Living by Design
About a decade ago, I woke up one morning with a phrase burning in my mind: Living by Design.
It wasn’t something I had been thinking about the night before. It arrived unexpectedly, almost like a personalized message delivered to my spirit from another world. The phrase lingered. Days became weeks, and weeks became months. I found myself reflecting on it, studying it, journaling about it, and gradually uncovering deeper layers of meaning.
What began as a simple phrase evolved into a personal conviction. It became a message I carried everywhere. I even printed it on shirts because I wanted the reminder visible: not only to myself but to others as well.
Over the years, I have facilitated workshops, taught sessions, and shared conversations centered around this theme: Living by Design. More than a slogan, it has become a creed. More than a personal philosophy, I believe it is a message for a generation that is increasingly tempted to live by imitation rather than intentional design.
The Danger of Living Randomly
Most often than not, we drift through life without ever asking the deeper questions.
We follow trends, adopt popular opinions, chase culturally approved definitions of success, and often spend years pursuing goals that were never truly ours. We inherit ambitions, borrow identities, and conform to expectations that may have little to do with our unique identity and purpose.
But life was never meant to be lived accidentally.
Borrowing a thought from other fields of human endeavour, a building cannot stand without a blueprint. A manufacturer does not create a product without a design specification. Every invention has a purpose that informs its function. Why should human life (the highest expression of purpose) be any different?
To live by design is to recognize that our existence is intentional. We are not an accident. We are not a random collection of talents, experiences, and opportunities. We were created with purpose, and that purpose should influence the way we live, work, choose, and serve.
Manoah’s Remarkable Question
One of the most profound questions in Scripture that typifies this concept of design was asked by a man named Manoah after receiving the promise that he and his wife would have a son: Samson.
He asked the angel:
“When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule that governs the boy’s life and work?” (Judges 13:12)
Another translation renders it like this: “What shall be the boy’s mode of life and his vocation?”
This question reveals extraordinary wisdom.
Before asking about Samson’s achievements, influence, or accomplishments, Manoah wanted to know the pattern that should govern his life. He understood that destiny requires design. Purpose requires instruction. Calling requires alignment.
In essence, Manoah was asking: What blueprint should this child follow?
Perhaps this is a question we should be asking today. Not merely, “What do I want to become?” but “How was I designed to live?”
Not simply, “What career should I pursue?” but “What vocation aligns with my God-given purpose?”
Not just, “What opportunities are available?” but “Which opportunities fit the design of my life?”
To be continued…
