What are you doing here?

What Are You Doing Here? How to Stop Drifting and Return to God's Purpose for Your Life

Have you ever been so distracted that you ended up somewhere you never intended to be? I have — literally. During my recent sabbatical, I capsized a kayak because I got distracted by a glamping setup on the riverbank, missed a rock, and ended up riding the rapids while desperately clinging to a boat that wasn't even mine. But honestly? That moment in the river taught me more about purpose, distraction, and God's call on our lives than almost anything else could have.

Getting Away to Hear God's Voice

Every year I take a sabbatical. I check out for a week, go to the mountain, and get lost — intentionally. My cell phone is there just to let my wife know I've arrived, that I'm still alive, still breathing. No music. No radio. No other voices. This year, God made it clear: just eat my word. So every single day I poured over the word of God, saying, "God, I want to listen to you and you alone."

On Tuesday of that week, the only voice I heard was my own — in worship, in prayer, just listening. God, what is it you would have for us? And what He spoke to me on Tuesday is about distractions.

The Question God Asked Elijah

God brought me to one of my favorite stories in all of Scripture — the story of Elijah, found in 1 Kings 19.

Here's the background: Elijah was one of God's great prophets. Just before this chapter, he had stood before the prophets of Baal — false prophets serving a false God — and called down fire from heaven. The altar was soaked with water, and God consumed it completely. It was a tremendous victory. The kingdom of light had won. The kingdom of darkness had lost. Things were good!

And then Jezebel, the queen of Israel, threatened to kill him. And Elijah ran.

He ended up at a mountain, exhausted and hiding in a cave. That's where we pick up in 1 Kings 19:9: "There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'"

What are you doing here? That's really not a question you want to hear from God. And Elijah's response? He whines. He says, Well, I'm the only one. I'm doing all this great work for you, God. I stood in front of all these other prophets. I'm all alone.

Parents in the house — you know exactly what this sounds like. You ask your kid what's going on and all you get are excuses.

God Doesn't Change His Question

Here's what I love. God takes Elijah outside the cave, and then asks the exact same question again. And do you know what Elijah does? He gives the exact same answer. He whines a little bit more.

But here's the thing — God knew exactly why Elijah was there. He wasn't asking because He needed information. He wanted to see the heart of Elijah. He wanted Elijah to examine himself.

And then God doesn't even respond to the whining. He doesn't say, "Oh man, I'm so sorry you've had a bad day." Instead, He says this —go return. Go back the way you came. Go back to where I had you originally. You've gone off the path because you got distracted.

Understanding Your Telos

This is where I want to introduce you to a word I learned recently: telos. It's a Greek word that means goal. But it's so much more than a goal. Telos is the goal beyond the goal. It's the final destination.

You and I actually have a telos. It's to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:23). That means every other goal we have is about trying to get us to that ultimate destination.

Let me talk to the parents for a moment, because you'll understand this. When you're raising a kid, you have a telos. You don't just want to see them walk and talk. You want them to grow up to be a good husband, a good father, a good wife, a good mother — self-sufficient and capable. That's the telos.

But so often we get sidetracked by the minor goals. We've tried to make sure our kids don't deal with pain, don't deal with frustration. We want them to have a better life than we had. And so we've done all these minor goals — but we forgot about the telos. We gave them participation trophies for being bad. But when I understand the ultimate goal, and I don't get distracted by the minor things, I stay focused, and I can hit that goal; I have done my job. But the minute I lose focus on the ultimate goal, I get distracted — and I hear God asking, why are you here?

The Kayak, the Rock, and the Lesson I Didn't Expect

Back to my sabbatical. I'm kayaking, having a great time, nobody in sight. Then I spot this incredible glamping setup on the riverbank — solar panels, luxury camping, the whole thing. I know I'm heading into rapids, but I've been whitewater rafting. I'm good.

Except I wasn't paying attention to the course of the river. I paddled the wrong way, hit the rock, and got stuck — my kayak wedged sideways against a boulder with the current pushing against me. And I'm sitting there thinking, man, if I could just reach my phone, this would be such a cool selfie moment. I was super chill. At this point, I'm like, this is great.

Then I pushed myself free — and realized the back half of my boat was already underwater. I had begun to sink, and I didn't even know it. I barely had time to push myself out before the kayak went completely under. So there I am, grabbing my paddle, grabbing my backpack, riding the rapids downstream, trying not to hit rocks, trying not to lose a boat that wasn't mine.

I got distracted. If I had just continued on the goal, everything would have been fine. But that momentary lapse — that one instant when I thought, I'm good enough, I've done this before, I don't have to worry — that's when I should have worried most. There were compromises I had made. I'd never been in that river before. I didn't know the bends. But I let my abilities take over, and I lost the ultimate goal.

Are You in the Right Place?

God was saying to me — and I believe He's saying to many of us — so many of you are doing the right thing, but it's not the right thing, because it's not what God has called you to do. You've lost sight of the telos.

We can do good things that aren't God things. I think about our homeless ministry. It was a beautiful blessing—we prayed with people and shared the gospel. But we were going to a shelter on the other side of town where we'd never see those people again. We were giving them food when they were already getting food. And we had to ask ourselves: Is this the telos? God has called us to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19); are we making disciples? That's the ultimate goal.

A lot of times, as we get older, we think, " My season is done. Can I tell you — your season's not done. If you're still alive, if there's still breath in your lungs, God still has a plan and a purpose for you. Paul says it this way in Philippians 3:12-14: "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on." He continues to run the race. He continues to do that which God has called him to do.

You Haven't Been Disqualified

God didn't tell Elijah, "Why are you here?" and then leave him there. He said, go back. I still have more for you to do. Go back — you've still got Kings to anoint, a successor to train. You've not been disqualified just because you got distracted.

And maybe you're reading this, realizing you've capsized. You've hit a rock. You've gotten distracted. God doesn't leave you there. He says, grab hold of what you can, ride out the rapids, get to the bank — so He can give you the refreshing you need and get you back on the right track.

Putting It Into Practice

So here are the questions I want to leave you with — the same questions God brought me to on that mountain:

Ask yourself: "Why am I here?" Not why you're sitting in church, but why are you in the season you're in? Are you in the right spot? Did God call you to where you are — or did you drift there because you got distracted?

Identify your telos. In every season of life, there's an ultimate goal God has for you. What is it? What are you actually working toward? And are the daily goals you're chasing actually moving you toward it?

Watch for the rocks. The enemy is so good at bringing distraction. He parades around as a messenger of light (2 Corinthians 11:14) and tries to pull your eyes off the course. Ask God to help you see the distractions before they capsize you.

Don't disqualify yourself. A misstep isn't the end. God's grace and mercy continually flow. As 1 John 1:9 reminds us, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." He puts us back on the path.

Return. That's the word. Return to the place God has for you. Return to His voice. Return to His purpose. And when you do, you'll find He's been waiting there all along.