
Yesterday while I was in conversation with a friend the topic of purpose came up. The topic actually came up briefly, but the concept lingered long in my mind afterward. I began to think about what it means to be purposeful and ask myself some hard questions around this. For example, “Dane, are you being purposeful and deliberate in your attempts to know God?”.
To be honest, the man in the mirror answer was not that great and gaps were found. When I look at the men and women who achieved greatness it clearly shows that it did not occur by happenstance. They obtained their accomplishments by being deliberate and calculated. They set themselves a roadmap and pushed to, and through each junction until the journey came to its end.
I remember as a young man in my teens I also had my roadmap, as I am sure many of us had. The plan was to finish school and get my bachelor’s degree, get a good job and work hard, start to save money, purchase a house then get married (not necessarily in that order 😊). Everything was laid out as how I felt it should unfold and I purposely worked towards it. This was my goal because having a “good life” was important to me.
The aforementioned not only applies to life in general but almost anything we want to accomplish. For instance, those of you who might have had challenges with your weight and undertook a weight loss program or knew someone who lost weight can attest to the process. The person who is commencing weight loss spends time in selecting the best weight loss program for themselves, adjusts their diet accordingly, carves out time to engage in intense exercise, floods their mind with weight loss literature, and sometimes gets new likeminded friends to form a fraternity. Everything is carefully planned in order to get the best results in the end. Everything is purposeful!
But for some reason when it comes to the things of God we can be a bit laidback and lackadaisical at times. We seem to think that the “good life” we want in God can be achieved without an intentional plan of action which is fueled by a purposeful mind. Why apply a methodical approach to everything earthly but use an ad hoc system for the heavenly?
God not only blesses and honours prayer but he honours principles. If we apply ourselves to the principle of being purposeful regarding the things of God we will see how we will rise in Him and He will rise in us!
Using the life of our beloved Jesus as an example. He studied and was schooled in God’s word early, so much so he was teaching at 12 years of age. He then moved to getting 12 disciples to support Him on this journey, he often pulled away early on mornings to pray by himself and added fasting to His prayer. He went in the synagogue, He went in homes, He walked the streets and open fields proving he was intentional and purposeful with ALL His actions and where He placed Himself.
Today I want us to pull back and do some self-reflection as to how deliberate and purposeful we are with building our personal walk with God. Are we carving out set times daily to read His word and have devotions with Him, are we using opportunities daily to witness to other’s about God’s goodness (commit to witnessing to one person per day), are we using our income to share and support others within our environment (those who refresh others will be refreshed Proverbs 11:25)?
Habakkuk 2:2 2 “And the Lord answered me, and said,
Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables,
that he may run that readeth it”.
Lets spend a moment today after reflection and write down the steps we need to take to be purposeful in running towards our God. The world is getting crazier and more unpredictable especially with Covid19. We cannot take this lying down, but we have to be deliberate in taking steps to keep the distance between us and God as short as possible.
PS: Dane Miller was last seen in a quiet corner with pen and paper writing down the key steps to take to be more purposeful in the Lord.
Your Brother in the Lord,
Dane Miller | Author
PS: I welcome your feedback on this blog post and encourage you to leave a comment below or subscribe/follow for new blog releases via email.
Morning Jacqueline. Thanks for the feedback and I am glad you got a blessing from the blog. You mentioned, “For me, it was the sense that you were speaking to yourself” and this is correct. Some people might think that my blogs are for them but that is incorrect. My blogs are for me and you will always see me being real in them (self application as you would call it)! I write them to speak to myself, then I just share myself through the blog. Again thanks for the feedback and do have a blessed day.
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Good morning Dane,
I read “Be Purposeful” this morning as part of my devotion. It was eloquent but deeply insightful. It was not just the vocabulary you employed but the weight loss analogy as well. For me, it was the sense that you were speaking to yourself as you struggled with the reality of being purposeful in your relationship with God. I loved the self application. May God help me to be more purposeful in my walk with him.I benefited immensely.
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I thank God for these words of inspiration on this Monday morning, to start a new week. I will purposefully study God’s word this week, for it is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path (Psalm 119:105).
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Amen Sister Josann!
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Blessings on the powerful reflection big brother Dane
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Blessing to you DMD! Stay strong, stay focused.
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God bless Dane such a powerful reminder and encouragement …. I always relish hearing from you .
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Thanks much Cassandra. I am trying to be more purposeful
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Timely message in these unpresidented times we live in. Thanks for the heads-up!
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Gald you received something from it Fiona! Keep the distance between you and him as short as possible.
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Only recently I’d been having similar thoughts. God quench your thirst and hunger with his presence and glory.
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Good words Dane, I also want to assure persons that there is no pressure as we are oftentimes taught; but yes reading the scripture but also understanding and doing what it says is important. The Christ gives us two useful instructions to get going. Matt 6:33 “Seek you first the Kingdom” and Luke 17:21 “ The Kingdom of God is within you” I would add Matt 6:6 “Go in your closet (meaning your meditation) and close the door”. These practices are a great way to find the Elohim after which your purpose will begin to show itself.
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Great words Ray and relevant scripture references.
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What I love about your blogs Dane is that you gently remind us of what our Christian walk should be. Especially in these difficult times when it’s so easy to become depressed and discouraged. Thank you for writing and encouraging us to keep pressing on. God bless you with wisdom.
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Thanks much Susan!! You always provide an encouraging word.
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There’s loud cry within, more of God, to be purposeful, but, don’t know if it’s my family I worry about because of my age, not remembering, forgetful, slow, sometimes sick, but holding on to His garment, knowing I won’t let go’keeps me’!
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There is nothing wrong with you, yes touch that garment, Matt6:6 says do that also, Philippians 4:8 also same chapter verse 13. Also Paul’s beautiful letter to the Romans, 8:29-30. It’s talking to you, enjoy it and be enriched.
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