Most leaders have very little difficulty filling their calendars; many have people (invited and not) that help them squeeze the most out of every day. Sometimes we get so active in so much productive work, we lose consciousness of our purpose.

Rushing down the difficult path – even in a daze – is better than wandering off after the world. God has prepared good works for us to walk in. None of us want to miss an opportunity to please the Lord and be an instrument of the Father’s glorify.

However, there are times in most leaders’ lives when it all gets rather distracting, binding, and exhausting. We feel like we are losing focus, our calendar is managing us, and the good work has become a burden. Our attitude and productivity begin to suffer… almost as much as the people around us.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the work we forget to ask the most basic question:

Why am I here?

This is the question we should ask ourselves:

• Every morning;
• Before every meeting, activity, or encounter with another person; and,
• Several times during the day.

This is critically important: The key to “why am I here?” is knowing who or what we have gone to for the answer. Many of us have been trained to solve such problems with our reasoning – reasoning born out of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil; reasoning that is often under the control of our carnal mind. Ask your carnal mind and you will get a carnal answer.

Remember, take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2Corinthians 10:5).

Now, if the carnal mind manages to sneak in some response (it is sneakier than we imagine), we can use that response to tell us something about our attitude. For example, if our carnal mind says we are here because we have to be, that’s a problem. First of all, this response is simply not true; it is a very base deception. We all have free choice.

Secondly, hidden behind the “because I have to” response is a false sense of confinement and/or self-pity – a victim response. The carnal mind will roll that out and over us, if we do not capture the thought.

“Why am I here?” is best answered by God and the new spirit He has put inside us. From the latter will come answers like, “I am here to meet, walk with, and glorify God.” This is the mind set on things above, which bring life and peace (Romans 8:6).

Our Father in heaven will say to us, “You are there to be vessels, instruments, and weapons of My righteousness, kindness, and love. You are there to advance My kingdom; to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10).”

One tangential note before I conclude: Our entertaining the wrong response does not mean we are not supposed to be wherever we are. That is also a trick of our carnal mind. Leaving or quitting are not correct responses.

Reckoning the right response is the correct response. From our heart, we must tell our mind we are here to meet, serve, and glorify God. God has called us for godly reasons, even when we work ourselves into the wrong places. We are people in process.

In conclusion let me suggest that asking “why am I here?” and taking every thought captive is best practiced during the quiet beginnings of our day. Is meeting with and finding God worth an hour of sleep? Sure, medical experts claim that hour of sleep will help you live longer, but what do they know? God has numbered our days; who are you going to believe?

Humbly yours and forever His,

Rob