As promised.... The benefits of being driven by God's purpose for your life and not all the other junk I wrote about yesterday:
Again, all of the points below came from The Purpose Driven Life book, by Rick Warren.
Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life. Without God, life has no purpose. Without purpose, life has no meaning. Without meaning, life has no significance or hope. The greatest tragedy is not death, but life without purpose.
HOPE IS AS ESSENTIAL TO LIFE AS AIR AND WATER!
Knowing your purpose simplifies your life. Before doing anything ask, "Does this activity help me fulfill one of God's purposes that He's revealed for my life? People who don't know their purpose do too much, causing stress and fatigue.
YOU HAVE JUST ENOUGH TIME TO DO GOD'S WILL. IF YOU CAN'T GET IT ALL DONE, THEN YOU ARE TRYING TO DO MORE THAN GOD INTENDED FOR YOU TO DO( OR POSSIBLY, YOU ARE WATCHING TOO MUCH TV). PURPOSE-DRIVEN LIVING LEADS TO A SIMPLER LIFESTYLE AND A SANER SCHEDULE.
You, LORD, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you." Isaiah 26:3 TEV
Knowing your purpose focuses your life. You become effective by being selective. Without a clear purpose, you will keep changing directions, jobs, relationships, churches, and other externals- hoping each change will settle the confusion or fill the emptiness in your heart. You think, maybe this time will be different, but it doesn't solve your real problem- a lack of focus and purpose.
IF YOU WANT YOUR LIFE TO HAVE IMPACT, FOCUS IT! PRUNE AWAY EVEN GOOD ACTIVITIES AND DO ONLY THAT WHICH MATTERS MOST. NOT THE MOST URGENT... THAT WHICH MATTERS MOST (MY ADDITION)
Knowing your purpose motivates your life. George Bernard Shaw wrote, " This is the true joy of life: the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clot of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."
Knowing your purpose prepares you for eternity. One day we will all stand before the judgement seat of God and give a personal account for our lives. From the Bible, we can surmise that God will have two questions for us:
WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY SON, JESUS CHRIST? DID YOU ACCEPT WHAT HE DID FOR YOU AND LEARN TO LOVE AND TRUST HIM?
WHAT DID YOU DO WITH WHAT I GAVE YOU? WHAT DID YOU DO WITH YOUR LIFE- ALL THE GIFTS, TALENTS, OPPORTUNITIES, ENERGY, RELATIONSHIPS, AND RESOURCES THAT GOD GAVE YOU?
THE FIRST QUESTION WILL DETERMINE WHERE YOU SPEND ETERNITY AND THE SECOND WILL DETERMINE WHAT YOU DO IN ETERNITY.
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3 comments:
Who knew you were a country fan? I'm going to go to your blog just to listen to your music! I was too distracted to even get to the post yet, and so disappointed that in order to leave a comment the music turns off... bummer! Back to the post and back to the music!
It is nice to see you back here and blogging again.
Chuck just re-read that book and was blessed by it again. So glad you are diving in and being challenged.
Hope your b-day was great.
Thanks for sharing this. THis book is awesome. Great post.
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