Understand Our Purposes

UNDERSTANDING OUR PURPOSES

(Proverbs 20:5) The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters but a man of understanding draws them (his purposes) out. (Emphasis throughout this article has been placed on the plural of purpose, so keep in mind, we have more than one purpose in this life.)

(The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters): What are purposes? Purposes are the goals or deepest desires a man intends to accomplish. What are deep waters, well, that may take a little more than one sentence to explain?

Deep waters according to www.windows2universe.org  are found in oceans where depths can reach up to 32k feet. The water continuously cycles through different zones between the surface water and deep water. This cycle is called the conveyor belt cycle and the zones consist of the sunlight zone and the trenches. The sunlight zone is where the most sunlight touches. The trenches have water less than zero degrees and yet life still exist there. The deep ocean waters make up 90% of the ocean’s volume. As the surface water becomes colder and the salt density increases the surface will then sink into the trenches. The temperature of the surface water has a greater effect than salinity on determining when the water sinks into the trenches.  

                How can this relate to our lives? While we are in our sunlight zone we see possibilities and our destinations. We have visions and things we want to accomplish. Sometimes we lose our focus; we get cold and stop sharing the gospel with others. This in turn allows the ‘salt’ that we are supposed to be to the world to build up within ourselves. Once our hearts become colder and the salt density increases in our lives, we begin to sink into the trenches.

While we are in the trenches we lose our focus, forget the real purposes we were created for, and no longer resolve to accomplish the deepest desires of our soul. This is a continuous cycle that we repeat. There are times we in the sun light zone and could never imagine being in the trenches and there are times we are in the trenches and feel we will never see the sunlight zone again. But just as life still exist in the trenches, so does our purposes.  

Our purposes are lodged deep within your spirit. These desires propel us to live a life that matters, to fight to get back in the sunlight zone. Living a life that matters occurs when we are passionate about our purposes. The passions we are given are there to meet a need in today’s world. What are your passions? When is the last time you thought about them or spent time developing them?

(but) I once heard a speaker at a conference state that once a person uses the word ‘but’ in a statement, everything before it is irrelevant. The definitions I found for the word ‘but’ are: contrary to expectation, except that or for; in spite of or despite of. So this says to me that in spite of the fact that our purposes are not always easy to reach, because they are so deep within us, we have the capacity to grab a hold of them.

(a man of understanding) To have an understanding is to have the ability to learn, judge and make decisions. We must discern our purposes by taking the time to gain self-knowledge and come to a realization that our purposes were given to meet today’s needs in some way. Comprehending and mastering the skills necessary to achieve the desires we are passionate about must be intentional. It will not simply stumble upon us.

 (draws them out) To draw out our purposes requires a deliberate effort. We must first formulate the purposes by gathering data or evidence about ourselves in order to gain insight into those ambitions.  We must pull out, take or extract thoughts and desires we have hidden deep in our souls for fear of letting others see them or fear of failing at achieving them and mentally create what they would look like if we actually did them. Once we accept the purposes we were created to achieve and begin to act on them accordingly then we will also begin to draw to us ideas that will help us accomplish those desires.

While researching this topic, I came across Think Simple Now by Tina Su and she provides an article titled 15-questions-to-discover-your-personal-mission. It is a step to help get you started if you want to discover your purpose. (I have not reviewed her entire website, but I think these questions are relevant to my discussion.) 

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HOW CAN A LOVING GOD DO THIS?

Isaiah 30:26 “The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted.”

I have no clue about the meaning of the first part of this verse but it is the second part that leaves me with more questions. How many times have you heard, “God doesn’t hurt you, harm you, or cause affliction, etc…he ALLOWS it to happen to you.” Well this verse blows a hole in that theory. It plainly states the wounds HE inflicted; not the wounds he ALLOWED TO BE inflicted.

So this is really messing me up. It sounds like what we call in today’s world as an “abusive relationship”. I instantly visualize children that are physically abuse or battered wives and how, after they are beaten or “wounded”, the abuser is apologetic and attempts to ‘cover up’ the ‘wounds inflicted’.  I know I shouldn't think of God as an ‘abuser' but that’s how my mind works. My heart tells me I should see him as a loving God who corrects His children with pain, love and affection- (just as we do our children)- but my mind won’t let me go there. If I had to ‘cover up the bruises’ and take steps to aid in the ‘healing process of wounds’ I inflicted on my child, in today’s world, that is considered abuse.

