“The Power of Purpose”

Read: The Power of Purpose (Page 10)

Philippians 1:12 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel

At this time, Paul was in prison because of his purpose. He was not in prison for having a purpose, nor was he in prison for talking about his purpose. He was in prison for pursuing his purpose!

Most people will be okay with you having a purpose. Some may even be okay with you talkingabout your purpose. But, few will be okay with you actively pursuing your purpose and even fewer will be okay with you actually sticking with your purpose as it develops and matures.

This is not something to hold against them. It seems that most people do not have any real purpose at all; not a purpose that drives them to develop themselves anyway. It seems that most people’s purpose is to simply survive and not get into too much trouble. Most don’t seem to realize there is so much more to life than this!

Paul did not seem to live his life like that. He lived on the edge in the sense that he was always pushing boundaries and seeing how far God would let him go. This no doubt created discomfort in others, but unknown to them, it probably created discomfort in Paul as well. He just learned that any purpose that has any value is going to cost something and if it doesn’t make you at least a little uncomfortable, then it probably isn’t a purpose worth pursuing anyway!

A God-given purpose keeps you pushing forward. A God-given purpose keeps you pushing higher. A God-given purpose keeps you stretching the boundaries. A God-given purpose keeps you running after it even when you don’t feel like running anymore.

Paul understood this and wasn’t ashamed of the purpose he was pursuing. He said “Even the bad things that have happened to me actually furthered what I was doing!”. Almost as if when they told him, “You’re going to prison”, he yelled “Aha! Success!”.  Now THAT is not only optimism, but THAT is purpose!

Watch out for “Dream Busters”

Another name for a purpose is a “dream”. As John Maxwell teaches, you have to watch out for “dream busters”. These are the people who, when you tell them what you’d like to do or be part of, they either they disagree with you, they disagree with that (your dream), or they disagree with you doing that. For one, it may be that they don’t have dream and they don’t you getting all “Martin Luther King, Jr.” on them! For another, it may be that they don’t want a dream and they despise you wanting a dream.

There comes a point at which you outgrow those kinds of people. It’s okay…grow and let them go! You don’t need acquaintances that bad anyway!

Be a Dream Lifter The Dream Lifter is a Boeing 747-400 Large Cargo Freighter (LCF) with a wide-body. It is a cargo aircraft modified extensively from the Boeing 747-400 airliner. It can hold three times that of a 747-400F freighter. The outsized aircraft was designed to transport Boeing 787 Dreamliner parts. In other words, because it’s so big, it carries other planes.

This is exactly what a “Dream Lifter” of growth and development does. They grow to a point where they are lifting others higher as they fly higher. No longer are they letting others bust up their dreams and keep them grounded. No longer do they need others to lift them. They have outgrown their neediness and have made it their duty and expectation to help lift others, whether they get the credit for it or not.

If the Boeing 787 Dreamliner were to carry some large part of the 747 Dream Lifter, that would be noteworthy and it would receive some form or credit. But, for the 747 Dream Lifter to carry large parts of the 787 Dreamliner? That’s expected because of how it is built. You’ll know you’re flying high when, not only do you stop needing the credit, but you start to carry others up with you.

Do you have a purpose that keeps you driving forward even when it seems like it’s causing you problems instead? Do you have a purpose that, even in the midst of life’s obligations and pressing problems, it seems to “call” you, saying “come out and pursue me for a little while!”? If you do, then happy are ye, because THIS is The Power of Purpose!

*This post is part of a teaching curriculum based on John Maxwell’s leadership devotional book entitled A Leader’s Heart.

If you would like to read along, you can follow the paid link to purchase this book by Clicking Here.

Thank you for being part of this development journey with us!*