Chasing Donkeys Series: Follow the Tracks Sýnishorn

What Donkey Are You Chasing?

Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish said to his son, Saul, “Take one of the young men with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.” 1 Samuel 9:3

When you read the full account of this “misguided” adventure, you learn how this donkey chase was actually how God used to redirect young Saul’s life from an “average Joe” to the very first king of God’s chosen nation. It took a donkey to redirect his steps.

Have you ever found yourself on a proverbial “donkey chase”? You seem to be just going through the motions of life without any clear sense of direction or purpose. At some point, you begin to wonder, “Is this all there is? Are we just here to live and die?” or “Is there some greater purpose for my life?” The first step to gaining some clarity here is to get clear on the “donkey” you are chasing. Young Saul surmised that they were wasting time searching for the lost donkey. He wanted to give up and go home. Is there something in your life that seems like a waste of time that you're ready to give up pursuing? Pause here for just a moment to answer that question.

Before you let go of the wheel, a good next step is to get clear on the guardrails in your life. Guardrails are placed along the road to keep us from going into areas that are not safe. These are places we would never go on purpose, like into a ditch or off a cliff. Similarly, in life, we need guardrails to do the same. When we find ourselves ready to give up, we can easily end up in places we never intended to go.

Guardrails for our lives are the values we hold clear and dear to our hearts. These are the non-negotiables that define who we are. What are those for you? Write them down. You need no more than five. What are three to five core values that make you who you are? These are not the values of what you want to become. Given all of your life experiences from birth to this very moment, what three to five values make you the unique person you are right now?