A man without purpose is like a boat without a rudder - a breath, a nobody, not a man.
Thomas Carlyle
I have observed that what drives many to success is the driving force of envy and jealousy. Ecclesiastes 4:4
The life of each one of us is driven by something.
Most dictionaries define the verb to drive as "to guide, to control, to direct." When you drive a car, or an orchestra or an investigation you are guiding, controlling and directing that at that moment.
What is the force that drives your life?
You may be driving a problem, pressure or deadline at this time. It may be driving a painful memory, a frightening fear or an unconscious belief. There are hundreds of circumstances, values and emotions that can lead your life. Here are five of the most common forces:
Many people are driven by guilt. They spend their whole lives fleeing their remorse and hiding their shame. People driven by guilt are manipulated by their memories. They allow their past to control their future. Very often unconsciously they punish themselves by sabotaging their own success. When Cain sinned, his guilt disconnected him from the presence of God and God told him, "You will be a restless wanderer on earth." This describes most people today - they wander through life without a purpose.
We are products of our past, but we do not have to be their prisoners. God's purpose is not limited by his past. He transformed a murderer named Moises into a leader and a coward named Gideon in a brave hero, and He can also do wonderful things with the rest of his life. God specializes in giving people a new beginning. The Bible says, "What happiness for those whose guilt has been forgiven! ... What a relief for those who have confessed their sins and to whom God has cleansed their record."
The Benefits of Living Driven by Purpose
There are five great benefits of living a life driven by purposes:
Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life. We were created to have meaning. That is why people try to use uncertain methods such as astrology or psychics to discover it. When your life has meaning, you can endure almost anything; When you do not have it, everything is unbearable.
A young man in his twenties wrote, "I feel like a failure because I'm trying to be something and I do not even know what it is, all I know is how to survive." If I ever discover my purpose, I'll feel like I'm starting to live . "
Without God, life has no purpose; and without purpose, life has no meaning. Without meaning, life has neither importance nor hope. In the Bible, many people expressed this hopelessness. Isaiah complained, "I have worked without achieving a purpose, I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing." Job said, "My life is dragging - a hopeless day after a hopeless day" and "I give up, I'm tired of living, leave me alone, my life has no meaning." The biggest tragedy is not death, but a life without purpose.
Hope is as essential to your life as water and oxygen. He needs the hope to be able to face life. Dr. Bernie Siegel discovered that he could predict which of his cancer patients would go into remission by simply asking them, "Do you want to be 100 years old?" Those who had a deep sense of purpose for their lives answered yes and were the most likely to survive. Hope comes from having a purpose.
If you have felt hopeless, wait! Wonderful changes will occur in your life when you begin to live it purposefully. God says, "I know what I am planning for you ..." I have good plans for you, they are not plans to harm you, I will give you hope and a good future. "You may feel that you are facing an impossible situation , but the Bible says, "God ... is capable of doing much more than we would ever dare to ask and even dream of - infinitely beyond our maximum prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes."
