Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren, and the following excerpt made me stop and think.
“First, knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life, aka hope.
‘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 a hope and a future.’”
Jeremiah 29:11
After watching me assemble things for our new home, my two year old daughter has identified that I value the instruction manuals…because without them there are lots of leftover pieces. 🤦♀️ This means SHE also values them and walks off with them. 😝
God wrote the instruction manuals or “plans” for our lives and He doesn’t hide them from us. Easy to say, harder to apply.
The second thought from Warren’s book really hit me hard:
Knowing your purpose simplifies your life. It defines what you do and what you don’t do. Your purpose becomes the standard you use to evaluate which activities are essential and which aren’t. You simply ask, “Does this activity help me fulfill one of God’s purposes for my life?”
Without a clear purpose you have no foundation on which you base decisions, allocate your time, and use your resources. You will tend to make choices based on CIRCUMSTANCES, PRESSURES, and YOUR MOOD AT THAT MOMENT.
People who don’t know their purpose try to do too much – and that causes stress, fatigue, and conflict. It is impossible to do everything people want you to do. YOU HAVE JUST ENOUGH TIME to do God’s will. If you can’t get it all done, it means you’re trying to do more than God intended for you to do (or, possibly, that you’re watching too much TV).
Purpose-driven living leads to a SIMPLER lifestyle and a saner schedule. The Bible says, “A pretentious, showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life.” Proverbs 13:7
It also leads to peace of mind: “You, LORD, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3
My prayer is that this is a blessing to someone. We all need encouragement. We are all stressed and many of us keep “too busy” with things that aren’t what we were intended to be doing. 🙋♀️ I know I’m not the only one. I encourage you today to filter your schedule through the lens of the glorious purpose God created you to fulfill! You are no accident. God made only one you, He wants to give you His eternal salvation and lead you to live in the glorious life He created just for you!
“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
1 Corinthians 10:31
2 Responses
Thank you for the wonderful devotional.
Praise God!