Maybe you read my last post and thought “Okay, so maybe God does have a purpose for me, but I have no idea what it is. I don’t even know where to begin.” It will take some time, some introspection, prayer and some waiting on God, but I do have some ideas to get you on your way to discovering it. Keep in mind, I am also figuring this out as I go, so by no means do I have all the answers!
Before I go into details, let me first say what will probably NOT happen. You probably won’t hear a rumbling voice out of the sky that proceeds to spell out every detail of the rest of your life. Possible, but not likely. I have found that God usually speaks to us like a subtle breeze, a gentle but persistent nudge, a steady awareness in our hearts. He also leads us in steps, not usually in giant leaps. Don’t expect to know what your life will be like years down the road. Proverbs 16:9 says: In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps. Note that says steps, not leaps. We just keep putting one foot in front of the other and He directs us as we go along. I also like what James says:
And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, "Today—at the latest, tomorrow—we're off to such and such a city for the year. We're going to start a business and make a lot of money." You don't know the first thing about tomorrow. You're nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. Instead, make it a habit to say, "If the Master wills it and we're still alive, we'll do this or that." James 4:13-15, The Message
Let’s not get ahead of God and make our own plans. (Easier said than done for some of us, I know!)
There are three areas to look at when we start to seek God’s purpose for us:
-Passions and values
-Talents and giftings
-Past experiences in our lives, pleasant or painful
What excites you about life? What topic or issue gets you fired up like no other? What brings you enormous fulfillment? What values in life are precious to you? God has planted seeds in your heart that are there for a reason. Strong feelings about certain things could be there for a purpose- so we are compelled to take action. Do you have an especially tender heart for the elderly? That tenderness could enable you to touch their lives like no other. Do you feel passionate about creating things? About encouraging people who are going through rough times? About fostering a nurturing family environment? Take some time and come up with five or ten values or passions that stand out to you. Chances are, these things were placed in your heart by God for a reason.
What are you naturally good at? What types of things do lean towards doing? If you’ve never taken a spiritual gifts assessment, I encourage you to do so. There are many of them online and most can be completed in just a few minutes. Your eyes might be opened to something you never thought about before. Check out www.chazown.com – there are some really useful tools on there for exploring your purpose! I am also reading through the book Chazown: Define Your Vision. Pursue Your Passion. Live Your Life on Purpose. by Craig Groeschel and it is a wealth of great info on this topic.
The truth is, God has handed out different gifts and talents to all of us. We’re not going to do much good if we try to be something we’re not. Find out what talents He has put in you and then use them!
What have you experienced in your life? Think back on struggles you’ve gone through, times of pain that you had to walk through, great joys and accomplishments…all those things that have combined to make you who you are. God knows every detail of our lives and many of these events were put into motion by Him to mold and shape you into the person He wants you to be…all so you can best fulfill the purpose He has for you. Don’t block out painful times in your life. What did you learn from them? What areas in you were strengthened because of the difficulty? How are you better equipped to help others because of what you went through? Chances are, God wants to use all of these things to help others and bring Him glory through it all. Maybe you dealt with something terrible as a child and now, having come through it, you have an awareness of what it’s like and you are able to give hope to those currently experiencing the same thing… just an example to get you thinking about what past experiences may have molded you.
Combine all these things- your passions in life, your talents, and your past experiences. Take some time to dwell on them and pray that God would show you how they all work together to give you clue about the purpose He has for you.
As you begin your search, it’s important to remember a few things- your purpose will go along with God’s heart for people and His character revealed in scripture. It is not going to be “step on whoever I need to in order to become the youngest millionaire in history”. God’s purpose for you will never contradict His word and it will always revolve around His love for people and point back to Him to bring Him glory.
Also, other people close to you should be able to affirm that you are on track. If you share with them what you sense to be your purpose, they may be able to say “I can totally see you doing that!” or “I’ve always thought you were made to do that!”
Your purpose may or may not be associated with your profession. I recently learned that the apostle Paul was a tent maker by trade. Many days, he rose early and went to work making tents, took a break from around noon to 4pm to go to the meeting place in town to teach, and then went back to making tents for the rest of the day. I don’t think he would say that tent-making was his purpose in life; it was simply his way to support himself and his friends while he worked to spread the message of Jesus. “Career” and “purpose” are not necessarily the same thing.
Finding our purpose in life should not be thought of as some new self-help strategy… it is why we were made- why we exist! Everything we do in life should be done with it in mind. The thought of simply coasting through life without doing what God has put me here to do is terrifying. I don’t want to get to the end of my life and look back wishing I had done everything differently. I have a new found passion to stay tuned in to what God is doing and attempt to live every day as He would have me live it.
I would love it if you would go to this website- www.chazown.com and take the assessments and go through the exercises that will help you write a vision statement for your life. You don’t have to sit down and do it all at once. You can break it up into a few sessions if you don’t have a huge chunk of time. I’m going to compile mine and (perhaps) share it with all of you in a future post.
Start taking some steps- pray that He will open your eyes to what He wants to do through you, and then start watching and listening. If you are truly submitting yourself to His will for you, He will make it clear in His timing.
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