Pursuing PurposeSample

If we’re sticking with “p” words in this devotion, what comes after Purpose, Process, and Progress isn’t for the faint of heart. In fact, it comes face to face with Fear Of What Others Think. The word is Protest.

Five-year-old me sat on the floor of my bedroom, phone cord wrapped around my little fingers, talking with Susan. It was my very first phone call from a friend. Certainly this made me a teenager! Susan was in my kindergarten class. Both of us had short, bobbed haircuts and wore frilly dresses in our class picture. Looking back, I’m certain our moms thought it would be cute for us to talk on the phone to each other and allowed us to use the one phone in our houses. Our conversation likely consisted of favorite colors and of who would be Mrs. Henson’s leader of the day on Wednesday. And, even though it was years ago, I still remember one part of the conversation clearly.

Susan and I decided she should spend the night. We made plans of what games we’d play, how late we’d stay up, and what color of pajamas we should wear. Our excitement built and we squealed with school-girl glee, hung up the phones, and rushed to tell our moms.

“Mama, Susan is going to spend the night tonight!” And, you guessed it, my mother protested.

“Uh, no.”

See, Susan and I hadn’t taken into account that it was a school night, that we couldn’t drive, and that, well, we were pretty scared to sleep anywhere else! And our little hearts were crushed. All our plans, our excitement, and images of staying up all night ended instantly.

My mom, obviously, had a right to protest (and the good points that went along with it).

When it comes to your purpose, process, and progress, others may protest and have good points to go along with that protest as well. Coming face-to-face with the “Uh, no” and “Yeah, right!” of others turns FOWOT into Fear Of What Others SAY!

In the last devotion we saw David all hyped up on figuring out his purpose, process, and progress. Lights went off and dots were connected in his mind as he boldly and confidently approached the king and said, “I’ll go and fight the enemy myself!”

To which King Saul basically said, “Uh, no.”

Saul’s protest? I paraphrase: “David, you’re too young. This enemy has been a warrior since his youth!”

David’s own family protested as well. His oldest brother said to him, “Why are you on the battlefield? And who did you leave in charge of your few sheep? You’re conceited and wicked! You came only to watch the battle!”

Did David have FOWOT or FOWOSaid? No. In fact, he was so confident of His purpose and His God that he didn’t even acknowledge or respond to their protests. He didn’t whine back, “I’m not too young!” and didn’t argue, “I’m not conceited!”

David, now full of confidence, looked straight at Saul and said, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine [enemy].” (1 Samuel 17:34-37, NIV)

Do you have what it takes to listen to God and not to others? Do you have the promises from His word to counteract their protests? As much as we have FOWOT, when others say it to our face, that’s when boldness from the Holy Spirit and from knowing the call from our Heavenly Father must kick in.

Personal Reflection:

What keeps you from being confident in who God created you to be? What action can you take to be more certain of God’s voice and ignore the protests of others? Before moving on, ask God to reveal to you how to grow confidently in who He custom-created you to be. Ask him to give you wisdom of when to speak and wisdom of when, like David, to ignore the protests.