Look at the definitions of ‘wounds’ & ‘inflicted’:

Wounds: injuries, especially one in which the skin or another external surface is torn, pierced, cut or broken as the result of violence or surgical incision rather than disease

Inflicted:  impose (something unwelcome), to cause to suffer, give as a punishment, force onto another, deliver, deal out

Not only do those words not sound very pleasant to me, but they make it very difficult to respond to the question many non-believers ask: ‘How can a loving God do this?’. And that is a good and valid question. One, I have no answer to.

GO TO THE ANT, YOU SLUGGARD!

PART IV

  

 ⁶Go to the ant, you sluggard, consider its ways and be wise! ⁷It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, ⁸yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.”  Ants are amazing little creatures. They alert others to danger, they lead other’s to food. They work cooperatively without a commander or ruler. They ensure survival of their species. They prepare for the winter and the unexpected. 

I watched a video about ants in the Amazon that created a lifeboat during the flood season to protect their queen and larvae. The entire colony joins together (like the skydivers link arms in the sky)and floats across the water while keeping the queen and larvae on top of their raft and out of the water until they reach an area of dry land.

 Underneath, the 'raft' are more opportunities for destruction (fish) that slowly pick away at the ants. Without a plan this could potentially lead to disaster. But they have a plan: it is to keep moving the queen and the larvae to dry areas on the ‘raft’.  I don’t know about you but I want to be wise like the ant. I want to tell everyone about the money strategies I am learning and how credit is not necessary for survival. I want to lead others to the One who is the source of all my needs. I want to prepare for the emergent and non-emergent needs. It will be hard; it will be tough; it will require determination, but it can be done.  I want to safeguard my children from the ‘snares’ of this world and I want them to know it a lot sooner than I did. It’s never too late; but sooner is always better than later. 
Now ask yourself, “9How long will you lie there, you sluggard?” How long do you plan to be idle or inactive about your circumstances? Do you enjoy being the borrower and not the lender? Do you want to reverse this? “When will you get up from your sleep?” When will you stop living thoughtlessly? When will you consider the true cost of borrowed money? Can you imagine what you could do if you did not owe Visa, MasterCard, GMAC, your mortgage company? Take a few minutes and imagine all the possibilities you could experience in your life if you were debt free. How much could you give to fund the food pantry? How cool would it be to pay a single parents electric bill for a year without them knowing you did it? How much easier would it be to give to the building fund at church if you didn’t have to worry about paying your mortgage? The possibilities are endless. But you have to see yourself actually doing it in order to run with gazelle intensity to get there.

                “10A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest and ¹¹poverty will come on you like an armed man.” A little carelessness and negligence along with lack of desire to make a change in your circumstances will cause you to have an insufficient supply of your wants and needs. It will feel as if you were robbed at gunpoint. I have been careless in my use of credit cards, I will admit, and negligent in being disciplined not to use them. I have not always had the desire to get out of debt. I believed, as much of society has, that debt was necessary to improve your credit score. As Dave points out, those in marketing have done an excellent job in making us believe we even need a credit score. You don’t need a credit score if you are paying cash. (That is a totally new concept for me.)And if you have never been robbed, all I can say is ‘you don’t want to be’! It’s frightening, you’re not sure if you are going to survive, it’s something you will never forget and will forever change the way you see circumstances that led you to being robbed. It’s something you never want to experience again. I don’t know about you, but I would love to experience the freedom of being debt-free and the feeling of not being held at gunpoint as a result of debt.

 As the creditors are slowly paid off, I will keep you updated. I'm pretty excited about knocking them off one-by-one.

GAZELLE INTENSITY

PART III

"Like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,” A gazelle is swift and can run up to 40 mph. The cheetah is the gazelle’s biggest enemy and can run up to 60 mph. Although the cheetah can outrun the gazelle, Dave reiterates a report from Discovery Channel informing viewers that the cheetah catches the gazelle only 1 in 19 attempts. Why is this? The gazelle must outwit the cheetah with swift & cunning movements, just as we should with credit. The gazelle is determined to live; we should be determined to survive on what we have not on what we borrow. As Dave says, we must run from debt with “gazelle intensity”. And that is what I am doing!

