Perfecting Your Purpose: 40 Days to a More Meaningful Life
Perfecting Your Purpose: 40 Days to a More Meaningful Life
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Overview
The readers who made The Purpose-Driven Life (Zondervan, 2002) a staggering bestseller with over 20 million copies sold worldwide will be drawn to the 40-day plan in this book as the logical next step in their spiritual growth.
David D. Ireland is the author of several books, including Activating the Holy Spirit (Whitaker House, 1997), which sold over 20,000 copies. His newest title, Why Drown When You Can Walk On Water?, was published by Baker Books in October 2004.
Founder and senior pastor of Christ Church in Montclair, New Jersey, which has over 5,000 members, David D. Ireland serves on the executive committee for the 2005 New York City Billy Graham Crusade and is a Bible teacher for the New York Giants.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780446561198 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | FaithWords |
| Publication date: | 05/30/2009 |
| Sold by: | Hachette Digital, Inc. |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 1 MB |
Read an Excerpt
Perfecting Your Purpose
By David D. Ireland
Warner Faith
Copyright © 2005 David D. IrelandAll right reserved.
ISBN: 0-446-57824-X
Chapter One
DAY 1Understand the Power of 40 Days
Perfecting Your Purpose offers a solution to a problem that you may have been complaining about and you've finally decided to do something about it. Great! You have taken the first step, a powerful step, toward a solution to the problematic question: How do I perfect the purpose for which God has created me?
Throughout the Bible people were weighed down by that same question. To answer it, they chose to enter into a 40-day period to seek God in a unique way.
Sociologists look for patterns in human activities to make predictions about society, culture, and human behavior. Likewise, theologians look for patterns in God's behavior or His Word-the Holy Bible-to predict human outcomes when people adhere to those divine patterns. Without such prescriptive advice life would become more unpredictable, yielding greater uncertainties, and leading to increased depression, instability, and the lack of fulfillment in people's lives. Thankfully, these patterns exist, and we can explore them.
In looking for a biblical pattern regarding one's purpose, I found ten biblical references to a period of 40 days. In each instance incredible benefits befell the men and women who practiced a 40-day habit of pursuing God in order to discover and perfect their purpose.
40 Days: The Transforming Interval
In the Scriptures, the number 40 symbolizes a fresh start, deliverance, freedom, salvation, a firm foundation, completion, and healing. On each occasion when the biblical character practiced the required habit for 40 days, the result was a personal or national transformation. For instance, the Ten Commandments-God's moral code for humanity-were handed to Moses following a 40-day period of fasting. And Joseph-an exciting Old Testament character-gave orders for his deceased father, Jacob, to be embalmed over a span of 40 days. Embalming symbolized laying aside the pain of the past. Before launching His public ministry, Jesus went into the desert for 40 days. During that time He fasted and prayed, thus crystallizing in His heart the eternal mission of bringing salvation to humanity.
Since this 40-day period is so results-oriented, I call it the Transforming Interval, and I hold this Transforming Interval high as a pattern for modern-day people to follow. The assurance of a transformed life through practicing a 40-day habit is not another human effort that promises unrealistic results. Practicing a habit for 40 days is a classic theological observation that can guarantee a result-the perfecting of your purpose. And as you advance in your purpose, you are pursuing your God-given dream, turning it into a reality.
Using the Next 40 Days to Transform Your Life
The way in which you use the next 40 days is extremely important. At stake during this Transforming Interval of 40 days are your life-altering decisions-decisions about your marriage, or perhaps whom you marry; decisions about your children and issues that will shape the kind of people they will eventually become; decisions about your business or career. These issues are critical to your life and require God's wisdom. In perfecting your purpose, you obtain God's wisdom by following the pattern established in Scripture-the 40-day Transforming Interval.
In the book of James we read that a double-minded person is "unstable" in all his ways (1:8). Despite your intellect, your wealth, your talent, or your area of gifting, being double-minded about right decisions in the major areas of your life leads to instability in every area of your life. Right decisions come from being focused, purpose-driven, and in tune with God's wisdom. That's why James tells us that if any of us lack wisdom-in living, business, money management, parenting, any significant area-let him ask God, "who gives generously to all without finding fault" (1:5). There's no fault in conceding that God has the precise answers regarding the critical areas of your life. Rather, I commend you for your willingness to set aside the next 40 days to gain clarity about where your life is headed.
