Finding the One Thing in Your Life

We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
–Romans 8:28

Not long ago, my wife, Amy, and I watched “City Slickers.” This movie tells the story of three men from New York who are going through a midlife crisis, so they travel to a cattle ranch in New Mexico and participate in driving the herd from New Mexico to Colorado. Along the way, they learn some important lessons about life.

Perhaps the most iconic scene of the movie is when one of the New Yorkers named Mitch, played by Billy Crystal, is riding his horse next to an old, leathery cowboy named Curly, played by Jack Palance. Curly growls, “You all come out here about the same age, same problems. You spend about fifty weeks a year getting knots in your rope, and then you think two weeks up here will untie them for you. None of you get it. Do you know what the secret of life is?” Curly sticks up his index finger. “One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that, and everything else don’t mean [expletive].” Mitch asks, “That’s great, but what’s the ‘one thing’?” Curly tells him, “That’s what you’ve got to figure out.”

The “one thing” Palance was talking about is finding your purpose in life. Whenever you find the special reason for which God created your life, the rest of the things in this world aren’t worth anything.

You may be asking, “What do you mean, my purpose in life?” We know all Christians were created by God and were saved by God. God’s purpose is that everybody come to know Jesus Christ as Savior and be conformed to the image of Christ. Romans 8:28-30 says, “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” That is God’s general purpose for everyone.

But God also has a specific purpose for your life. God has an overarching story He is telling to the universe of His love and redemption through Jesus Christ, but God also has a unique story He is writing in your life. That is what I mean when I talk about discovering your unique purpose in life. The first week of the New Year is a great time to talk about finding your purpose in life so you can experience the fulfilment that God wants you to experience.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Finding the One Thing in Your Life” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2019.

Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, “City Slickers,” Columbia Pictures, 1991.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.