Isaiah 41:21
“Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.”
Most people don't do much with their lives because they don't have a cause that moves or drives them to do something. Something has to move you in life if you are going to do anything. Many believers never do much for God because they have no cause that motivates them. Many people simply float through life accomplishing very little because they have nothing that they live for that urges and motivates them to do something for that cause every day.
I often ask youth what their cause in life is, and sadly, many of them never have a purpose for living. When you have no cause is when you get yourself into trouble. When you have no cause, you find yourself getting involved in things that never amount to much in life. I don't know about you, but I want my life on this earth to make an impact so that when I am gone, that for which I lived still impacts others for good.
God says in the verse above, “Produce your cause…” God is saying to present your case for the cause that drives you through life. In other words, God is saying to present your cause as if you were presenting a case to a judge. This helps you to see if your cause is worthy of pursuing. God then gives four things that should help you to see if your cause is a worthy cause.
First, what is the purpose of this cause? In other words, what are you trying to accomplish with your cause? There must be an end goal for what you are trying to accomplish. For instance, one cause I have in pastoring is that I can reach the lost of my area with the Gospel and see their lives turned around for good. You have to know what you are trying to accomplish with your cause; otherwise, your cause is worthless and will not motivate you to pursue it.
Second, what will your cause do? If you don't have an end goal of what your cause is trying to accomplish, it will not stir you to do it. You have to know what your cause will achieve in life. In other words, how will your cause affect others? How will your cause affect the cause of Christ? What will your cause do for your life and those relationships you have in your life? You need to know what your cause will do if you are going to have a plan to do it.
Third, will your cause pull you away from what God commands you to do? There are many causes you can accomplish in life, but if they pull you away from what you are supposed to be doing for God, that cause is not a worthy cause. Let me illustrate. A pastor that involves himself in politics will be pulled away from pursuing his life calling. There is nothing wrong with being involved in politics, but politics will pull you away from what you are supposed to be doing which means this would not be a worthy cause for a pastor to pursue. There are things in God’s Word that you are commanded to do, and if your cause pulls you away from that, your cause is not a good cause.
Fourth, where will this cause take you? You must always look to the future to be sure that your cause doesn't pull you away from where you are heading in life. You must never let your cause change the direction of where you are supposed to live. Any cause that causes you to compromise what you are supposed to be for God is not a good cause worthy of pursuing.