It is important to assess and review our lives continuously. How often do we fall into the monotony of our daily routines, without thinking about what we’re doing or why we’re doing it? Or how often does a major event or shift in our lives derail or distract us from our calling? 

To be sure, it is easy to get caught up in the current of life, or to get off track (even slightly) during moments of transition (whether good or painful). But if we take some intentional time to recalibrate, we can proceed through life with a proper perspective. In turn, our perspective will inform our practice, and our actions can have an eternal impact on those around us and the coming generations, rooted in our God-given purpose and hope. 

Listen in as Ken Boa previews and summarizes content in his forthcoming book, Recalibrate Your Life: Navigating Transitions with Purpose and Hope (with Jenny Abel; InterVarsity Press, 2023). 

Perspective

What ultimately gives meaning to life? Is it the amount of wealth we accumulate, the number of accomplishments we achieve, or the number of accolades we’re given? At the end of the day, what matters is whether we have a God-honoring legacy–a legacy that points beyond ourselves to the One who loves us and supplies us with what we need through the provision of His Son. Our days are numbered (Psalm 90:12), and we only have a comparatively brief time to leave a godly legacy.

Purpose

What gives our lives direction? Paul tells us that God’s purpose for His children is to become more and more like His Son (Romans 8:28–30). We are to become a people who ever lean on and trust in the Father. This is part of God’s universal purpose for all believers (to know Him and make Him known). But because He made us all unique, with unique giftings, spheres of influence, experiences, and life circumstances, we will each work out this universal purpose in a unique way in our own life. Discovering this unique calling often takes years, and living it out takes a lifetime–transcending our careers and seasons of life.

Practice

How do we steward what God has given us? There are only two things that last forever: truth and relationships (people). Yet, our lives involve temporal things by which we are inevitably influenced. The question is whether we will take these temporal things and invest them in that which lasts forever? How well we invest our time, our talents, and our treasure in God’s truth and other people determines how much of our “work” on earth endures beyond our earthly sojourns.