Living on Purpose

It is a new year. For many a time of resolution and commitment to do better, be better or at least be different. The prospect of a new year fills some with hope, some with dread and yet others with a sense of the unknown.

I am not a fan of New Year resolutions, at least for me. It seems that I am just setting myself up for failure –if history is anything to go by! On the other hand it is an opportunity to recommit to those things that are of value and to reflect on how the last year has gone. I am mindful at this time of the words of John Lennon in a song to his son, Sean: ‘Life is just what happens to you when you are busy making other plans’. For many of us it seems that we get so busy planning our future that we forget how to live. Of course the opposite is also true, we can get so busy with dealing with the everyday issues of life that we forget to plan! Another year ends and all the good intentions, ideas and aspirations seems to have fallen by the wayside.

If we want to achieve those goals, we need to be intentional about how we live, in short we need to live on purpose. What is the purpose that we commit ourselves to? The Westminster Shorter Catechism suggests that the chief end of man (and I am sure this can be extended to women also!) is to ‘Glorify God and enjoy him forever’. And while this is a good statement it is a little short on detail and doesn’t speak much to the context of our lives.

Each of us have or have had ideas and visions for the future. Sometimes the circumstances of life have given them a bit of a battering and we struggle to see how they can ever be reached, but they can be. There does need to be some reflection, some taking of stock and maybe some re-aligning of priorities but the good news is God’s plans for you are for success!

The prophet Habakkuk said that he would put himself in the right place and then watch and wait until he heard what God would say. God in reply said that when he heard the message he was to write it down, because even though it seemed a long time in coming, it would happen and it would not fail (Hab. 2:1-3). Many of us have had a dream, or a vision of what could be, and yet nothing has happened. After a while our enthusiasm dampens and the normal activity of life has taken over. Sometimes we have just given up and decided to do something different. Now is the time to rediscover those dreams. The writer of Proverbs said that without a vision, people are undisciplined or even run wild. When we have no vision to guide us, we have no purpose to guide the decisions we make and the behaviour we exhibit.

The champion athlete who has a vision of an Olympic Gold medal makes sure that all of her behaviour contributes to her goal. It will affect her eating, her recreation, her spending, and her social activities and so on. The Academic in pursuit of higher honours will likewise subject every area of his life to achieving his dream. The mother who wants to build the home of her dreams will plan and budget her time and resources to seeing that vision fulfilled. Whatever the dream or vision that God has planted in your life, if you want to see it become reality, you will need to live with purpose.

As you start a new year, ask God to reveal to you those dreams and visions that were yours but have somehow become lost in the daily grind. Don’t accept the lie that they were just fanciful imaginations, but live in the expectation that they will become your reality. If you have not yet had that dream or vision, then put yourself in a place where you can hear from God. Remove yourself from distraction, adopt an attitude of expectancy and listen! God will speak and when he does, write it down, share it with others and plan to make it happen. Make 2014 a year of living on purpose!