Drawing Your Final Goal

Drawing your final goal in life is one of the most important things you will ever do. This exercise however, will not come without a price. The first question you will need to wrestle with is that daunting question that gnaws: "why am I really here?" What difference was a I created to make?

An observation I have made over the years is this. Where your heart, gifts, pain, values, and passion intersect, there, you will almost always find your purpose. The preparation work that goes into becoming the person you need to be for your calling, I have found, is just as important as the work itself that you will be called to carry out as part of your life's work. Therefore none of your time can be wasted. Those few minutes here and there spent watching, reading, scrolling through those funny, cute yet irrelevant things to your mission all very sadly add up to the sum of a wasted life.

Here's a fundamental and hopefully helpful point. A person's mission usually consists of three main parts:

1. What do I want to do?

2. Who do I wan to help?

3. What value will I create? (meaning, what will be the impact/result of my work?)

For example, an aspect of one of your goals could look like this:

1. I want to write books and thought provoking articles.

2. My hope is to help wavering and struggling Christians find a deeply authentic intimate walk with God.

3. The end result will be more fully committed and fulfilled believers living authentic lives in sync with the Holy Spirit. A revitalized church; overthrowing the works of Satan that have crippled and hindered God's spirit from helping believers live more effective fulfilled lives.

So what are some of the common hinderances that make it difficult for us to activate our personal mission?

1. Lack of wisdom: wisdom is what informs you that your life is a vapor; fleeting and brief. Therefore life is to be defined as ( T I M E ) to be spent even more carefully than money. Wisdom is the ability to see beyond today. It is the gift of foresight. Wisdom admonishes you to begin with the end in mind. Also wisdom grants you the discernment to know the important difference between what is good from what is best, helping you guard against time wasters, with the clarity to say: "not now", "not this", "no".

2. Illicit Pleasures: if the enemy can get us preoccupied on things that bring us meaningless pleasures enough, there's no further need for him to "work". It is a sure thing that our generation will be too distracted to pursue the fullest potential for which we were created. The list of pleasures is endless and more are being launched every day with a promising customer base. All these leave no room for us to engage at a deeper level with God on matters prestaining to our priorities and calling. But how do you differentiate an illicit pleasure from let's say a legitimate one?

Here's what Ravi Zacharias said and I couldn't agree with him more: "Anything that refreshes you without distracting you or diminishing your purpose and calling is a legitimate pleasure". In other words, anything that is undermining your purpose and calling is not a pleasure you should be giving yourself to. No matter how good it may make you feel.

3. Impaired Judgement: John Wesley once asked his mom--Susanna Wesley for the correct definition of sin and here was her answer to him:

"Whatever weakens your reason, impairs your conscience, obscures your sense of God, takes away your desire for spiritual things, or increases the authority of the flesh over the spirit, that thing is sin to you, however good it is in itself" --Susanna Wesley

In order for you to get to your desired end, you must be willing to leave something behind. Refuse to waste your life. Decide what difference you are going to make. Beware of the opposition that soon follows. Know that you have a real adversary seeking to delay, distract, derail, discourage, and destroy every good thing you start. So be ready to resist him firmly.

When you draw your final goal, it is like you are booking your ticket before you make your way to the airport. Otherwise, you will be dragging your suitcase aimlessly from gate to gate trying to see where everyone else is going without a printed DESTINATION on your ticket. Aim for a meaningful life. Sit down and book your ticket. Put a destination on it. Make a difference in the world. Ignore the clutter. Leave a legacy that will outlive you!

For HIS glory!

Journey well.