What is God's purpose for life? If you have dug into the Bible, you know that our purpose is to worship God. We can worship God in many ways, but do we let him consume our life? Going to Church on Sunday allows us to worship him though singing songs and reading the scriptures. Praying brings us closer to him through out our day. But none of that compares to being entirely consumed by the holy spirit. It took me my whole life to figure this out. My life changed when I went from being a fan of God to a follower of God.
Right out of high school I started my own business. My desire was to be like both of my grandfathers. One grandfather had a clothing store, and the other grandfather owned a grocery store and apartments. At a young age, I always had a taste for earning money.
My grandfather let me mow his yard every week. When I say let, I mean let. His little parcel of earth what something that he took great pride in. I remember mowing his yard and going as fast as I could to show him how hard of a worker I was. When I got done, man I was proud. After telling my grandfather what I great job I had done, he told me to mow it again. I didn't for the life of me know why. He said that I didn't do a quality job and that I needed to do it again the right way. Begrudgingly, I did as I was instructed. This moment set the tone for the rest of my adult life.
Hitting it big time.
Starting my business from scratch was a challenge. Jumping in head first I didn't know what I was doing, but I knew I could work hard. Several years of hard work paid off. I finally made my first million dollars. The more money I made, the more I desired it. I had everything that I could possible want. Having made a successful life for myself and my family, I still felt empty. What I didn't realize was that I was running my life in the ground. Instead of a purpose driven life, I made life about me. My success and my desires fueled my drive. I didn't have any idea what the real purpose for life was.
I continued to do as I always had, go to Church, pray at supper and read the Bible before bed. My routine was the same every day. There was no purpose for life in what I was doing. I though that I was a faithful follower, but I was nothing more than a selfish and lazy fan. Never had I shared the word of God with anyone. I never took the time actually to know what a relationship with Jesus looked like. Everything ended up coming together one day.
Time for a life changer.
My wife had routine surgery. Later in the night my wife tried to get up out of her hospital bed and ended up fainting. After she had fainted, I tried to get help from the staff at the hospital. I pulled the panic button and screamed down the hall. No one came, so I prayed to God that someone would hear me. Finally, after several minutes which felt like an eternity, someone finally came. I carried my wife's lifeless body back to her bed. The nursing staff stepped in and could not find a pulse. Shortly after, they began CPR. Thinking my wife was dead, I didn't know what to do. She didn't start to wake up for nearly thirty minutes. When she awoke, they thought she had brain damage from being unconscious for so long.
Flash forward a few days, my wife finally came home from the hospital. Everything seemed to be going fine in her recovery. Until one day, my wife could not walk. Not only could she not walk, but she also couldn't barely move any part of her body. She was nearly paralyzed. I stayed home from work and became her full-time care taker. I also took care of my three children at the same time. My life had drastically changed, and I could do nothing about it. The only thing I could do was pray.
My purpose for life.
My purpose for life changed on the day that I though I lost my wife. The purpose for my life changed the day my wife couldn't walk again. God put everything I did or desired to do into perspective. Nothing mattered anymore. I was 100% reliant upon God and his purpose for my life. I couldn't go to work, and I couldn't fix my wife. Life was not about me anymore. My focus and my purpose for life changed from me to God.
So over the past year, I have a developed a whole new look on life. God's purpose for my life was not to carry on down the same path. After faithfully listening to God, I decided to start this blog with my friend Kirk. I still have my businesses, but I do not find passion in them like I to when I follow God's will. My purpose for being on this earth is more than money and business; it is about God. I know my purpose for life is to serve God. Still not knowing what role I will play. This blog is my way of spilling out my thoughts to channel what God has planned for my life.
I want to do something big; I just don't know what God has decided yet. But what I do know is, what ever God chooses for me, I am 100% in.
Meeting David A.R. White tonight.
I attended the annual banquet for my children's school this evening. The keynote speaker was David A.R. White. If you are unfamiliar with David's work, he founded PureFlix Entertainment and produced the Movie God's Not Dead. Listening to David speak tonight, everything that is happening in my life made sense. His message was on God's purpose for our life. David's message reinforced what God is doing in my life and what he will continue to do in the future.
At this point in my life, I know that I am called to do God's work. Still, I am just looking for a clear path to follow. I know God and his greatness, and he will show me when the time is right. I will leave you with this verse from Proverbs.
Proverbs 16:9 NASB “The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.”