Many of us are searching for what we are meant to do with our lives, and trying to walk a path that leads to the point of it all. And through my experiences, really being more in-tuned with God’s actual promises to us, and walking through my own trials >>> I’ve realized that it really comes down to being vs doing. And my hope is that I can offer advice or food for thought if you’ve been struggling with the reason of it all, and being content with your life. It’s a big deal to feel at peace, I know, I’ve really struggled with this myself (and still do at times). Here’s what I’ve learned…
Living for personal gratification so twists the human heart that is becomes literally impossible to comprehend the heart of God.
Tony Stoltzfus
Frame of Mind
Today, our culture has made life purpose a mainstream conversation. Life coaching is a huge industry for this very reason. The biggest reason for this is that there has never been another time in history of more opportunity. We have been shaped to believe in our ability to make anything happen, and have been encouraged to follow our dreams despite any obstacles. It’s a wonderful time to be alive for that reason, but I do feel it causes a lot of pressure and false understanding that doing what we love may turn out differently, and still requires A LOT of work. Life is not perfect.
The positives of this frame of mind is that culture has migrated (if even slightly) away from the old measures of success being money and power, and more towards joy and significance. And significance is more likely to lead to God.
Fully Embrace
When we fully embrace God’s design for us, we grow into exactly what He created us to be, we’ll really be living. This does not mean that we will live a cush life that’s full of our dreams (reference the quote above).
God is able to love us completely unconditionally. Scripture says love “does not seek its own” (1 Cor. 13:5). God is love, and God is about love, not about what He can get from us. God is not about himself. And that’s why Jesus is so clear about not living for self. We can’t understand God if we live the opposite. Being God-like is to give and love freely.
We are first called to be in a relationship with Christ, and then do out of that relationship. When we are focused on loving and giving, we are serving others as Christ does and that leads to a life of joy and significance.
Living Out Life Daily
I used to be overwhelmed by the possibility of not only living up to my own expectations, but not fulfilling God’s. At times it was paralyzing. I feel a sense of urgency when it comes to time because I don’t want to spin my wheels, and for a while after college >> that’s exactly how I felt once I realized that working in a corporate setting was NOT my jam. I knew that God created me for a purpose, and I wanted to know (Type A) what that was, and to get started.
I became so clouded in trying to make the perfect life happen, that I wasn’t focused on my relationship with Christ. He answered my prayers, but I soon realized that He was teaching me a lesson. I don’t know what’s best and there is a gift in waiting for God’s timing.
It was a relief when I came to realize that I don’t need to have it all figured out, I just need to walk out in faith. I need to focus on my relationship with Him first, and from that place the rest will make sense.
God’s plan is divine, and we have the choice to listen to His messages to us or ignore them. Life is not promised to be easy, but it will be fulfilling when we are focused on putting God first and allowing His ways to drive our’s.
This has been a hard lesson for me. It doesn’t mean to not have goals, we need to be progressive and disciplined. However, it does mean that we shouldn’t put our own ambition in the front seat. When we are walking in our faith, the doors that need be opened to fit our God-given skills and abilities will present themselves, and we can make choices in confidence, rather than with uncertainty.
That’s really all I want in life. Sure, it’s easy to get caught up in what other people have going on or what ourselves and/or parents expect of us >>> but focusing on Christ will make clear the reality of hearts, and we will be more abundant in the things that actually matter (more than what we could ever imagine).
I want to live for Christ, and I know with certainty that if I can keep myself with that as priority number one >> my life will have meant something in some way.
Are you living out your purpose? Do you know where God is leading you? Do you struggle hearing from him?
Grab this free journal page here to start making progress in getting God- centered and taking stock of what is going on so you can really have the bandwidth to direct and focus your energy on life-giving elements.
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