Archive for the 'Purpose' Category

Fulfilling Your Purpose

Published June 1, 2010 Faith , Purpose 2 Comments

WordPress has some cool stats. I like how I can view the search terms people use to find my blog. Almost every day I see phrases like, “what is God’s purpose for me,” “fulfilling the purpose of God for my life,” “what is my purpose”. You might be one of those people who is wondering, “How can I know what my purpose is?”

No person is an accident. Everyone has a specific purpose–a reason to be on this Earth. One of the most amazing things to discover is God knew you even before the world was formed (Ephesians 1:4). He knew everything about you before you were conceived, and He had a special purpose in mind for you (Jeremiah 1:5).

I recently heard a fellow community member say, “Be present with God every moment, and do the thing that only you can do.” He was speaking about being a great leader, but I think his statement perfectly describes how to fulfill your purpose. No one else in the entire world has your unique set of gifts, talents, personality traits, and experiences.

God has a purpose that fits you and only you. No other person can fulfill your purpose. Every purpose is important–no matter how big or small. Even smiling at people can be a ministry and a purpose in life.

Two things will last forever: God and people (souls). It makes sense to invest your time, energy, and talents in things that will last forever instead of material things.

Here are some things that might help you discover your purpose:

  • Pray, pray, pray! Ask God to speak to your heart and reveal His plan for you. Trust that He will guide you. God never tries to hide is will. If you ask with pure motives, He will answer you.
  • Get to know yourself better. Take the Myers-Briggs Personality Assessment. Take a spiritual gift inventory questionnaire.
  • Ask friends and family what they think your gifts and talents are.
  • Try lots of different hobbies, service projects, ministries, and/or vocations until you find something that you are passionate about, something that gives you energy.

Books About Purpose

  • The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
  • Knit Together: Discover God’s Pattern for Your Life by Debbie Macomber
  • The Search for Significance by Robert S. McGee

Purpose Quotes

“For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible,…everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him.” Colossians 1:16 (Msg)

“It’s not about you.” Rick Warren

“Unless you assume a God, the question of life’s purpose is meaningless.” Bertrand Russell, atheist

“I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.” Jim Carrey

“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…” Jeremiah 1:5

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11

“God, I’m going with your plans for my life, not my own. I’ve got plans, I’ve got dreams, I’ve got goals, I’ve got ambitions, but I know that you put me on this earth for a reason, for a purpose, and I am intentionally choosing your plan for my life instead of my own. I know you’re not going to reveal it to me all at once; it’s going to come a little bit at a time. But, I’m willing to take it one step at a time, knowing your plan is better than mine.” Rick Warren

“There is no happier place than the intersection of God’s will and your giftedness.” Phil Vischer

“Many people have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.” Helen Keller

“Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.” Tim Kizziar

“This is true joy in life, the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.” George Bernard Shaw

“Give yourselves to God…Surrender your whole being to him to be used for righteous purposes.” Romans 6:13 (TEV)

“I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me.” Psalm 57:2

“What you are is God’s gift to you; what you do with yourself is your gift to God.” Danish proverb

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21

“The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me…” Psalm 138:8

Robbing My Brothers and Sisters

Published March 23, 2010 Chiropractic , Faith , Friends , God Lessons , Purpose , Sunday School 3 Comments

I mentioned doing a series of posts about lessons I’ve learned in the past eight months (since I became a chiropractic patient). This post is the first of three. 

My recent trip to the ER was a blessing in disguise because it led to a friend calling me last week, which led to God driving home a BIG lesson: I have been robbing my brothers and sisters.

I’ve been very hush-hush about the struggles with pain I have had recently with my chiropractic journey. I know the reasons why, but I won’t go into all of them here. You don’t have time to read a novel. I’ll just boil it down and say pride and fear of what people will think are at the root.

So last Wednesday my friend Amanda (from Sunday School) called and asked how I was feeling. I opened up, took off the mask, and shared with her my doubts, fears, frustrations, beliefs, and hopes. She listened. She shared some of her own personal struggles. We prayed for each other over the phone. She ministered to me big time. (Amanda said a couple things in her prayer that brought two major breakthroughs–more on that in the next post.)

My willingness to share my true thoughts and feelings allowed my friend to help me. And in return I helped her. When I refuse to reveal the difficult stuff in my life, I rob my brothers and sisters of the opportunity to minister to me. I prevent them from using their gifts and fulfilling their purpose.

Most of the time I am a self-sufficient, I’ll-handle-this-myself-thank-you-very-much kind of person. I don’t want to burden others with my problems. But that 45-minute phone call proved to me that we are not made to handle things alone. We are made to lean on each other. I don’t want to steal the joy that a friend could experience from helping me or my family.

I am asking God to humble me and give me a willing heart to accept help. By His grace, I will choose to be real and allow others to walk alongside me, sharing the burden.

Discovering My Purpose

Published June 27, 2009 God Lessons , Purpose Leave a Comment

So I read “The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren about five years ago, and I really liked it. Here’s what I wrote as my purpose statement: My life purpose is to please God, love God’s family, become more like Jesus, serve my fellow believers, and share Jesus with my community, my county, and the world. That’s a mouth full. Kind of broad, wouldn’t you say?

Well, then I got busy with my two little ones, so I didn’t think about narrowing it down. Then in January 2009, I started thinking about goals for the year. I was thinking about how Chelsea will be going to pre-school two mornings a week in the fall. What will I do with eight whole hours of free time a week!?!? I was getting really excited about filling those eight hours with something I enjoy.

Then I started thinking, “What am I going to do when Caleb and Chelsea are both in school full time? What am I going to do with the rest of my life?” Trust me, the thought of having more free time doesn’t scare me, it excites me. I feel like I can reinvent myself and do anything God wants me to do or be anything God wants me to be!

I started thinking and praying about my gifts, talents, dreams, and passions. What has God given me, and how can I use it for His glory? After much prayer and thought, I realized (and finally admitted to myself) that writing is my passion. It is something I have always loved and will always be in my blood.

All of a sudden, I felt like my life had direction. It was liberating to know what I am supposed to pursue. It’s also good to know it’s okay to say no to other things that don’t fit into my purpose. That’s the challenge though. There are so many good things out there to devote time to. I need to remind myself not to get sidetracked. If I’m not careful, I could waste my time doing a bunch of good things but miss out on the best things God has for me.

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