Danny’s story is not necessarily uncommon. In the modern Western world, we often turn to things like alcohol, drugs, sex, and career to distract ourselves from the aching in our souls.

Like Danny, many try to live with these ‘crutches,’ but eventually, they all crumble. These things were never meant to carry the full weight of our need for love—more specifically, our need for God’s love.

Danny had a radical experience with Jesus that caused him to turn his life around. Not all of us have such an experience; instead, we carry a gnawing feeling that something is missing from our lives.

In his words, Danny said:

“I chased after so many things to bring fulfillment. None of them did.”

The events in Danny’s life that eventually led him back to God, whom he had given his life to as a young man, resemble a well-known story from the Bible:

The Prodigal Son.

Take a moment to pause and read Luke 15:11-32.

Isn’t it wonderful? The prodigal son, though he had squandered all his father’s wealth on reckless living, was embraced back as a son—as if he had never left.

Just as in Danny’s testimony, Pat Robertson said on The 700 Club, “You can come back if you’ve walked away.”

The first step towards finding and living with purpose is turning away from the things that rob us of direction.

Enjoying alcohol, relationships, and your career responsibly aren’t bad in themselves. But when they become your whole reason for going on, they can become destructive.

Turn to God—or back to God—and allow Him to fill your life with direction and purpose as you live in relationship with Him.