Taking Steps With Purpose

How to Live Life With Purpose – Part 5

Can something that seems impossible be true?

A paradox is a seemingly self-contradictory statement that may actually be true. Below are some examples related to how we live a life with purpose. They may seem contradictory at first, but they each have insights that can help us find our way. 

• We are given purpose in our life, but we must look to discover it.
• We will be guided along the way, but we must pick our direction.
• The hardest path is sometimes the easiest way to get somewhere.
• Purpose is not a destination, but we must take steps to get there.
• God is in control, but we have free will to make our own choices.  

There are five universal values which work together to explain much of what our life journey is all about. Purpose is the trajectory for where we are going. Identity is who we are, and that is our starting point. Meaning is why we exist, and it gives us direction. Contribution is what we do to make progress along our path. Community is who we travel with on the journey. 

In the previous article in this series on “Purpose,” we used the metaphor of driving across the country to show how we can use a map, GPS, and the input of other travelers to help us find our way. But we also have to keep our eye on the road and drive responsibly to get where we want to go.  

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Keep Our Eyes Open and Look For Epiphanies on the Way

Imagine we’re driving and spot a small sign: “Construction ahead, turn here for the fastest route.” We’d be happy because we found a way to get where we were going more quickly. And we would have missed it if we hadn’t been keeping our eyes open.     

Along our life journey, we can experience breakthroughs, which are discoveries that change our life for the better. Sometimes they come upon us unexpectedly, but we can find them more readily if we look for them. What are signs that can lead us to a breakthrough? They may take different forms such as:

• Epiphanies – A new insight or “Aha!” moment we encounter that allows us to see things more clearly than we did before.
• Treasures – When we find joy in the little things in life, and the pleasure and gratitude we feel makes our journey easier.
• Miracles – An extraordinary event that brings welcome consequences and which may include God’s involvement.

One of the things that makes life an adventure is keeping our eyes open for breakthroughs along the way. Because, at any moment, we may discover something wonderful such as:

• Epiphanies – A creative idea, the solution to a problem, a flash of self-awareness, insight we reach while reading, a Scripture verse or quote that strikes us as profound, realizing the lesson a trial has taught us, finding a new level of peace by letting go, recognizing wisdom, or when the pieces of the puzzle finally come together.
• Treasures – Receiving an unexpected compliment, a beautiful sunrise, finishing a task we did our best on, the smile of a stranger, the feeling we get by helping someone, a warm shower, feeling gratitude, a funny joke, or the warmth of a family gathering.
• Miracles – Something that happens that is too crazy to be coincidence, a divine appointment with someone we were supposed to meet, knowing that Scripture verse we just read was intended specifically for us, the amazing order of the universe, a new baby, an event that seems meant to be, or knowing we have been blessed.  

We can live a life of discovery simply by keeping our eyes open, and we can find epiphanies, treasures, and miracles if we look for them. Breakthroughs in our life are not just possible—they are likely.

Earlier in this discussion on purpose, I told the story of meeting Dr. J on an airplane and the amazing things that happened before and after that divine appointment. God seemed very present in those events, and it encouraged me to keep my eyes open for more discoveries. Therefore, I was also able to experience more amazing things during those weeks:  

• Epiphanies – God acting supernaturally in our life, seeing how prayer works, experiencing peace in surrendering an impossible challenge, finding solutions to tough issues, hearing wisdom from inner city pastors, feeling how becoming close to people with very little changes you, and being called to help hurting people.
• Treasures – Hearing “I Can Only Imagine” on the radio when I needed it, seeing Linus in “A Charlie Brown Christmas” say, “Fear not,” the panorama of 800 people at “Community Christmas,” finding satisfaction from a tough project, feeling the love in a hug line with guests, witnessing the young “mom” who finally let go, and enjoying six more annual Christmas events.
• Miracles – Here is a reminder of some miracles from that story: receiving blessings from a guy named Robert in Washington DC, the purpose in the meeting with Larry of Frontline Outreach, Dr. J sitting next to me, God encouraging me through my son, money appearing for presents we bought, and enjoying the incredible outcomes from the event.

It seems I experience epiphanies, treasures, and miracles more in certain periods in my life. I think it’s when I have my eyes open.

“What you are missing is that the path itself changes you.” (Julien Smith)

Accept Responsibility for Finding Purpose in the Path

We can navigate our path through life by adjusting the directions we use along the way. We get good input from our values, roles, inner guidance, and epiphanies. But there’s one other important technique to consider: we have to actually follow those directions. 

I’ve mentioned being impacted by the book Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby. I remember sailing through the first four of what he calls “The Seven Realities” that describe how God loves and guides us and invites us to be involved in his work.

But the next two realities hung me up a bit. They say that as we follow God’s directions, we will sometimes face a crisis that requires action and must make adjustments in our life to respond. A “crisis” is a time when a decision must be made. When we become aware we should adjust our path, that is a crisis. In that moment, we either accept or deny our responsibility for finding purpose.

If we stay true to our values, many of these decisions are relatively simple. Not necessarily easy, but less complicated. Either we accept our responsibility or we don’t. We find purpose in our path or we decide to go our own way.   

That’s where the rubber hits the road for living a life with purpose.   

When I was meeting with Larry at Frontline Outreach and he outlined his vision for the “Community Christmas” event, that became a crisis. Which I promptly ignored and went my own way. But when Dr. J sat next to me on that Delta flight the next day, I couldn’t ignore my responsibility any longer.

Which brings us to another aspect about living with purpose: it’s not always easy. The next few weeks leading toward Christmas were a wonderful dream that sometimes became a nightmare. Literally.

Getting seven churches working together to plan an event for 600 guests with 200 volunteers was a daunting undertaking on such short notice. We had to raise the money, invite families, buy the toys and food, organize volunteer teams, find entertainment to perform, and manage all the moving parts of the event itself. I had nightmares about the disasters we might face: either no one would show up at all, or we would have hundreds more people than we could accommodate clamoring at the doors. Yikes!

Some of our most incredible experiences in living with purpose come with a price. But they’re worth it.

I have dozens of vibrant memories of that first “Community Christmas at Frontline Outreach” event. Volunteer table hosts from the suburbs with inner city babies playfully bouncing on their laps. Dr. J speaking to a rapt audience. A teenage girl—forced into being “Mom” for her siblings—who bore her responsibility stoically until finally breaking into joyful tears as she was being hugged. Hundreds of kids clutching more toys than they ever imagined having.

Each of the volunteers had stories of their own. Some had been hesitant to help because the inner city event seemed outside their comfort zone. But they thanked me afterwards for the opportunity to serve, and some said the experience changed their lives.

Because they accepted responsibility for finding purpose in the path.    

“Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.” (Matthew 25:23)