Published February 25, 2024
by Andy Berges
While recently watching the sunset one evening, I thought about how fleeting a single day is - just as one’s life is.
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As the twilight briefly illuminated the sky after the sun melted away under the horizon, I realized that I was nearing the “Twilight Zone” of my life and became overwhelmed with a sense of urgency about fulfilling my God-given purpose in life.
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I reflected upon how I spent most of my career working to help others fulfill their mission in life, rather than the mission God had called upon me to fulfill.
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Rather than pursuing my God-given mission in life, I had allowed the discouraging advice and opinions of many throughout the years to infect my thoughts with self-doubt and crush my spirit.
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Steve Jobs once said, “Your time is limited so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow know what you truly want to become.”
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I interpret the “inner voice” Jobs was referring to as God’s calling for our lives.
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All of us were born on purpose with a God-given purpose to fulfill. If you haven’t fulfilled it yet, it’s not too late to do so. While there are exceptions, nearly every one of us still has the capability and time required to do so. Your age is insignificant. As Psalms 92:14 declares, “They will still bear fruit in their old age.”
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One of the biggest regrets most people nearing the end of their life have is that they did not live a life true to themselves, but instead lived the lives others expected of them.
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Romans 12:2 advises us not to conform to the patterns of this world and as Henry David Thoreau warns, “people who live a life of conformity will invariably live a life devoid of meaning and purpose.”
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All of us inevitably enter the “Twilight Zone” in our lives and our twilight’s last gleaming follows soon afterward.
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Unfulfilled dreams and aspirations have haunted multitudes of people during their final years when they were incapable of fulfilling them, so don’t be included among the countless who suffer on their deathbeds drowning in a pool of regrets.