Life Is a Journey: Is Your G.P.S Switched On?
True direction in life doesn't come from staying busy, it comes from your G.P.S.: God as your starting point, Purpose as your direction, and Service as your fuel.
Some journeys you prepare for; you know when you are leaving, where you are going, and how long the journey should take. So, you book the flight, pack your bags, enter the destination into your phone, and check the route. And when you are ready to leave, you switch on your GPS, but there is another journey that no one is prepared to begin: Life.
You did not choose when your journey started, and you are unlikely to choose exactly when it will end. Yet, between the starting point and the finish line lies something incredibly important: Your opportunity to influence what happens in between! That's why I want you to consider this question today: What are you using to navigate your life?
Life Is a Journey
Some journeys are short; perhaps you walk from your house to a nearby shop, buy what you need and return home within a few minutes. Others require considerably more preparation.
You travel to the airport, check in, go through security, board a plane, land in another country, collect your luggage and then continue travelling until you finally arrive at your destination, but life is different.
You don't receive a ticket telling you precisely how long the journey will take. You don't get a map showing you every turn you will take. And you don't know every mountain, valley, delay, diversion, opportunity or challenge you will encounter beforehand. Life has a starting and ending point, with many twists and turns in between. Some seasons will make perfect sense. Others may leave you wondering:
Where am I?
How did I get here?
Where am I supposed to go next? And perhaps most importantly:
Am I even travelling in the right direction?
Why Do You Need Direction in Life?
Imagine arriving in a country you have never visited before. You leave the airport, hire a car, and start driving towards your hotel. After twenty minutes, you realise you don't recognise anything around you. You are lost. What would you do? You would probably reach for your phone, enter your current destination and switch on your GPS. Why? Because being in motion and travelling in the right direction are two different things.
You could drive for another hour and still be further and further from where you are supposed to be. And that's not just true of driving. You can also be extremely busy in life and still need clarity to find the right direction in life. You can achieve things and still feel unfulfilled. You can accumulate possessions and still wonder why you're here. You can look successful to everyone around you, and still question if the life you have built is actually the life you were created for. So, I'll ask again: What are you using to navigate your life?
WATCH: Life Is a Journey – Switch On Your G.P.S.
There's more to life than merely moving from year to year. In this teaching, I explore why your life needs direction and introduce the GPS that can help you navigate the journey intentionally.
What Does G.P.S. Mean? (God, Purpose, Service)
When I talk about GPS, I'm not referring to the Global Positioning System on your smartphone. I'm talking about another GPS: GOD. PURPOSE. SERVICE. These three principles can transform how you understand and navigate your life. God initiates the process. Purpose gives you direction. Service fuels your journey!
G – God: Your Starting Point
Every meaningful journey needs a reliable reference point. For the journey of life, I believe that starting point is God. God created you, so he understands you. He sees what you can't see yet, and he knows the entire journey when you can see only a few steps ahead. That is why our relationship with God should not merely be something we turn to when things go wrong. We need Him throughout the journey. We connect with Him through prayer.
We seek Him through His Word. We listen. We surrender our decisions. We ask for direction.
And increasingly, we learn to trust Him. Perhaps you are presently in a season where the road ahead is unclear. You don't necessarily need to understand the entire journey before taking another step. Sometimes what you need first is to reconnect with the One who knows the destination. God does not have to show you the whole road before He shows you the next step.
P – Purpose: Your Direction.
Purpose answers one of life's biggest questions: Why am I here? Your occupation may be part of your purpose, but your purpose is bigger than your job title. Your purpose gives meaning and direction to your life. It affects what you say yes to and helps you know what to say no to. It adds focus to your time, gifts, experiences, opportunities and relationships.
Without a clear sense of purpose, almost every opportunity can look like the right opportunity. But when you begin to understand why God has placed you here, you can become more intentional about where you invest your life. There is a significant difference between being busy and being purposeful. Busyness measures activity. Purpose measures alignment. So pause for a moment and ask yourself: Am I just moving, or am I moving towards the reason I was created?
S – Service: The Fuel for Your Journey
Purpose was never intended to end with you. Your gifts are not just for you. Your knowledge is not just for you. Your experiences are not just for you. Even some of the difficult things you have survived may eventually become part of the way you encourage, strengthen or help somebody else.
Service asks: Who becomes better because I was here? And serving does not always mean doing something dramatic. It may mean listening to somebody who needs to be heard.
Encouraging someone ready to give up. Sharing your expertise. Mentoring another person. Giving your time. Solving a problem. Supporting a neighbour. Serving your community. Using what God has placed in your hands to make someone's journey better. A life lived entirely for ourselves eventually becomes very small. But when we begin using our lives to serve others, our purpose becomes visible. God initiates the process. Purpose gives direction. Service fuels the journey.
What Should You Do When You Feel Lost in Life?
