| An esteemed sportscaster died after a seven-year battle with cancer. Among the many accolades, there was a quote attributed to him regarding his fight. He said,
"When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live." (note 1)
This statement reflects a sense of purpose that transcended death and a person who, at least toward the end of his life, sought to live strategically in his fight against the disease that was killing him. The word strategic is the adjective form of the noun strategy. A dictionary definition of strategy is:
“a plan, method, or series of maneuvers for obtaining a specific goal or result.” (note 2)
For individuals who believe they have a purpose in life defined by their Creator, it is incumbent on them to identify and execute a strategy that will facilitate the fulfillment of that purpose.
Strategy is important because of the nature of the Creator who, for his own purposes conceals matters such as individual purpose, and expects his creatures to search out and discover these matters. (note 3) Therefore, it is the responsibility of each person to find and fulfill his or her life purpose.
Many times the discovery process seems unwitting and even outside the individual’s control. For example, consider a young orphan slave girl who unexpectedly and unexplainably, at least in the natural, became queen in a foreign country and then courageously risked her life to save her fellow countrymen. This little orphan girl seemed to have her life purpose thrust upon her through events outside of her control, but the events required a strategic response from her. (note 4)
Those who know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are charged to live strategically and therefore find and fulfill their divinely ordained individual life purpose. (note 5)
The fact that each of us has a purpose is seen in Scripture. One of the clearest texts is found in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians:
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (note 6)
The first sentence—dealing with salvation by grace through faith—is generally interpreted to apply individually. If this is true, the second sentence—dealing with life purpose—should also apply individually. Therefore, in this text the apostle said, at a minimum, that there is individual purpose for those who are genuine Christians. But beyond this, there are other texts that imply that individual purpose is not limited to genuine Christians. (note 7) Indeed, the Bible supports the idea that God creates every person for his own purpose. (note 8)
Given that individual purpose is true and it is your responsibility to find and fulfill your individual purpose, you must strategically seek to find and fulfill God’s purpose for your life.
As noted above, the process of strategically finding your life purpose is not necessarily easy. In fact, it can be very difficult and demanding. (note 9) Nevertheless, this challenging discovery process appears to be God’s way and you can have success in this process. (note 10)
But to efficaciously execute the process requires strategic thinking. I suggest four keys to help formalize a process to assist in strategically discovering your individual life purpose.
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Current Assessment: A current assessment of reality requires clarity about the truth of your current state. Truth is the exclusive purview of God. (note 11) Therefore finding truth about your current state begins by seeking God’s perspective; this means seeing your life and all issues of your life from the Creator’s perspective. Furthermore, given that God is sovereign over his Creation, there are no accidents—everything happens for a reason. (note 12) Therefore all aspects that bear upon your individual life purpose should be evaluated seeking the Creator’s perspective.
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Vision: Given a sovereign Creator, you must seek to develop vision for your life based on God’s purpose for your life. Developing vision is a process of discerning the will of God for your life. (note 13) This process is challenging, and can require much time, arduous work, and wise counsel, but it is an essential component of strategic living. Without God’s vision, you cannot discern your purpose with clarity or conviction.
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Goals: Goals are steps of transformation that facilitate change and therefore improved alignment with the will of God. (note 14) These steps of positive change move you from your current reality toward your vision. To determine that a goal has been achieved, each of your goals must include a metric and a deadline. Without these traits, you may have a wish or dream but not a goal.
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Accountability: Accountability is a necessary tool of discipline to facilitate the transformation process. Without accountability most people, if virtually not all, will fail to accomplish their goals. Therefore, to maximize the opportunity to achieve your goals, you must be accountable to others.
If you believe that you have a divinely ordained life purpose from the Creator, then you must seek to find and fulfill that purpose. And to do so, you must think and act strategically. The four keys of strategic thinking with help you find and fulfill your life purpose.
The esteemed sportscaster mentioned above died at age forty-nine. He enjoyed an excellent professional reputation, which suggests that he was aligned, to some degree, with his individual purpose. I don’t know his spiritual state, but he displayed some traits that suggest he might have been a Christian. For example, to build an excellent reputation requires strategic living. Furthermore, to die well requires perhaps even more focused strategic living. As he faced the end of his life, he lived in reality and developed a vision for how to finish life well. He fought to live for his family and those he served in the workplace by making wise choices about his final days. He envisioned recovery from cancer and set goals to facilitate the vision, which included exercise, diet, positive attitude, and sound health care. He appeared to have had accountability partners to encourage and guide him along the way. He accomplished much and recognized that faithfully walking out the strategic process was, to a large degree, success in life. In the end, he physically died but he recognized that how he lived and why he lived were more important than his physical death. Perhaps part of his life purpose was to be an example for us who are convicted that we are alive for a purpose and must strategically pursue finding and fulfilling that purpose.
Everyone will face death, barring the return of Christ. Everyone will stand before the Lord to give an account of his or her life. (note 15) If God indeed creates with intent and purpose, then you must strategically seek to find and fulfill your purpose.
May the Lord give us all grace to press in to his way of strategic thinking and living so that we find and fulfill his purpose for our lives.
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1. http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/12118296/stuart-scott-espn-anchor-dies-age-49.
2. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/strategy?s=t.
3. Proverbs 25:2.
4. See the book of Esther.
5. Philippians 2:12–13.
6. Ephesians 2:8–10 NKJV.
7. Romans 9:17.
8. Proverbs 16:4.
9. Hebrews 12:1–2.
10. Acts 17:27; Proverbs 2:1–12.
11. John 14:6.
12. Proverbs 16:33.
13. James 4:13–17.
14. Romans 12:1–2.
15. Romans 14:10.
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