The Struggle
4 Practical Solutions to Finding Your Purpose
How often do you wonder if what you’re doing is actually God’s will for you? Being in the will of God is a perfect place; not because of the assignment but because you know that you’ve been obedient to what He built you for. So how do you get there? Before I give you that, I’d like to share with you how I arrived at knowing His will (at least to this point).
I married a beautiful woman who has been beside me every day of our lives together. 3 months after I promised to have and hold her in front of 300 people, I had to give up our home and car because I lost my new job. I had to tuck my pride between my legs and take her home. Right before that became our last resort, I saw down with a pen and some paper and I put together what I’d like to call, a “Good-At” list. I went through everything imaginable that I thought I might’ve been decent or good at because I did not want to go back into my current field as an educator. So, at the drop of a hat, I became a photographer. I borrowed a camera and drove north to Virginia and shot an entire wedding. The bride gave me gas money and I drove back home, posted those edited pictures and from that, my business was born.
In an unrelated situation, I arrived at North Carolina Central University as an intake freshman. I went to college because that’s what the next, logical step is. I hadn’t declared a major but I loved theatre. So my guidance counselor asked me, “So, are you planning to move to LA or NY once you graduate to pursue your acting career?” I said, “no”. She said, “Well, let’s talk about your options. Who are some people that have greatly influenced your life?” I gave her a pretty good list. She replied with, “Well, you should try education.” So, I shrugged and tried it. I’ve been teaching ever since that day. When I got serious with God, He showed me who my wife was and I decided to visit her church. God spoke to me that day and plainly said, “Youth Ministry”. I knew what that meant because I had been praying about my calling.
Fast forward, I am not an ordained Youth Pastor, an educator, and a business owner. Wild ride, huh?
Sometimes, God uses simple life experiences to give us glimpses into what He has called us to do. Other times, it’s not so obvious. So, here are my 4 Practical Steps to finding your purpose.
Make A Good-At List
You have an idea of the things that you are good at. If they are arts, crafts, hobbies, or anything of the sort, write them down. These are not limited to ministry but also to the business world. If you have interest in fields with no experience but you feel that you can do it, right it down.
Evaluate Your List
Now that your list has been completed, let’s see what makes sense. Do some homework on each choice and be honest with yourself. If you want to be a marine biologist but you’re unwilling to go back to school, scratch that off the list. Another evaluation tool is how much overhead is needed to begin work in these fields and rate them from 1 to 10 (or more).
Pray
The Bible instructs us to “take everything to God in prayer” and “if any man lacks Wisdom, let Him ask God”. Very often, we look and seek God’s audible voice but He uses other methods very often to communicate with us. We just don’t turn down the volume of life enough to hear Him speaking. Seeking God about His plans for you is easy. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you…”. Rest in the fact that there is a plan. So taking your ideas and your Good-At list to God is easy. But pray boldly and pray with the belief that you will receive your direction.
Move
The Bible also says that “Faith Without Works is Dead”. You can believe God and pray as often as you like, but if you don’t begin to move in either direction, you cannot be corrected or guided by Him. If you were walking with Moses and you noticed the east and west waters beginning to fall, you can stand there and pray (and there is nothing wrong with that) or you can run to the closest north or south border to seek safety. But if you don’t move, you will drown. What I mean by all of that is that now that you have your list, take the most realistic points from your list and move in them. If they are not what God wants for you, you will know it. I had no idea that being in education would give me what most Youth Pastors don’t have; a background in the emotional, cognitive, and physical development of children. So when I became a Youth Pastor, I combined the spiritual and suddenly, I realized that I was walking in a capacity where I could understand or relate to a child on every level of their lives.
So get out there and make a move!