Day 3: WHAT DRIVES YOUR LIFE?

I observed that the basic motive for success
Is the driving force of envy and jealousy!
Eccelesiastes 4:4

The man without a purpose is like
A ship without a rudder-a waif,
A nothing, a no man
-Thomas Carlyle

Everyone’s life is driven by something.
Most dictionaries define the verb drive as “to guide, to control, or to direct.” Whether you are driving a car, a nail, or a golf ball, you are guiding, controlling, and directing it at the moment. What is the driving force in your life?
Right now you may be driven by a problem, a pressure, or a deadline. You may be driven by painful memory, a haunting fear, or an unconscious belief. There are hundreds of circumstances, values, emotions that can drive your life. Here are five of the most common one:
1. Many people are driven by guilt
-They spend their entire lives running from regrets and hiding their shame. Guilt-driven people are manipulated by memories. They allow their past to control their future. They often unconsciously punish themselves by sabotaging their own success.
2. Many people are driven by resentment and anger
-They hold on to hurts and never get over them. Instead of releasing their pain through forgiveness, they rehearse it over and over in their minds. Your past is past! Listen: Those who have hurt you in the past cannot continue to hurt you now unless you hold on the pain through resentment.
3. Many people are driven by fear
Their fears may be a result of a traumatic experience, unrealistic expectations…or even genetic predisposition. Regardless of the cause, fear driven people often miss great opportunities because they’re afraid to venture out. Fear is a self-imposed prison that will keep you from becoming what God intends for you to be. Go against it with the weapons of faith and love.
4. Many people are driven by materialism.
-The desire to acquire becomes the whole goal of their lives. ‘Having’ more will make them happy, more secure, more important, but all these ideas are untrue. Possessions only provide temporary happiness. Money is not everything. Your value is not determined by your valuables, and God says the most valuable things in life are not things.
5. Many people are driven by the need for approval
-They allow the expectations of parents or spouses or children or teachers or friends to control their lives. Many adults are trying to earn the approval of unpleasable parents. Others are driven by peer pressure, always worried by what others may think. Unfortunately, those who follow the crowd usually get lost in it. One key to failure is to try to please everyone! Being controlled by the opinions of others is a guaranteed way to miss God’s purpose for your life. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters”.
There are five great benefit of living a purpose-driven life:
1. Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life.
-Without God, life has no purpose, life has no meaning. Without meaning, life has no hope. The greatest tragedy is not death, but life without purpose. Hope and believe in the love of God for you.
2. Knowing your purpose simplifies your life
-It is impossible to do everything people want you to do. You have just enough time to do God’s will. In whatever you do, take time to ask yourself, “Is this God’s will for me? It leads to peace of mind.
3. Knowing your purpose focuses your life
-It is human nature to get distracted by many issues. Rick Warren says, many people are like gyroscopes, spinning around but never going anywhere. Without a clear purpose, you will keep changing directions, jobs, relationships, churches, etc., hoping each change will settle the confusion or fill the emptiness in your heart, but it doesn’t solve your real problem-a lack of focus and purpose. The man and women who have made the greatest difference in history were the most focused. Take for instance, the apostle Paul one of the greatest missionaries on earth. He said, “I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what is ahead” (Philippians 3:13). Stop trying to do it all. Do only what matters most.

4. Knowing your purpose motivates your life
-“The true joy: the being used up for a purpose…”
5. Knowing your purpose prepares you for eternity
-A wiser use of time is to build an eternal legacy. You weren’t put on earth to be remembered. You were put here to prepare eternity. Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me”. Read Roman 14:10-12 Question 1: “What did you do with my Son, Jesus Christ?” Question 2: “What did you do with what I gave you?” What did you do with all your life-all gifts, talents, energy, opportunities, relationships, and resources God gave you? All this will determine for eternity.

Day 3
Thinking about my purpose
Point to ponder: Living on purpose is the path to peace.
Verse to Remember: “You, Lord, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3
Question to consider: What would my family and friends say is the driving force of my life? What do I want it to do?

Note: see reflection Day 1-2 as posted earlier