How to Get on Track to Your God-Given Purpose

I feel the biggest issue we face primarily with the current young generation, is the feeling of not having a purpose. Where do we start to find our true purpose?  

When I think of the simple word purpose, I think of mine and other peoples lives. The definition of purpose is the reason for which something exists, is made, used, or is done. I find this definition profoundly interesting because that is something we all think about or have inadvertently pondered about. But maybe the way we have gone about finding our purpose is not for all the right reasons…

We may wonder, how are we purposeful when it comes to our company we work for, or for a particular career we desire to follow? And there are times where we will find an area we are brought to, and we do appear to fit the position, lifestyle or career. But then that feeling of being purposeful fills our purpose jar to the brim, overflowing into the need for something more.

So many of my friends and family claim they enjoy their jobs, but still, have a large chunk of feeling purposeful missing…How can this be?

How to Get on Track to Your God-Given Purpose

Enjoying Your Job for All the Wrong Reasons

If people claim they enjoy your job and feel it is what they were meant to do, why is this unfulfilled feeling still weighing down on so many? It’s solely because people all too often enjoy their jobs for all the wrong reasons.

Once I dug deeper into other questions regarding exactly why others claim they receive some form of fulfillment from their jobs, these were the responses I often heard:

• “ I make good money. ”
• “ This is what I am good at. ”
• “ I have a flexible schedule.”
• “ If I stay with this company long enough, I will move up into a better position.”
• “ I am working in the field that I attended college for. ”

Do you see the trend in these responses? They are all very general, universal, really non-personal reasons. They have no tie to any heart-desiring purpose and no foundation to grab ahold of God’s given talent.

This sounds all too familiar because this was also me, trying to find my “niche” in the world, receiving multiple degrees with no end in sight.

I would accomplish one hard program and for some reason be thirsting for more knowledge within my field of science. But was it the science-based wisdom that I was truly longing for? Or was it something more deep, more insightful that I was searching for every time I decided to enroll back into school?

My Perspective Changed

Looking back at all the course-work I took on through the completion of two associates and a bachelor degree, the courses that I gravitated towards and felt like enhanced my perspective on life the most, were my ethics and philosophy courses.

Now, I loved all the fascinating botany, mammalogy, animal-based courses I participated in as well, but the way my mind changed and was opened up in ways it had not before, were in these other courses that seemed to have brought meaning to my life.

In these courses, I had the privilege to learn about amazing people in history who served others and strived to do right.  

This set a spark off in not only my mind but in my heart. Now having a foundation for Christ and looking back over this change that occurred within me, I can see the relatable standards Jesus had publicly displayed, as a living example of how we should treat others.

I can see that those great people that followed very similar standards.These people made me think outside my typical box and it also made me feel apart from others in general.

So going back to the responses regarding the enjoyment of their jobs, these individuals felt unfulfilled, they simply were or aren’t living a life of service to others in order to glorify God.

Living To Glorify God

As perfectly put in 1 Peter 4:10, “ Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

This is why I yearned for more insight within my ethics classes and how my heart truly enjoyed hearing others debate, listening and their ever-changing opinions as these courses progressed.This is also why I thirsted for more knowledge but I was seeking for it in all the wrong places.

Although Jesus was not a person of interest in my ethics and philosophy course, I believe He should have been. No other person has displayed such perfect love and how we should treat others, always favoring the good and overcoming the evil, and just showing how we should serve one another.

He set the highest and most appropriate standards for any moral question or conflict that have been raised. He took great pride in his work and never completed a project without putting all his talent and heart into it.

So, I think back… what if Jesus was an individual I had studied within my course? Would my love and relationship with Jesus taken a different path and maybe would he would have been in my life sooner than later?

This is something I will never know, but I know that spark that was first felt in that class, was just the part of the path that God had been taking me down.

My God-Given Talents

It is now clear what talents and qualities God have given me. It has taken me some time to figure them out, but one thing that had to change was my relationship with God.These particular qualities I possess stick out because I am good at them, but also it brings me joy to be able to carry them out. My God-given talents that I have discovered through my various jobs are:

• Organizing and improving processes.
• Interacting with people, whether it be co-workers or customers, thus creating lasting relationships.
• Athleticism
• Being able to effectively communicate with all types of people.
• Ability to be empathetic. 
• Crafting, creating and having an eye for design.
• Having a great sense of humor.
• Helping and assisting others.

So You May Want to Ask Yourself…

Is the Position or Career Path You are on Right for You?

Ask yourself if the current job you have is what you feel called to do. If it is not, make a list of things that you enjoy and things you don’t. This can help you highlight your talents and redirect areas you would be interested in.

What is your God Given Talents?

Now that I have shared with you my gifts, what are yours? If you look back over years of your work, volunteering or even courses you have taken, what stands out that you gravitated towards or brought you joy? Meditate and really look at why those tasks or abilities that bring you happiness. Ask yourself, are those qualities for the good of others or for the good of yourself?

How Can You Get or Stay on Track for What God has in Store for You?

If that wonderful feeling comes over you when you complete a project, help someone or achieve a goal, don’t ignore it! Pursue it and see where it takes you. There is a reason something resonates with you. Comb through the reasons as to why something has stuck with you for so long or continues to bring you enjoyment. There may be a root to that feeling and I would not be surprised if that root is indeed Jesus!

How to Know if that Feeling is True and if it is the Right Direction to Take?

This feeling will stand out from the rest of your experiences and emotions. It will create a longing for the mere purpose of knowing, with no worldly reason tied to it.

You won’t desire more of it because it could make you more money, bring you up the corporate ladder, change your status to a more fulfilling one or make you look “ better” to impress others.

It solely will be for you to look beyond what you know to improve the lives of others. To live as God intended us to live, just as we discussed earlier in 1 Peter 4:10.

How Do You Take Action?

That feeling that resonates with you from the beginning will be carried on from there. Different things that God lines up for you will come to you and that feeling will introduce itself once again.

Continue to meditate and pray for that feeling, or quality you possess and read into what was initially revealed to you.

As this process is carried on, other things will come to light. Almost like an unlit path with only a flashlight to guide your way. You know that the path continues, but you can’t see the next direction it is going to turn. As you take another step, your flashlight reveals what is now in front of you.

This is how we take action. We take what is being revealed to us now and let it guide us. Even when we can not see what lies up ahead.