Do you want your life to make a difference? Look around you. How satisfied are you with your life? What about purpose? Do you seek to live out your purpose?
My drive to succeed as a college student was solely to find purpose in changing the world. I wanted to have an impact on others so badly that I worked really hard. Never mind my pursuit of excellence in my education, I served at church and I even adopted a child from Guatemala—okay not really, I just sponsored one. Even though I barely had enough money to eat in college, I still made sure Manuel had his monthly donation. I worked two jobs, took classes and continued to serve in church diligently. In the end, I got so burnt out and I remember thinking, “I’m just so tired of trying to live out my purpose.”
The thing that changed for me has more to do with letting go than pursuing. Up to that point, I looked for things to do and I tried to please everyone including God out of fear of rejection. Honestly, the idea of not glorifying God with my life terrified me. However, fatigue sometimes wins over fear so I pushed all anxiety aside to search for understanding to what Christ meant when He said, “Come to me, all who are weary…”
Over several years I discovered that living out my purpose without the gospel motivating my heart and driving my actions only lead to idolizing exactly that—me, living out my purpose. Somewhere between doing this and that, sponsoring a child, working, serving and doing, the gospel got pushed aside. My rationalizations that I had to live out my purpose to glorify God kept the truth from me for so many years that when I couldn’t go on anymore, I felt invisible and I declared myself a failure.
Thankfully, God has a way of calling His own. Sometimes it’s whispers through a friend and at other times, it’s loud and clear. One particular day, God spoke through my three-year old when he said, “Mommy, why are you so sad? I not enough for you today?”
Living out our purpose has nothing to do with searching for what God wants us to do because He’s given it to us already. We just need to accept that what He gives us today is enough. We need to intentionally love others as He first loved us and faithfully obey Him. We don’t have to look far to see that where God has placed us today, what He has given us to do now, the people He has planned for us to meet in a few hours are all part of His plan for our lives (Eph. 2:10). We need to trust Him and believe that our identity—including living out our purpose—rests solely in who Christ is and what He is doing in and through us.
If you’re searching for ways to live out your purpose, please stop and remember Christ makes the difference. Jesus is all you need to satisfy your life. He is our purpose for living. He’s the Savior and we’re not. Accept what He’s given you today as enough and glorify Him. Pray as God prepares you for what’s yet to come. After all, “…I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (Phil. 1:6), NLT
Post Views: 188
