What’s Really Driving Your Life?

Reflections of Chapter three of The Purpose Driven Life

This post may contain affiliate links

“Everyone’s life is driven by something.” This statement sent me into a deep reflective mode as I read through Day Three of the Purpose Driven Life. It’s one of those truths that seems obvious once spoken, yet challenged ing when we actually examine what’s behind the wheel of our own lives.

The word “driven” is defined as to guide, control, or direct. So, the question becomes: what force is actually guiding your daily decisions, controlling your priorities, and direction your path froward? The answer might surprise you- and it might not be what you hope it would be.

The Hidden Drivers We Don’t Want to Admit

Most of us would like to believe we’re driven by noble purpose: love, service, faith or making a positive impact. But honest self-reflection often reveals more complicated motivations beneath the surface. Rick Warren identifies several common life drivers that can hijack our sense of purpose without us even realizing it’s happening.

Guilt can become a relentless taskmaster, pushing us to constantly prove our worth through endless activity and people-pleasing. We live reactive lives, trying to atone for past mistakes or perceived inadequacies rather than moving forward with confidence in our forgiveness and freedom.

Resentment and Anger can fuel our decisions long after the initial wound occurred. We make based on proving someone wrong, showing them what they lost, or ensuring we never experience that hurt again. But as Job 5:2 warns us, “Wrath kills the fool, and jealousy destroys the simple.”

Fear might be the most paralysing driver of all. Fear of failure keeps us from taking risks. Fear of rejection prevents authentic relationships. Fear of loss makes us cling too tightly to what we have. As Warren notes, “Fear is a self-imposed prison that will keep you from becoming what God intends you to be.”

Materialism promises security and happiness through accumulation, but delivers neither. The drive to always want more is based on three misconceptions: that having more will make us happier, more important, and more secure. Yet possessions provide only temporary, satisfaction, and real security can only be found in what can never be taken away- our relationship with God.

The need for approval can turn us into chameleons, constantly shifting to please whoever happens to be watching. But trying to please everyone is not only exhausting-it’s impossible. It often means we never discover who we truly are or what we’re genuinely called to contribute.

The Cost of Aimless Living

When we’re driven by these forces rather than by clear purpose, life becomes what Warren describes as “motion without meaning, activity without direction, and events without reason.” We stay busy but feel empty. We accomplish tasks but lack fulfillment. We go through the notions but miss the meaning.

This aimless existence shows up in different ways. Some people live lives of “quiet desperation,” as Thoreau observed, going through familiar routines while feeling increasingly disconnected from any sense of significance. Others live lives of “aimless distraction,” as Warren observes-jumping from one activity, relationship, or pursuit to another without any unifying thread or deeper satisfaction.

Both approaches leave us feeling like life is “trivial, petty and pointless”- a sure sign that we need to reconnect with God’s purposes for our lives to find the direction and fulfillment we’re seeking.

The Power of Purpose

Living with a clear purpose changes everything. When you know why you’re here and what you’re meant to contribute, three powerful shifts occur in your life.

Purpose gives meaning to your life. We were created to have meaning and when we discover God’s purposes for us, even difficulties become bearable because they serve a greater story.

Purpose simplifies your life. Instead of trying to do everything, you can evaluate opportunities against a clear standard: “Does this activity help me fulfill one of God’s purposes for my life?” This question becomes a powerful filter that eliminates the stress, fatigue and conflict that come from over commitment. A purposeful life is a selective life, and selectivity leads to effectiveness.

Purpose focuses your life. Just as a light becomes incredibly powerful when focused into a laser beam, a life becomes potent when focuses on clear purposes. Instead of scattering your energy across countless pursuits, you can channel it toward what truly matters. There’s nothing quite as powerful as a focused life- one lived on purpose.

Wrestling with Mixed Motivations

Here’s where honest self-reflection gets uncomfortable. When I ask myself what’s really driving my life, the answer isn’t as clean as I’d like it to be. Yes, God is a driving force-but so it fear.

I’ve dreamed since childhood of certain markers of a good life: a beautiful home with a kitchen island, a loving family, financial security, the ability to travel and give generously. These aren’t inherently wrong desires, but when fear creeps in-fear that these dreams might never materialize, fear that I’ll die poor and unfulfilled, fear that God hasn’t really heard my prayers- those dreams can become drivers that compete with divine purpose.

There’s tension between trusting God’s timing and provision while also taking responsibility for pursuing the visions He’s placed in my heart. Sometimes I wonder why certain blessings seem to come easily to some people while remaining elusive for others. The fear that I’m somehow missing the mark or not disciplined enough to “seek first the kingdom” can become its own form of bondage.

Disciplined Trust

The answer isn’t to suppress our dreams or pretend we don’t want good things. Instead, it’s about getting our drivers in the right order. When God’s purposes become our primary motivation, our other desires find their proper place. They become hopes we hold loosely rather than demands we make desperately.

This requires what I call “disciplined trust”- the daily choice to seek God’s will first, even when we can’t see how our personal dreams fit into His plan. It means believing that the visions He’s placed in our hearts are not accidents or cruel jokes, but glimpses of the good future He intends.

Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us that God’s plans are for our welfare, not our harm- to give us hope and a future. The challenge is learning to live in the tension between divine timing and human longing, between surrendered trust and responsible action.

Two Questions That Change Everything

Warren concludes this chapter by pointing to two questions that will ultimately define our lives: “What did you do with my Son Jesus Christ?” and “What did you do with what I gave you?”

The first question determines where we’ll spend eternity- it’s about receiving the gift of salvation through faith in Christ. The second question determines what we’ll do in eternity- it’s about how we steward the gifts, talents, opportunities, and resources God entrusted to us.

Both questions point us back to purpose. We’re not here by accident, and we’re not here merely to accumulate experiences or possessions. We’re here to know God and to use everything He’s given us in service of His purposes.

Living on Purpose Is the Path to Peace

The promise is acute: when we align our lives with God’s purposes, we find peace. Not the absence of challenge or uncertainty, but the deep satisfaction that comes from knowing we’re living as we were designed to live.

Isaiah 26:3 offers this assurance: “You, LORD, give perfect pace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you.” Perfect peace isn’t found in having all our dreams fulfilled on our timeline, but in keeping our purpose firm and our trust anchored in the One who sees the full picture of our lives.

The path forward requires bot surrender and focus- surrendering our timeline while staying focused on His purposes, releasing our grip on outcomes while maintaining our commitment to faithfulness. It’s in this tension that we discover what it truly means to live a purpose-driven life.