Dr. Tony Evans

A friend was driving through Dallas not too long ago when he made a turn around the corner of a fairly busy tollway only to discover a ladder lying in the middle of the road. He quickly swerved to miss it and then called to inform the authorities so that they could get the ladder removed. It must have fallen off of a construction truck of some sort. Thankfully no one was hurt. Ladders in the middle of busy tollways could prove disastrous.

Same thing with ladders leaning against the wrong wall.

Sure, the disaster might not be as graphic or immediately witnessed for a ladder leaning against the wrong wall verses one in the middle of a road, but the impact could be just as tragic. This is because it is nothing short of a disaster for someone to spend the bulk of their time, energy and emotions toward a goal or purpose only to discover it was not the correct goal or purpose.

Yet that is the case for a good number of people today.

In fact, many Christians will have spent a large part of their lives climbing the ladder of success only to discover at the end that it was leaning against the wrong wall.

In an effort to meet the standards of our world’s system as well as what our world calls “success,” many people will have missed the purposes of God. They may have wound up being great in their careers, education and with their resources, but will stand before God never having finished the work He had created them to do.

Yet one of the reasons we are not raptured at the moment of conversion is because God left us here for the achievement and the accomplishment of a kingdom-purpose.

It’s easy to get off the right path and start pursuing things which are not in God’s intended purpose for us. This can include the pursuit of people, possessions, paychecks, power, popularity – and perhaps even some piety sprinkled in there to make us feel better. Yet when what we do is not tied to the kingdom and God’s overarching agenda, we’ve missed the mark.

One of the ways you will know you are on the right ladder to God’s purpose for your life is that you will be required to place your trust in God in order to take the next step.

God often asks us to do things that are beyond our own abilities and outside of our own securities so that we will have the opportunity to witness Him work. That way He receives all the glory.

Dr. Tony Evans is the pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, and founder of The Urban Alternative. He is also the author of over 100 books and Bible studies. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on more than 1,300 US outlets daily and in more than 130 countries.