Where do you get your life directions? Photo-gpsinformation.org
The Global Positioning System went into widespread military use by the 1990’s. For a Marine who had used a map and compass to navigate for the first dozen years of service, these tools were fantastic. I relied on my map and compass to get me where I was going, but was able to confirm that I was in the correct location with a GPS.
In those days, programming the GPS was a laborious process. Today, you can just have a conversation with a local dash mounted unit and get directions, corrections if you miss a turn, and a confirmation upon arrival. How cool is this technology! OK, it’s cool to me, but maybe not to the generation that has grown up with it.
Let’s get right to our first make it count moment.
When was the last time that you were driving and became lost?
What happened?
Did you stop for directions?
What is your usual response when you feel lost (either on the highway or in the circumstances of life)?
Where to you turn for direction?
Kerry Shook offers another form of GPS—one that is within us. He suggests that we look at our Gifts, our Passions, and our Struggles for guidance.
Paul spent three chapters (12,13,14)in his first letter to the Church at Corinth addressing Spiritual Gifts. We have them, need to discover them, use them, and produce fruit for the Body of Christ with them. We should not compare our gifts, talents, or God-given abilities with others. We should accept, be thankful, and use the gifts that God selected just for us.
God has also placed within us a passion for our purpose. Shook’s analogy is that if my gifts are my engine then my passion is my fuel. Paul reminds us that in everything we do, do it as if we were working for the Lord and not for men. In everything? What about the boring stuff?
If we are living our purpose, there is no boring stuff. The key is to discover our purpose and live it wherever we are—with our family, at work, driving, or yes, even doing the most boring of tasks can be done in the course of passionately living our purpose. Martin Luther once said that you can milk cows to the glory of God. In other words, it’s not so much the task as it is the purpose and passion with which we live every moment.
Speaking of moments, let’s take a look at our next make it count moment.
When was the last time that you felt passionately about an experience?
What were the circumstances?
What gifts did you use?
What did this experience tell you about your purpose in life?
The third part of this second GPS is struggle, specifically our struggles. Sometimes we see struggles as things that get in the way of life, but we should spend more time looking for how they define our purpose in life. When we struggle and overcome on our own, we seldom gain insight. When we must lean on God, depend exclusively upon him, and drop our defenses and pretenses; we get a glimpse of who God wants us to be. This discovery usually doesn’t take place on the Primrose path. God uses the struggles, challenges, problems, and perplexities of everyday life to call us closer to him.
Let’s look at the make it last for life challenges.
1. List the gifts that you posses. Try to list at least five.
2. Ask your friends and family to list five gifts they see in you. Try to get at least 3 different people.
3. What was confirmed?
4. Where were you surprised?
5. In what ways does your current job or career field reflect your passion?
6. If time were running out would you stay in this field or line of work? Note: this is not asking if you would go to work each day, but would you continue in the same type of career?
7. What are the obstacles that prevent you from having your dream job or pursuing your God-given passion?
8. Talk to God about these obstacles in your daily prayers. Remember that nothing is impossible for God.
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