 

"Like a bird from the snare of the fowler. “ First of all the snare had to be attractive to the bird or it would have kept flying and never gone toward it. Aren’t modern day marketers efficient in making the’ snare’ attractive to us: “90 days same as cash”; “an extra 10% off if you apply for this card”, etc.?

Once entrapped, the bird will fight with intensity to be free and it will take vigor & strength to escape. Shouldn’t we fight with intensity, vigor and strength to escape bondage to our ‘neighbors’? I found a sermon by Rev. C.H. Spurgeon delivered in 1857 that had thought-provoking assumptions concerning the ‘snare'.

"Trouble is often the means whereby God delivers us from snares. I doubt not, many of you have been saved from your ruins by your sorrows, your grief, your troubles, your woes, your losses, and your crosses. All of these have been the breaking of the net that set you free from the snare of the fowler…God delivers his people from the snares of the fowler, by giving them the spirit of prayer as well as the spirit of courage, so they will call upon the Lord in that day of trouble and he (will) deliver them…God will restore thee; return and God will have mercy on you. God will deliver you so you may start afresh in the ways of righteousness, serve God with diligence.”

Isn’t it interesting that words stated in 1857 are still applicable today?



LET'S DO THIS!

PART II 

Next “³ then do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands: ‘Then’: at that time; the time when you have found yourself controlled by another’s burdens, by obligations you have made; the time when you look at your bills and ask ‘what was I thinking’; the time when you have said ‘ENOUGH! NO MORE! SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE!’ “do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands”: in other words, I am going to tell you exactly what you have to do to liberate yourself from the imprisonment you have placed yourself in; to free you from your burdens. (First I will give the steps; then I will discuss them.

1. Apologize to your ‘neighbor’.

2. With urgency, present you plans to resolve the burden.

3. Stay focused on correcting the situation.

4. Free yourself from the 0bligation.

     a. 'Gazelle intensity’ as Dave Ramsey’s states.

     b. The bird.

5. Learn from the ant.

6. Ask yourself two questions:

     a. How long do I plan to be idle or inactive about my circumstances?

     b. When will I stop living thoughtlessly?



“Go & humble yourself!” To be humble you must not be proud, arrogant, or assuming. You must be lowly, weak, modest, submissive or apologetic.  For me this meant writing a letter to my creditors apologizing for using their money. This may not be the case for you, but it was for me. “Press your plea with your neighbor’s”: To ‘press’ is to move with urgency. Once I made the decision I was getting out of debt, I quickly devised a plan and not only did I apologize to my creditors, I also presented them with a plan on how I planned to repay them. Developing a plan will require some forethought and should be realistic.

 
 
^4”Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids”. Do not be inattentive or unconcerned with your obligations. Do not be negligent in fulfilling your word. Stays focused and do whatever it takes to reinstate your faith in yourself. Get busy freeing yourself! Get a second job! Sale some stuff….you know you have too much junk anyway! Have a yard sale! Conquer that mountain! 

 ^“5 Free yourself” no longer be restrained. Then we are given two examples to learn and watch from: the gazelle and the bird. What can these two animals teach us about how NOT to be restrained or confined to others?

 

Warning...warning...you are not going to like this.

WARNING: THIS WILL BE A LITTLE MINI-SERIES POSTED OVER SEVERAL DAYS. IT HAS BEEN A THREE DAY STUDY FOR ME, SO IF IT TOOK ME THAT LONG, I SHOULDN'T THROW IT AT YOU ALL AT ONCE. HOPE IT HELPS SOMEONE.

Part I

Jamie & I started Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey. I’m telling you this stuff SHOULD be taught in high schools. How drastically different our lives could have been had we understood at a younger age the principles he teaches. He makes reference to Proverbs 6: 1-11 and I wanted to dig a little deeper in it. So here is the passage:

¹My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge for another, ²if you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth, ³ then do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands: go & humble yourself; press your plea with your neighbor’s! ⁴Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids.⁵ Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler. ⁶Go to the ant, you sluggard, consider its ways and be wise! ⁷It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, ⁸yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. ⁹How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? ¹⁰A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest and ¹¹poverty will come on you like an armed man.

My bible titles this passage “Warning against laziness”; I think it should be titled “Warning against debt!” and my interpretation will explain why. So let’s dig in.

