It creeps up on you at the most unusual times. Like a prowling cat that has been resting all day and is now ready to pounce on anything that moves, it sneaks up on you. These feelings and thoughts persist. They come and go, and yet the message never really changes. The constant tug always leaves you wondering about your future. You may have these feelings when you lie down to sleep, when you’re driving in your car, when you’re watching a sporting event, or even when you’re listening to a Sunday sermon. The feelings are always the same. You experience them like a constant hunger, a sense that there is more for your life. This hunger leads you to believe you could and should be doingmore—more to change the world around you and make it better. Deep down you know there is something you were made to do and that only you can do.
Busyness has become a normal condition of modern life, both at work and in our other activities. We may want to yell, “No more useless work! No more working to achieve someone else’s dreams! No more work that keeps me from doing what God wants me to accomplish!” We may have agreed to pursue other people’s goals because we don’t have any of our own. Or perhaps we just aren’t aware of our own dreams. Since we don’t have our own goals, we don’t have a plan, and making a plan seems too difficult. We give in to chasing other people’s goals so that at least we have some focus. We are not passionate about the pursuit, and the feeling ofmore—that hunger—returns. This feeling reminds us again and again that we have no real passion for what we currently do.
Doing all this activity helps to pay the bills and may even make room for a new car or a bigger house. But how are we ever going to retire if we don’t start saving something soon? The pressures of life make greater demands on our time and reduce our productivity. We live in fear that if we don’t keep up the activity, there will not be enough to take care of our needs.
People are never more apathetic than when
in the pursuit of another man’s dreams.
Do you find yourself less fulfilled by all the things that used to excite you? Many people’s lives seem to follow this pattern. During young adulthood, we alternate between the playfulness of youth and the responsibilities of being an adult. We dream of an adult life filled with success or adventure—one in which we can make great changes or contributions to the world. Then, time after time, something takes our focus and interrupts our journey.
Somewhere along the way as we mature, we try to keep our dreams alive, but other things attract us. We turn our attention away from our calling, and something else grabs our curiosity. Before long, we forget all about our dream. Sometimes it seems we can almost remember it, but then it slips from our minds. It’s like seeing an old friend from a distance. We walk away thinking, “I know we’ve met before, but I just can’t remember her name.” Did we really forget the dream? Or are we simply distracted by the noise around us? At some point, we realize our lives will end and there is less time left to do what is really important. It may be that we think we are growing old. Maybe the death of a loved one has caused us to consider our remaining time to live. We may be successful in our jobs but don’t find satisfaction in them as we once did. Or perhaps we jump from job to job looking for something more fulfilling.
It is at times like these we wake up and finally realize we have settled for less than God planned for us. It seems like a false life. If you have reached this point, ID was designed for you. ID is for you if
• you have lost enthusiasm for your work.
• the most exciting part of your day is watching television or surfing the internet.
• you are excited when you see other people boldly following their dreams.
• you sense an urgency to get busy doing what God created you to do.
If you really wonder if ID for you, ask yourself, “Do I have an inner sense that I have greater potential and unrealized dreams?” If so, then IDis for you!
Have you ever made the choice to follow someone else’s dream instead of your own? ☐ Yes ☐ No
If yes, why? Mark all appropriate boxes.
☐ My dream was not clear to me.
☐ It was easier to follow someone else’s dream.
☐ I was not sure how to achieve my own dream.
☐ I was afraid to try to follow my dream.
☐ It seemed more valuable to follow another person’s dream.
☐ I felt pressured by the expectations of relatives or friends.
☐ Other _______________________________
List three examples of things you have done to assist or help build another person’s dream.
1. ___________________________________
2. ___________________________________
3. ___________________________________
Take this test to see if you are ready for ID.
1. Do the activities of life in general seem less important?
☐ Yes☐ No
2. Does your job satisfy you less than it once did?
3. Are you less satisfied with your possessions?
4. Are you willing to trade your success for more control in your life?
5. Are you escaping the hunger of your heart with drugs, alcohol, or entertainment?
6. Are you always looking for a new job and trying to find new direction?
7. Do you envy those who are doing something more meaningful?
8. Are you willing to change your life to address your inner hunger?
If your answers to these questions are mostly “Yes,” then you are ready for ID.
Who is to blame for this endless search for fulfillment? Certainly, all of us must be responsible for our own choices, but other factors and people may have more influence than we realize. We will talk about these next.
David Shenk introduced the term “Data Smog” in his 1997 book of the same name. He explained how people are suffering from an overwhelming flood of data or information. Like the dense physical smog that hangs over large cities around the world, this flood of information obstructs our vision and clouds our minds. Shenk called this flood of information “Data Smog,” and it can be every bit as toxic as the smog in Los Angeles or Beijing.
How bad is this problem? In the 1970s, the average person was exposed to 350 messages per day. By the year 2017, this number climbed to 4,000 and has continued to increase rapidly. Not only has the number of messages gotten bigger, but due to competition for our minds and the new mediums available, the messages have also become bolder, more dramatic, and more complex in order to capture our attention.
According to one study, the average home in the United States receives 11.25 hours of media each day. That is 11.25 hours of messages we invite into our homes, which should be places to recover and restore.
It feels as though we are in a fog we can’t...