Setting aside 40 days is like taking a journey in which you are focused on a destination. Two years ago, my wife and I took a cruise from Washington State to Alaska. Everything we needed was provided on that ship-food, entertainment, fitness, night life, you name it, it was there. The staff provided impeccable service. Marlinda and I didn't have to lift a finger. All we had to do was focus on our destination, and it was an unforgettable experience. I want you to focus on the destination of perfecting your purpose during this 40-day journey. It, too, will be an unforgettable experience. This journey will direct you to the destination that God intended you to reach from the foundation of the world.
Consider the life span of Americans-men are expected to live to age 74.1, and women are anticipated to have 79.5 years of life. The decision to take the next 40 days and work toward perfecting your life's purpose will be a small investment compared to your expected span of 27,047 days (for men) or 29,018 days (for women). God's 40-day pattern has proven effective over thousands of years in the Scriptures. If you are serious about perfecting your purpose, dedicate the next 40 days to taking strategic action that can propel you into one of the most exciting seasons of your life.
40 Days to a More Meaningful Life
One of the men I most admire in the Bible, although he was quite unusual, is the prophet Ezekiel. Whenever I read the book named after him, I am amazed by his incredible prophetic antics that show a dogged allegiance to God's instructions. He was not a sophisticate like the statesman Daniel or an intellectual debater like the apostle Paul, but I take my hat off to Ezekiel as a man of action. In the fourth chapter of Ezekiel, we find the prophet responding to the weakened, sin-ridden state of his nation, Israel. God called for Ezekiel to communicate a word picture of the dilapidated moral and spiritual state of the country and its people by lying on his left side for 390 days and on his right side for 40 days (Ezek. 4:4-8). Try explaining the prophet's assignment to someone who is unspiritual, and not only will he think Ezekiel was crazy, but he will consider calling the insane asylum to have you picked up should you talk about mimicking the prophet's behavior. Despite Ezekiel's eccentricity, you will find four specific lessons from this man's 40-day Transforming Interval with God that you can easily apply to your situation.
In exploring Ezekiel's 40-day Transforming Interval, you will learn how to (1) gain an understanding of the power of 40 days; (2) establish a deep conviction to fulfill your purpose; (3) solidify an unforgettable experience with God; and (4) discover the joy of knowing that your purpose is not hidden in some out-of-the-way place, but was under your nose all along. By the way, congratulations! You've already begun your journey toward a more meaningful life. You're in your first day, and you're learning the power of 40 days.
Spiritual Answers to Physical Problems
Most people think that every natural or physical problem calls for a natural or a physical solution. Not so! Many physical problems can be solved by applying a spiritual solution. Consequently, turning to this book, which is biblically and spiritually centered, for a solution to your natural problem of achieving a greater meaningfulness to your life was a wise action. Ezekiel knew well the correlation between the natural and the spiritual, and so he answered God's call to serve the natural needs of his nation by performing a spiritual act. This is what God said to him:
Then lie on your left side and put the sin of the house of Israel upon yourself. You are to bear their sin for the number of days you lie on your side. I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for 390 days you will bear the sin of the house of Israel.
After you have finished this, lie down again, this time on your right side, and bear the sin of the house of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year.
(Ezek. 4:4-6)
Ezekiel's act of lying on his left side for 390 days, to demonstrate a need for the Israelite people to return to God, and then on his right side for 40 days in further demonstration of the same need, shows that he understood how God's spiritual solution could solve a natural problem. The number 40 throughout Scripture means a time of completion. Thus, closing out this prophetic demonstration by lying on his right side for 40 days, Ezekiel was announcing that the Lord wanted the spiritual waywardness of the Hebrew people to end. They were no longer to live aimlessly by abandoning their call as the people of God. They were no longer to live apart from the pursuit of their purpose. They were no longer to live without the benefit of meaningful lives.
Ezekiel heeded God's word, and the 40-day Transforming Interval occurred. The people of Israel saw their weakened state, but chose to continue in it. What about you? After the 40-day journey, will you continue to live the way you used to? The 40-day journey toward perfecting your purpose is designed to help you develop the habits that can produce a lifelong change. Three main benefits produced by this change are (1) a life of purpose overcomes aimlessness; (2) a life of purpose focuses your energy; and (3) a life of purpose keeps you observant.