Here is one thing I appreciate about modern GPS systems. If you take the wrong turn, the GPS doesn't normally announce: “Your journey is over.” It simply recalculates. It looks at where you are and provides another route to your destination, and there is a lesson in that. Perhaps you have made mistakes, your relationship ended, your business failed, something you were convinced would work didn't work, you lost several years pursuing the wrong things, circumstances beyond your control completely changed your plans, or you simply feel stuck.
Your journey does not necessarily end because you took a wrong turn. Sometimes what you need is to recalculate. Stop, listen, reflect, reconnect with God, and revisit your purpose. Consider who you have been called to serve. Then move again. A wrong turn does not have to become your permanent address!
Three Questions to Ask Yourself Today
Before you continue the rest of your day, give yourself a few minutes to consider these questions. Don't simply read them. Write your answers.
1. Do I have a God, Purpose and Service plan for my life journey?
● Where does God currently feature in your decisions?
● How clearly do you understand your purpose?
● Who are you intentionally serving?
2. What do I currently understand about my ultimate life destination?
● What kind of person are you becoming?
● What do you want your life to have represented?
● What do you believe God is calling you towards?
3. What are the key milestones I should be pursuing on my journey?
● What needs to happen next?
Not someday, next. Sometimes clarity does not begin with knowing everything. It begins with identifying and taking the next right step.
This Is Only the Beginning of the Conversation
The ideas you have been reading are drawn from Chapter 1, “Life Is a Journey,” of my book Switch On Your G.P.S.: Successfully Navigate Life's Journey with God, Purpose and Service.
The book was written for people who recognise that there must be more to life than simply existing, working, paying bills, pursuing achievements and eventually reaching the end.
It's an invitation to navigate life intentionally. Throughout the book, we explore questions including:
● Where are you now?
● Where are you actually going?
● What is your authentic destination?
● How can you place God at the centre of your journey?
● How do you understand and pursue your purpose?
● How can service fuel your journey?
● What resources has God already placed in your hands?
● How do you deal with distractions and detours? And, ultimately;
● How do you finish well?
Discover the Journey Behind Switch On Your G.P.S.
Watch this short introduction to the book and discover why I believe this message can help you navigate your journey with greater clarity and intention.
Ready to Switch On Your G.P.S.?
Perhaps you are reading this because you want greater clarity. Perhaps you are entering a new season. Perhaps life hasn't gone according to plan. Perhaps you have achieved certain things but still sense that something is missing. Perhaps you want God to become more central to the decisions you make. Or perhaps you simply know that you don't want to spend the rest of your life travelling without knowing where you are going. Then I wrote Switch On Your G.P.S. with you in mind. GET YOUR COPY OF SWITCH ON YOUR G.P.S.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean that “life is a journey”?
It means life has a starting and ending point with many twists and turns in between, and unlike a trip you plan, you don't get a map showing every turn in advance.
What is G.P.S. in David Adabale's “Switch On Your G.P.S.” framework?
G.P.S. stands for God, Purpose and Service: God as the starting point, Purpose as the direction, and Service as the fuel for the journey.
How do I know if I'm moving in the right direction in life?
Being busy isn't the same as being purposeful. Ask whether your time, decisions and relationships align with why you believe you were created, not just whether you're active.
What should I do if I feel lost or stuck in life?
Recalculate: stop, listen, reflect, reconnect with God, revisit your purpose, consider who you're called to serve, and move again! A wrong turn doesn't have to become a permanent address.
What's the difference between being busy and being purposeful?
Busyness measures activity; purpose measures alignment. You can achieve a great deal and still be moving away from the life you were created to live.
How does service fuel purpose, according to this teaching?
Purpose was never meant to end with you; your gifts, knowledge and experiences are meant to help someone else. Service turns purpose from an idea into a lived journey.
What is Switch On Your G.P.S. about, and who is it for?
It's a book by David Adabale for people who sense there's more to life than working, paying bills and reaching the end. It's an invitation to navigate life intentionally through God, Purpose and Service.
FREE ONLINE MASTERCLASS: Take Your G.P.S. journey further. Join the Free online G.P.S. masterclass and learn how to apply God, Purpose and Service to your own journey.
Before You Go
Your journey has already started. The real question is not whether you are travelling. The question is whether you are travelling in the right direction. So today: Pause, Reflect, Realign. And if necessary, recalculate! Then switch on your G.P.S.: God, Purpose and Service, and keep moving towards the life you were created to live. Your journey matters. Your purpose matters. And there are people who may be waiting for what God has placed inside you. Don't merely move. Move with direction! GET YOUR COPY OF SWITCH ON YOUR G.P.S.
This article contains an adapted extract and teaching based on Chapter 1, “Life Is a Journey”, from Switch On Your G.P.S.: Successfully Navigate Life's Journey with God, Purpose and Service by David Adabale.
What season of life's journey are you navigating right now? Share your thoughts in the comments, and if this article encouraged you, send it to someone who may need direction for their journey today.
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