The other day while I was walking down the road, a strong wind came up and nearly blew me off my feet. I had to intentionally and purposefully re-position my stance and push forward in order to move against this strong wind. It got me thinking about how similar it is to how we move through this life – It’s exactly the same as trying to walk against a strong wind. Your stance and purpose in life will determine whether you will walk against the wind or whether you will be blown off your feet.
The dictionary describes Purpose like this: A determination or a feeling of having a reason for what you do.
Purpose is intentional and not by accident. Being deeply rooted takes courage and time, but it doesn’t have to take you forever. Determination will take you there quicker if you only stay committed to yourself and your dreams.
Here are 3 points I thought might help you if you are struggling to be purposeful and steadfast in any area of your life that you want to change or succeed in.
- Adjust your stance: Just like when I was walking against the wind – I had to adjust my stance in order to achieve my objective (which was to make it home). The same applies in this life. There will always be things that seem to push against us. Maybe you have a dream, but people are constantly telling you that you will never achieve it. Maybe it’s people putting you down for your ideas, your beliefs or your moral convictions. Whatever it may be, if you adjust your stance and push forward, you will find yourself walking through the strong wind that keeps trying to push you backwards.
- Be purposeful: When I was walking against that strong wind, I had to walk with purpose. I had to put my head down and face the wind with determination. I also had to know which direction I was going and I had to push hard in that direction. I never let the wind just blow me in any direction it wanted. That’s called drifting and many people do drift through life without ever really knowing where they are headed, allowing others to influence their direction. In life, you must be clear on your purpose – be clear what it is you want, where you are going and how you plan on getting there in every area of your life. Giving up is never going to get you to where you want to be, but walking with purpose – being intentional and determined will eventually lead to breakthrough in any area in your life that you wish to change or improve.
- Resist and persist: If you have ever walked against a strong wind, you’ll know that you have to really fight hard in order to not get taken down. In life you will also need to resist, fight, battle, attack and counter-attack but it doesn’t end there, you will also need to persist, persevere, continue, remain and stay the course if you want to achieve your dream – your goals. Life is not easy all the time and as the great Rocky Balboa once said:
“It ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”
Think about the people who have, through their courage and purposeful perseverance, changed history – People who have stood for what they believed in – people who swam against the tide of oppression from their friends and loved ones and even oppression from society as a whole – people who continued to believe in themselves even when they were called stupid, crazy, weird or over the top – people who died for that which they believed in. There is one man though who stands out from all the rest, a man who I believe gave us the greatest example of living with purpose in a time when his purpose was in direct contrast to the rest of society at that time. This man was Jesus and he was purpose driven and determined to fulfill what he knew he was born for. He had a strong wind to walk against, and he stuck it through, persevered and ultimately fulfilled the greatest and most wonderful purpose of any other man ever. He persevered through ridicule, through anguish and anxiety, through family and friends thinking he was nuts and then he even persevered through torture so terrible, many of us could never even imagine, never mind endure. He did all of this out of love for you and for me in order that we can have redemption and the everlasting life we were supposed to have. We have a great example in a God who knows how it feels to experience everything we will ever experience because he experienced it first.
If you would like to live a life of more purpose, then what better way to make it happen than by giving your life to the one who made you – the one who knows your purpose, your strengths and your weaknesses. After all, Jesus said: “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5
I want to encourage you, if you want to walk with purpose and be more stable, please click on the link below or the pop-up window.
Your life will never be the same again.