By: Pastor Jarren Rogers

“Without God, life has no purpose and without purpose, life has no meaning. Without meaning, life has no significance or hope.” – Rick Warren

It was on a quickly dwindling summer day that I remember standing next to the family pond on the muddy shoreline watching the fish who braved the shallower water twist and flick inches below the surface. It seemed too easy–being able to see fish who were normally so elusive. But what is hidden in the deep is brought to light in the shallow.

“The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.” (Proverbs 20:5.)

We, as humans, desire purpose. We seek purpose. We need purpose. How many expressions of failure or cries of distress end with hands hanging loosely at the side, a long sigh, head bowed, and the words, “What’s the point?”

Without purpose, our actions seem empty. Our energy is sucked away. So how do we find our purpose? I think that the writer of this proverb gives us a hint.

I find it interesting that the writer refers to “purposes”–plural–when talking on this subject. You see, we each have multiple “purposes” from which we pull each day. I have a purpose for how I am to interact with my wife, with my job, my family, as a pastor, as a friend–many different purposes to many different people. But each purpose is a different river which flows from one major sea: God.

God defines our purposes in every avenue of our lives. He tells me my purpose in light of being a pastor, a son, and a husband. But it’s my job to seek Him in order to shape my purposes.

If my purposes are like deep water, that means I have to dive in. Deep. 

I have to swim and flounder and sometimes I need to come back up for air. Sometimes I float around in the dark for a while. Sometimes, I need to come to the surface and reorient myself by searching for the beam from the lighthouse on the rocky cliff far away.

In order to find these necessary and essential purposes that weave a thread through our lives, we must dive into the Source–God–and allow Him to point us towards shallower waters where our purposes aren’t hidden in the murky depths. If we dive into Him and His Word, He will show us our purposes: this is the spouse I want you to be, this is the direction I am leading you, this is why I gave you that gift, this is why you have that passion.

We may not be able to see the purposes that are swirling around in the deep, but we know the sea into which to dive.

So, dive.