Within Reach: Engage with Purpose

Talk shops.

They do not have good reputations. For good reason. Lots of air and little substance. Much complaining which does not lead to productive change. Presentations made, glittering promises offered, whimsical memories and stimulating aspirations shared … all to be minuted and referred to another meeting.

Yet talk shops remain in fashion. You’re entitled to your opinion on the matter. You’re encouraged to express that opinion. You’re cool with listening to the opinions of others. and you’re content with allowing that to be the merry-go-round of life. You are engaging with others sure. You can even appear having a great deal of empathy and it looks like you’re engaging with them.

There is a big difference, however, when you engage with a purpose. One of the elements that’s fascinating about the story of a man called Nehemiah, is how his realisation of the situation of his home-town led him to go and engage with the situation. His engagement phase took on the right stakeholders in the right way. He engaged with God, weeping, mourning and fasting for the state of his people. He engaged with his boss who was in the position to grant him the request he needed for time off work to sort out his concern as well as the resources and clearance to proceed. He engaged with the situation on the ground, not in a talk shop, to assess things and see how the need can be addressed. After all that, then he engaged with the people – and by then he was ready to engage with purpose.

Herein is the key about engaging. Engaging with purpose. You engage to understand. You engage to empathise. You engage to assess. You engage to plan. You engage to process. You engage to plan. You engage to connect with the intention to make the change.

Nehemiah went through those processes and not a thing had happened to change the situation physically. The state that led him to mourn and weep was still the case in this process of engagement. Yet Nehemiah’s approach of engagement put in place the foundation to flourish. The foundation was in place because of the mind to engage for purpose.

Where there is that mind to engage, then the you’re ready to go and make the change. And in that position there’s an even greater clarity of the likelihood that the promise really is within reach …

…But will we reach?

(Photo by Marc-Olivier Jodoin on Unsplash)

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

C. L. J. Dryden