1. A Life of Purpose Overcomes Aimlessness
The first benefit is that aimless living ends when you know why you've been created and what you've been created to do. A person caught in a cycle of purposelessness tends to jump from one career path to another or perhaps from one relationship to another in search of meaning. This unpredictable pattern may be slow or fast paced. If the movements are slow, an aimless person will participate in some exciting activity, albeit for the wrong reasons. Conversely, the deception associated with a fast-paced, busy lifestyle is that it creates an illusion that progress is occurring when all along a person may simply be going around in circles.
I was surprised in the middle of my counseling session with a precious couple when the wife blurted out her annoyance with her husband's lack of focus with his life and construction projects at their home. According to her descriptive words amidst her sobs, her husband had started numerous projects, but completed none of them. In his defense, he said that all of his projects were great ideas that would drastically improve the quality and appearance of the house, even increasing the property value. There was such a great difference of opinion, I did what I had never done before in a counseling session. I said, "Let's go for a ride to see this house."
Once we arrived, I was speechless. The husband had started at least ten different projects over the years. There was a big hole in the backyard where a swimming pool was to be located. A half-completed pantry in the kitchen, an opening in the walls of the master bedroom for a shower that had no shower, a circular driveway that had only one opening, and a number of other construction jobs "in progress" showed me that the wife was right. Her husband was full of wonderful ideas, but he lacked the follow-through to finish them so he jumped from idea to idea, leaving frustration in the home and in her heart. He was deceived. His busyness in starting projects had blinded him from the need to complete them.
2. A Life of Purpose Focuses Your Energy
The second benefit is that your energies will become focused like a laser beam when you're living a life driven by purpose. A scattered life speaks of purposelessness. But a focused life conveys that your aim is sure and your life has continuity.
If you are always trying your hand at fifteen different things simultaneously hoping that something sticks, your energy level is probably depleted, and it's likely that you've had very little success. The benefit of working in harmony with your life's purpose is similar to installing an energy conservation device in your home. You will achieve a great output of energy with minimal loss in efficiency.
Recently, the local gas company sent workers to my neighborhood to check the energy efficiency of all the homes it serviced. At my house the workers wrapped the hot water tank and the five feet of exposed ductwork in the boiler room with a fire retardant material to contain the energy within the unit. As a result, my monthly bill dropped by a few dollars, and the gas company reduced the energy requirements stemming from the Ireland household. Admittedly, this reduction was small, but when the energy savings from all the homes in my neighborhood were added up, the company gained a significant savings. Similarly, when you redirect your energies toward your purpose you will gain greater efficiency in every area of your life. The more you distance yourself from aimless living, the closer you come to living a life directed toward your purpose.
3. A Life of Purpose Keeps You Observant
The third benefit of living according to your life's purpose is that it keeps you observant. You can miss your life's purpose by thinking that it's too obscure. Your purpose may be near, but you overlook it because you're not paying attention to the opportunities obscured by your emotions, both good and bad. Your network of friends can be doorways that lead you closer to your destiny or walls that hinder you from reaching it. Even your trials and disappointments can lead to untold opportunities if you are observant.
In the Atlanta Yellow Pages under the listing of restaurants, there is an entry for the Church of God Grill. The peculiar name arouses much curiosity, and Charles Paul Conn, author of the book Making It Happen, tells the story about when he dialed the number:
A man answered with a cheery, "Hello, Church of God Grill!" I asked how his restaurant had been given such an unusual name, and he told me: "Well, we had a little mission down here, and we started selling chicken dinners after church on Sunday to help pay the bills. Well, people liked the chicken, and we did such a good business, that eventually we cut back on the church services. After a while we just closed down the church altogether and kept on serving the chicken dinners. We kept the name we started with, and that's Church of God Grill."
Imagine if the proprietor had raised his nose in the air and presumptuously said, "God called me to be the director of a mission. And I am going to do it even if it kills me."
Continues...
Excerpted from Perfecting Your Purpose by David D. Ireland Copyright © 2005 by David D. Ireland. Excerpted by permission.
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