When it Comes to Clarity of Life Purpose, This Can Be a Hard Question to Answer
Too often, we find ourselves going through life without really knowing where we’re headed or why. This may be because of where we were born and raised, our family and community dynamic, or an unexpected situation in which we are caught.
Going through life, headed in the wrong direction leads to being lost.
People start life making decisions based on what they know. We all know of stories where the child is living out the life that is expected of them. Whether that’s following in the family business or going all in on sports because that’s what a parent wanted. Or maybe someone takes a job to pay the bills and continues to work there without any clear reason.
Or, we may have been doing exactly what we’re supposed to up until the time we need to make changes. These changes may be a slight adjustment to course, or a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turnaround.
Being aware is where clarity of direction starts.
Sometimes the direction changes come in a flash of light or maybe it involves getting hit upside the head with a board. I experienced the latter.
In Act 9:1-16 Saul experiences the flash of light direction change. Saul had been persecuting the early followers of Jesus. This is how he had been raised and what he had been taught. He thought he was doing the right thing. While Saul was on his way to Damascus to round up some of the followers, he was blinded by a bright light and redirected.
Saul could have pushed back and stayed the course…but he didn’t. Instead, he chose to follow the directions given to him by Jesus. Saul became Paul and went on to do the work he had been called to do.
We need to open our eyes and ears to what we’ve been called to do.
We can be led by the crowd to do what seems like the right thing. How can we be clear on what the right thing is? Ultimately, there is an internal voice that aligns with the Word of God. We can choose to listen to it or not.
The crowd’s voice can be very loud and make it hard to hear God’s voice. We need to be aware that sometimes when we choose to listen the crowd instead of God there may be a flash of light or board coming our way.
Sometime this change of direction can be a scary thing. Going to some place out of our comfort zone may require courage. If we want to go where we’re supposed to and be obedient, we need to be willing to step out in faith.
Be open to God’s leading, and you’ll experience a life beyond your dreams.