To Where In Life Are You Driving?

Have you ever gotten behind the wheel of a vehicle without having somewhere to go? Unless you’re a parent driving around the neighborhood hoping that the motion of the car will settle down a cranky baby or child so she can fall asleep, none of us gets into a car and just drives around without having a specific place to go. If we recognize we must have a destination when it comes to the mundane task of driving—otherwise its completely mindless and crazy—why do we think we can simply go through the motions of life without being mindful of our final destination? How we live our days is how we live our lives; and how we live our lives is how our life stories are crafted. So why do we think we can lead a meaningful life while ignoring the fact that the choices we make each and every day are creating paths that are either taking us toward or away from that which really matters?

In terms of goals and a clear direction, many of us are going nowhere fast. Ralph Marston aptly said, “If you must choose between speed and direction, going faster will do you no good if the destination is not where you want to end up.”

We live distracted lives. A plethora of things continually vie for our attention—social media feeds, breaking news, latest TV shows, preoccupation with the lives of iconic people, etc. These things suck our time, keeping us from living with intention and oftentimes from investing in what matters most. But life is far too precious for us to aimlessly drive around, so to speak. To live with a clear purpose is analogous to knowing our destination. Similarly, to live with intention is to know and act on what we must do—to know the roads or decisions we must take and then actually take them—in order to successfully reach that destination. The reality we must all confront is that how we drive (or live) our days is how we live our lives; and how we live our lives is how our life stories are crafted. We can’t expect to lead meaningful lives if we don’t drive on purpose each day.

We each have but one life to live. If you want your life to really count, I encourage you to take an honest inventory of your life. Do you know where you’re headed? In the final analysis will the things in which you’re investing time, money, and energy really matter? It is God who has entrusted to you all that you have—strengths, unique gifts, money, time, opportunities, etc. After you have exited this life, will how you’ve invested these things count for greatness in His forever kingdom? After you’ve taken stock of your life and reprioritized, begin to wisely redeem the time and make God-honoring choices so that what you do in this fleeting endures beyond your earthly years. That is how you live a life of true significance!

Proverbs 16:25 teaches, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death?” Where is the path you’re on really taking you?

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