 “If you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge for another”: Security is anything deposited or given as assurance of the fulfillment of an obligation that makes you bound to another’s financial burdens. This can be in the form of money, your signature, a handshake or even just your ‘word’.  This could be cosigning a home or car loan for your children or signing an agreement for a credit card. “Your neighbor” is any fellow human: friends, family, creditors, banks, etc. So rather you are agreeing to cover someone else should they default on a loan or you are agreeing to pay creditor’s money your borrowed to buy the car you couldn't afford to pay for with cash, you have placed yourself in a position to be bound to another’s financial burdens. Not only have you bound yourself to them, you have agreed to keep your “pledge” according to the terms you “shook on”.

Verse 2: “²if you have been trapped by what you said”: to be trapped is to be in an undesirable circumstance from which escape or relief is difficult. Have you ever been upside down on a car loan? Have you ever used a credit card with 21% interest and spent three years paying off $300? Have you cosigned for someone that defaulted and you were left paying the bill? Have you ever …(you fill in the blank)? I’m sure we all have our own personal situation that we can use as reference to this verse. “Ensnared by the words of your mouth”: to be ensnared is to give someone else power over you. That is exactly what we do when we buy things on credit. This makes me think of the ‘payday’ loans. I have personally never used them, but Jamie & I paused a commercial once to read the fine print they showed for about 30 seconds and the interest on the borrowed money was 300%. Yes! I meant to put two zero’s behind the three. Talk about giving someone else power over you. One more thing: have you ever noticed how payday loan companies are usually close to places such as Dollar General, or Dollar Tree? Think it is a coincidence???

Stay tuned for Part II tomorrow. 

LIfe goes on, & on, & on ....

So classes are out for the summer, yet I have so much to do, it seems, justto be prepared for the fall. I’m going to work at the Malden Medical Clinic four days a week: gotta keep on top of my clinical skills. I’m excited about getting back into that aspect of my career. Courtney is getting ready to be gone for a month. I think she is trying to slowly get us used to how it is going to feel when she goes to SAGU in Texas. Her “diddy” is not taking kindly to it either.

So I did a little experiment with my family Memorial Day weekend. I took a verse and broke it into increments & looked up the majority of the words. I then had Jamie, Courtney and I choose the words we felt applied to our life, or our current day circumstances; after all we do not own cattle.  It turned out really interesting. You can find the way I broke up the verse (Isaiah 30: 23) and some of the definitions we considered at the end of our versions. I would love to hear your interpretation. It is neat to see how each revision spoke directly and uniquely to our own life.

The original NIV verse states: He will also (spoke of ‘compassion’ in previous section) send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows.

(Jamie’s version) In addition (to the compassion He wants to show me), He will send "refreshness" for the efforts I put into the investments of my life. And the blessings that manifest will be in absolute abundance and ample supply. Ultimately, my possessions will flourish in unrestrained fulfillment.

(Courtney’s version): He will show me compassion and rejuvenate the work I cultivate in this world. And I can expect the result to be successful and blessed. When my work is over blessings will appear in vast abundance.

(My version): He will couple compassion with the opportunities he has for me. For the plans I make and the actions I take will result in an abundance of assets that will proliferate. My needs will be met or supplied in a wide and vast array from a place that has all the resources I need.

I absolutely loved doing this activity. Hope you will try it, too.

So here is the verse broken up in increments. If you take the time to create your own version, please share it with me. Try it with your family, like I did, and see how many different ways God’s word speaks to each individual. You may be as surprised as I was.

He will also [in the previous section, it was stated He wanted to show us compassion; “also” means ‘to add to’ or ‘couple with’]

Send you rain: [make provisions; provide nourishment]

For the seed: [plans, hopes, dreams]

You grow: [increase in size, become larger, stronger, thrive, flourish, cultivate, to produce]

In the ground: [basis on which anything rest; foundation]

And the food; [nourishment, substances that supports life, instructs intellect, excites feelings, molds habits of character]

That comes: [arrives, manifest, appear, and results from progress]

From the land: [point at which action is regarded as beginning]

Will be: [a choice is made]

Rich: [abundance of possessions, wealthy, affluent, copious]

And plentiful: [copious, ample, prolific,  

In that day: [reference to previously mentioned]

Your cattle: [animals, I don’t own cattle so I believe it is in reference to my needs]

Will graze: [feed, supply, be met, furnish]

In broad: [wide, extending far, extensive, vast, enlarged, free, unrestrained]

Meadows: [fields grown with hay, place where needs are met, near a water source, place of resources]