Now, Israel, what does
the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in
all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes
which I am commanding you today for your good?
Deuteronomy 10:12-13
Living a life of meaning and impact is not about doing
something different but doing what we do with purpose. Looking back over the
past year, how many hours were lost to God your family and others?. The
circumstances of life have no value in and of themselves. What profit is
there to the worker from that in which he toils? I have seen the task which God
has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves. Ecclesiastes 3:9-10
Circumstance w/o
purpose produces weariness. We do things for a variety of reasons. When we
review those reasons we often find that the majority of what we call
"motivations" are actually "coercions"... external
pressures. The word "toil" speaks of the feeling many have toward
life's circumstances. When growing up we
sang the hymn "Toiling On." That will never bring people to church.
Every day you get up without a goal, plan and direction you
will live someone else’s.
•
When you lose your purpose you will lose your
energy.
•
When you lose your purpose you will lose your
peace.
•
When you lose your purpose you will lose your
joy.
•
When you lose your purpose you will lose your
life.
Circumstance w/o
purpose produces boredom. Physical weariness is not nearly as depressing a
mental weariness. If our heart is not involved we will have no initiative...no
life in our labor. We are seeing young people busier than any other generation
and yet twice as bored with life.
Circumstance w/o
purpose produces emptiness. "Unfulfilled"
is the key descriptive word for people in our world today. We have generated
the capacity to get anything we want and yet still can't get what we need. There are millions that come to the end of
life and still don't know why they lived it.
A key statement for beginning to take control of your life
is: "Nobody is responsible for my
happiness and success but me and God."
Personal responsibility is the beginning of placing the locus of
control in your hands.
The Circumstances of
Life in Time Find Purpose and Value in Eternity
Eternity = breadth and
depth as well as duration
The
picture of eternity must include the present as well as the future for that is
what the word means. Eternity has quality as well as length and this is what
God has put in our hearts. Every moment God controls is an eternal act. God's
design and desire is to control our lives to bring about that purpose and give
us the fulfillment He desires. When God acts through our lives we find
ourselves connected to eternity in a special way. Being responsible to God with time in life
can bring us the peace, joy, and fulfillment we have been trying to produce on
our own.
The question to
consider at this very moment is:
•
What am I doing with the life that God has given me?
•
That Christ bought for me?
•
Am I living it for Him? Am I living it to the fullest?
You
are in control of how you choose to spend your time on earth. Are you going to
live a stagnant life, or are you going to live radical for God? Enter every environment (home, school, work,
church, etc.) with every intention to shine as little light as possible on you
and as much light as possible on Jesus, God the Son. Live with purpose and intention. You only get one chance to make it count.
Scripture to Claim:
O LORD, what is man,
that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You think of him? Man
is like a mere breath; His days are like a passing shadow. Psalm 144:3-4