Contradictions: The Major Reason Why Many Fail To Fulfill Their Purposes – PDL Insights (Part 13)
The first and major reason why many fail to fulfil their purpose after finding it or why many fail to move to the earlier discussed second and third stages of the PDL walk is what has been called contradictions. The PDL path is sometimes interesting and thrilling when one discovers it. It shows one the possibility of how their lives can be of value. The discovery of purpose brings a sense of meaning and this kind of meaning raises enthusiasm and stirs energies that propel one towards the realization of greater potential.
When one discovers their purpose and starts to walk towards it, things line up. If it is a gift, we see it in operation and things line up. Everything is exciting. Many have been used in the gifts of the Spirit like healings, words of knowledge and wisdom, prophecy, discerning of spirits and many other. Some in the excitement started churches and ministries. Some have come up with business ideas and in one way or the other got the capital and investment to get the business going. Some have identified their talents and embarked on different parts of their PDL journey.
As things are flowing smoothly on the journey comes contradictions. A contradiction is an event, encounter, circumstance or situation that you come across that stands contrary to the direction of your purpose. It challenges your convictions and your progress in your path of The Purpose Driven Life (PDL). It questions the possibilities of pursuing your dreams. It lessens the impact of your contributions in your own judgement to the problem that you will be committed to solving. You will begin to think that what you will be doing will not make much of a difference considering the size of the problem. Many people in their pursuit of purpose have gotten to the place where they question whether they are in the correct path. Ministers of the word question whether they were called or not. Others have questioned whether they are in the right church, business, organisation, sport, music team, project, career or job when contradictions come. Others lose some important things or people so that they ask themselves whether the PDL would still be worth pursuing.
The old biblical Patriarch after miraculously receiving his promised child to fulfil the purpose of being a progenitor of a great nation is asked to sacrifice the very same child of promise. His attitude of faith in the contradiction positioned him for the next level of his purpose driven path. Joseph crossed from one contradiction to another. Every time when things seemed to be aligning with his purpose and destiny a contradiction would come. These included being sold by his brothers, false accusation by Potiphar's wife that put him in prison and the prison itself.
History has the story of how Mother Theresa, then a teacher who was considering leaving the teaching profession was always questioned whether the little contributions that she was making would make impact on the poor and hungry masses in India. When she made her decision to quit and handed her resignation after receiving her month's salary, her boss (the Principal at a school she worked) ridiculed her on how much she could do with a month's salary. Irrespective of the opposition she bought foodstuffs with the single month's salary and went to help feed the poor in Indian streets. This was the birth of a Purpose Driven Life (PDL) of Mother Theresa who never looked back from her decision to quit the so called secure job for a meaningful path where she expressed her inner values and made impact that made her to make contributions that can never be erased.
Coming home, in the business circles we have an example of our own Strive Masiiwa. Following on a testimony he gave years ago. After prayers from many saints, prophetic words followed by work to get his vision of Econet in Zimbabwe going. A contradiction came in the form of failure to secure a license to get the vision going. He managed to secure the license after five years of pushing and knocking on both heavenly doors and government offices. How many would continue pushing for a period that long for a vision or conviction they carry. The current lazy generation of believers who associate all contradictions to demonic activities would have asked for their Papa's to deal with the contradiction. Failure to get quick fixes would result in them quitting and concluding that it was not the will of God since it took that long.
Who pursued their purposes without facing contradictions, Jesus met a contradiction of the devil himself in his 40 days of fasting after being baptised and publicly announced as the Son of God. Though he had been chosen and anointed by God, David had to evade death many times in a period of many years as Saul wanted to kill him. Paul the Apostle wrote two chapters in the bible describing the contradictions that he faced. Daniel and his friends had to deal with many contradictions from being pushed to compromise their beliefs through diet to being forbidden to worship the God he had always worshipped in the way that his God wanted to be worshipped and also being forced to worship an image created by the king. Even the ministers of the word like Archbishop Guti survived divorce and fathering a child with a challenging health condition though he himself was praying for others with seemingly bigger challenges and getting healed.
Contradictions come for different reasons some of which are our own responsibilities and others not. This article is not meant to address all the reasons why the contradictions come but to assure you that they will come and encourage you to be able to remain focussed and not be side-tracked and follow more than 70% of people who are derailed from the PDL by contradictions. Identifying the fact that contradictions are a guarantee on your path will help you develop the right attitude in handling them so that you continue on the PDL journey and be steadfast. Do not let that contradiction make you consider doing other things at the expense of pursuing your reason of existence.
The Apostle Paul talks of the guaranteed victory in times of contradictions and how even the contradictions would work for our good on the journey as he says,
We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose. [Romans 8:28] AMP
The writer to the book of Hebrews also points us to how the greatest leader of all time managed to focus on the goal and the joy of fulfilling his purpose in order to overcome contradictions saying,
Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. [Hebrews 12:2] AMP
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