LOST IN PURPOSELESSNESS
Yesterday during the Sunday School hour I met with a young woman in her early
20’s who had asked for an appointment the week before. She is a first year
professor at one of the local universities. At the beginning of our
conversation I sensed that maybe she was one who had known about Jesus
before but had never committed her life to Him and accepted Him as her
Savior and Lord. However, that was not the case.
She talked about how God had placed so many believers from various
organizations and churches in her path, all leading to a time a few years
ago when she made a personal commitment to Christ. She had found herself in
various church settings, most of which left her unfulfilled in some way . .
. . some were to “radical”, some were too “cultic” for her to be
comfortable, one was far too large and impersonal, and one quickly shut her
out when she stopped attending regularly. When she began visiting
International Church a few months ago, she found the friendliness,
“smallness” and intimacy she wanted.
As we talked further, she finally indicated that she just didn’t have any
sense of purpose and direction in her life to motivate her to be disciplined
in her spiritual life and in her eating habits. When I began writing to
you, I realized that her condition is really quite common for many people,
even those of us in positions of ministry. So, I want to share some of
those observations with you as well.
Many of us find ourselves at times lost in the sea of purposelessness. We
look around and wonder why we’re here, whether or not what we’re doing has
any value, and if anyone really cares.
Ever been there?
I have many times. It’s no fun, and we usually don’t want to admit it. It’s
like forever running in a squirrel cage and finding yourself right where you
were before you began. Lots of motion, but no progress.
As this young lady and I talked, I began to realize that her lack of self
control and discipline really stemmed from a lack of having a real purpose
for her life. Even though she knew God has a purpose for her, she didn’t
know what it was, and was despondent over why she couldn’t know, and over
why she had no joy. Life was basically meaningless to her, as you would
expect it to be. When you don’t know why you’re here, you neither know who
you really are, or what you’re supposed to do in life. It goes back to the
old “Be, Have and Do” adage I’ve written of so many times.
Can you imagine what it would be like to be a runner if there was no finish
line? Or a basket ball player if there was no time clock? Or a football
player if there was no goal line?
Or, even worse, imagine what it would be like to be an athlete in training if
you knew you would never compete! What would there be to inspire you to
self control and discipline?
Nothing!
So it is with a person who has no sense of purpose. I know from personal
experience that some of the most discouraging days of my ministry over the
past 45 years have been during times when I saw no fruit to my ministry . .
. . when I could see absolutely no evidence that my ministry was making a
difference in anyone’s life.
Today the world is filled with servants of the Lord who are undisciplined and
unmotivated primarily because they see no visible evidence that any specific
purpose for them has been established.
SYMPTOM VS PROBLEM:
The more we talked about this, the more evident it was that her lack of self
control and poor discipline with her eating habits were not the problem, but
were only a symptom. She was undisciplined because she didn’t need to be.
After all, if you have no purpose, then you have no motivation for self
control.
However, that didn’t end the discussion.
The more we talked, the more I discovered about her. In the middle of a
rather lengthy commentary, she let a tiny phrase slip out . . . . “I know
God finds worth in me, but I really doubt it myself.”
So now I had the next piece of the puzzle. Just as discipline, motivation,
and self control are triggered by a clear understanding of purpose, it is a
sense of purpose that gives you an awareness of your worth and your value.
We see this all the time in the work force where people excel at their work
because they know they are worth something to someone; otherwise they would
have never been hired for that job.
In the same way, we get our sense of purpose in life by knowing God sees
value in us . . . . so much value that He sent the ultimate price to redeem
us.
The big difference, however, between how the world values us and how God
does, is the criteria by which we are valued. The world values us and gives
us purpose based on our performance capabilities. God places value on us
purely on the basis of love for that which was His highest creation. The
world accepts or rejects us by what it can get from us. God invites us into
His presence solely by His desire to redeem us and make us back into His
image again.
Then, just as we were about to finish our discussion, this young woman
revealed that her father had died when she was eleven, and that even through
her early childhood she hardly knew him because he was gone so much and paid
so little attention to her.
That’s when the light went on.
Finally I understood her deepest need. While he was not an abusive father in
any way, he was a neglectful father in that he never proved himself faithful
to her, he never affirmed her and expressed his love to her. And then he
abandoned her totally . . . by his death.
It was no wonder this young woman had no joy. It was no wonder all the
things she used to find fulfillment never worked.
When I explained to her that a woman gains her sense of value and worth
primarily from her father and that this would mirror itself in her
comprehension and understanding of her heavenly father, she immediately
responded that she knew instinctively that her earthly father’s life and
death had some connection to her unhappiness and lack of purpose.
With that, I suggested she begin the process of restoration by taking moments
several times a day to simply thank God for where she was right now, for His
faithfulness, for His willingness to reveal Himself to her in due season,
and for the confidence she had that He does indeed have a special purpose
for her life. She agreed, and we’ll talk more soon.
IN CONCLUSION:
You may wonder what this has to do with you. Well, . . . . I don’t know;
maybe it doesn’t at all.
However, I do know this is what God put in my heart to share with you today.
I know far too many pastors, evangelists, missionaries, and volunteer
workers who are floundering in the Pit of Purposelessness, just about to be
sucked under by the mud for the last time because they have no sense of
direction. They have no joy, and they are just about to give up. Maybe
you’re one of those, or you know someone who is just like that.
At any rate, the answer is not in trying harder, or buying into some
motivational self improvement project.
The answer ultimately is in being able to come to your heavenly Father and
admitting your misery to Him, and then asking Him to reveal His embracing
love to you in such a way that you know beyond a doubt that He values you
with His entire being, and He has a wonderful purpose, uniquely designed and
fitted, just for you.
He does, you know.
I praise God from the depths of my heart that I know He loves me, He values
me, and He has been working in my life all these years preparing me for just
these days where He as called Jo Ann and me to serve Him in Kiev, Ukraine.
Who would have ever known . . . . but God . . . . that this is what He had in
mind all along!!!!
Amazing!
Breath taking!
Thrilling!
Oh, my dear friend! I pray from the deepest part of my being that you also
have discovered the indescribable joy of knowing . . . . “Accepted in the
Beloved!”
“Work begun will be completed!”
“Greater is He in me than is in the world!”
“I can do all things through Him Who is my strength!”
Nobody need be lost in purposeless any longer.
Have a wonderful and glorious week. I cannot tell you just how I long for
you to be blessed this week more than you can contain. May you be so for
His glory and for His kingdom.
If you have time, drop me a note; I’d love to hear from you.
In His Bond and For His Kingdom,
Bob Tolliver — Rom 1:11-12
Copyright January, 2003
Life Unlimited Ministries