What Is Your Purpose?
I feel like this is a question that many believers struggle with.
What is your purpose?
What were you put on this earth to do?
Why are you here?
What are you supposed to be working toward?
I’ve asked myself this question, over and over again throughout different stages of my life.
Sometimes it looks more like ‘what am I supposed to do for a career?’ (Assuming that will eventually give you purpose)
Or, am I supposed to be a stay at home mom? (Maybe that will give you purpose)
But whatever stage of life you’re in, we are all looking for the purpose in it and working toward what we think may be our life-long calling.
I really struggled with this recently when I felt like the Holy Spirit was calling me to more, but I didn’t quite know what that would look like.
A lot of times it can leave us frozen because while we want to focus on what we are supposed to be doing, we equally don’t want to waste our time on things that aren’t going to matter or pour our energy into things that won’t last.
So how do we find our purpose?
1. We Go To The Word
Jesus gives us all the Great Commission in Matthew 28 when He says:
"'Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen" MATTHEW 28:19-20 NKJV
Jesus gave us all the ultimate commandment when he told us to go into all the world and share the gospel. No matter what we end up doing in life, that is our ultimate goal. So as long as we’re fulfilling this commandment, we are on the right track.
This is also something that the Holy Spirit clearly pointed out to me when I was asking Him what was next for me. It was like He was telling me to start here.
2. We Get In The Word
If you’re not already spending time reading the Bible every day, you need to start. God reveals his plans for us through a variety of ways, but one of the most common ways is through His Word. He will reveal lessons, examples, directions and more through the lessons and commands in the Bible.
Jesus also gave us the greatest two commandments in Matthew 22.
"Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" MATTHEW 22:37-40 NKJV
Whatever we are doing should not only honor God above all else, but it should also help us show love to our neighbors.
3. Spend Daily Time In Prayer and Waiting
Just as important as going to His Word, is going to God Himself. We need to quiet our minds and spend daily time listening to God and asking Him what He has for us.
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." MATTHEW 7:7-8 NKJV
Ask God to reveal to you what He has for you and you may be surprised when you wait on God what direction He points you in.
I asked God this question back in December 2020. I remember just being so ready to jump in and full submerge myself in whatever He had for me next. But you want to know the first thing He told me to do?
Wait…
Yep, the first thing He told me in my gung ho state of mind, was to wait.
Wait on Him, wait for His timing and keep seeking Him in the meantime.
I was tempted to do different things in the meantime, even things that I felt like might be on the right path, but every time I thought about starting something, I felt convicted that I was not supposed to be doing anything at that time, I was supposed to be waiting.
So I did. And you know what He did next? He started to reveal what He had for me.
He started to clarify some of the ideas I had and refine my plans in ways that I may not have done on my own.
Will He always ask you to wait? Maybe not always, but I would encourage you to spend a lot of time in prayerful consideration before taking action and ask God to confirm the direction He wants you to go in before you move.
4. Look At Your Strengths
Here’s the thing, God doesn’t want us to be totally confused when it comes to figuring out what we’re supposed to be doing with our lives. He just wants us to rely on Him to get there.
So He gives us clues throughout our childhood and beyond to help us determine what He has for us. These clues are called your strengths.
I feel like we all have a pretty good idea of what we’re good at and what we’re not. We develop strengths in certain areas based on our upbringing, our experiences, our natural talents and more and God can use those to fulfill His purpose for our lives.
Sometimes, God makes us specifically good at something because He wants to use that as a part of our story.
For example, God gifted my husband and myself with music. I can fairly easily pick up an instrument and learn to play it and I can sing. God wanted to use those gifts on our local worship team at church. He gives us the ability, we foster it through practice, and can then use it for His good. That is part of our purpose right now.
But, remember this is only a starting point. On the flip-side, don’t assume that just because you feel like you aren’t good at something, God won’t use it as part of your purpose.
Think of public speaking. You may not feel like you are good at public speaking, but God could actually be preparing you to be some sort of public speaker. In this instance, He is challenging you to step out in faith and trust Him to help you make it happen.
And let me be clear, God may also gift you in something that doesn’t FEEL like it comes naturally. You may be afraid. He may be asking you to do something outside of your comfort zone, but it may still be something He’s gifted you in.
5. Start Being Faithful With One Thing And God Will Show You Another
This is something I learned firsthand over the last year. Sometimes God is waiting for you to be faithful in something that feels small before He’ll trust you with something bigger.
Let’s look at the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30.
To summarize, Jesus is telling a story about a man who was going out of town and he entrusted some of his wealth to three different servants. To one, he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one talent, according to their ability. The one he gave five talents and the one he gave two talents went and traded them and doubled the amount they had each been given. But, the one who he gave one talent buried his talent until his master returned. When he came to settle accounts with each of them, the first two servants that had doubled what they were given were praised for what they had done and were given even more. But the third servant, who buried the talent he was given, was scolded for being afraid and not doing anything with what he was given and even the little he had was taken away.
God gives us talents and gifts that He expects us to use for His glory and when we don’t use even those, how is He supposed to trust us with more?
For example, scripture tells us to tithe, or give 10% of our income to God. If we can’t give 10% of a $30,000 salary, why would He trust us with more income?
For another example, what if we’re meant to be a speaker and give our testimony in front of tons of people to win thousands for Christ, but we’re not willing to lead a Bible study at our local church that God is also calling us to? Would He provide the larger opportunity if we aren’t willing to do the smaller one?
Sometimes God provides smaller opportunities to prepare us for larger ones. Often times, we just want to skip to whatever great and amazing calling He has for us, but we need to prove ourselves faithful with the first opportunity to receive the second.
Like I said, this is something I’ve been learning firsthand. I felt like God was calling my husband and I to do the worship team at our church. Even more, I felt God specifically calling me to lead worship, do speaking parts, read scripture and just be willing to move when He says to.
Singing is one thing, speaking is entirely another. I’d be lying if I said I don’t basically have a panic attack every time I start speaking. I don’t always say exactly what I want, but I continue to do it. The more I do it, the more the Holy Spirit gives me. And once I started being faithful with singing, He gave me speaking. Once I was faithful with speaking, He called me to play the guitar. I’ve been faithful with all of that and He revealed this platform. As you follow, He will continue to lead.
Let’s Sum This Up
When you read this title, were you hoping I was going to give you the map to exactly what you were supposed to do?
Like one of those “Here’s your sign!” things telling you exactly where to go next?
Sorry to disappoint, but there’s only One who knows the answer to that question. But here’s what I do know:
- Start with the commands He’s already given you
- Read the rest daily
- Ask for the next step
- Look at the evidence He’s already revealed
- Show Him you can be trusted with little things to prepare you for bigger things
When you are faithful in trusting Him, He will give you direction and guidance every step of the way. Ask and receive, seek and find, knock and the door will be opened to you.
