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Dangers Men Face #16: The Danger of Confusion

Confusion not only happens in “mid-life crisis” as perceived by norm. It can occur to anyone, at any age and at any time. Sounds dangerous huh.

We will at least face some confusion in our stages of life. Confusion of character and ambition at teen period; balancing career and family at adulthood; handling crisis with teenager and mending decreasing physical prowess at mid life; retirement and the list goes on.

Apparently, confusion is a normal experience. The end of the confusion will be clarity and direction. It’s like going thru a tunnel and you will see the light at the end. Two issues are categorized as confusion starter: calling and major life issues.

Calling and vocation
Of all the activities man involved, job takes the biggest portion of the time. In early stages, man will focus on his job and career. As he settled down, job satisfaction starts to fray. Confusion arises. Some men stay in low paying job. Some regret the job they’ve taken. Therefore the easiest remedy is job changing. Job changing can be voluntary or forced by external circumstances. Again, confusion and discouragement arise. Job jeopardy is more confusing. Not knowing if we will have the job tomorrow. Each will try to be competitive and perform the best.

When job is secured, men will strive for job success - a rather relative concept. As the nation progresses, success is viewed as increasing pay and promotions. Nevertheless, at the end we will “max out” and get confused. Questions like the right path and decision appear. On the other side, if we ever achieve success, will it be an empty achievement? The chronicle of Joseph (Genesis 37-45) might shed some insight on job change for us though.

The other calling which is seldom addressed by every believer is concerning spiritual calling. This can be in the form of utilizing gifts or talents for the glory of God. Some serve beyond their spiritual gift, which leads to confusion and discouragement. Until spiritual and vocational calling are in balance, only then confusion will disappear.

The keys to conquering confusion
Two keys to overcome confusion: surrender and life message.

Surrender means to submit our life to God (Luke 9:23). If we let life goes, we’ll get life on God’s term (Luke 17:32-33). God wants us to surrender to his sovereignty in any circumstance. We therefore, surrender to where God put us, who we are, our past and gifts. In a nutshell, surrender to God and then to wait. Wait for his direction. Blessed are all who wait for him (Isaiah 30:18). Both surrender and waiting are difficult. It is the work of faith.

The concept of clarifying life message is to understand the combination of spiritual and vocational calling. What drives us or what motivates us? How do we want our life to be a life message? Something that God wants to bring out in our lives. Paul knew his mission – the prize (Philippians 3:14). Our life message needs to be based on God and His calling. By knowing our life message, we will be able to come out from confusion. Start with identifying our gifts and values. My personal motivator: to serve for self-fulfillment, benefit to the community and glorifying God. What’s yours?

When confusion comes, take time with God. Understand his will and get the direction right.
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