Why are you here on this earth? What is your purpose? Some people receive their calling in dramatic ways—in an encounter with God or a watershed moment—but whether that lightning-bolt moment has happened for you, you have a purpose on this earth.
Would you hold space for these big questions by answering a few others?
- Who are you?
- What experiences have you had, and what or who have they opened your eyes and heart to?
- What are your persistent dreams and desires?
- What do you value?
These answers serve as pointers to your calling, your purpose on this earth, your raison de etre.
The point at which these things intersect with what the world needs is where we find the answer to life’s most important question:
Why am I here?
Who You Are:
You are not here by accident. You are also not you by accident. You and your personality and gifts are by design. If God prepares good works in advance for us to do, doesn’t it follow that he also prepares us for those good works? Taking an inventory of our personality traits and giftings isn’t an act of self-indulgence or navel-gazing, but a necessary step for discerning the ways in which we have been uniquely equipped to meet the needs of this world.
What are you good at that not everyone is? Discounting or diminishing your uniqueness and gifts may seem like humility, but in reality, that willful blindness keeps you and what you have to offer the world hidden. This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. Bringing them into the light is a first step toward putting your gifts and who you are into service to others.
Your Life Experiences:
There are many life experiences I wish I’d never had. Some made me wish I’d never been born. Maybe you’ve felt the same. We were never meant to experience this fallen world, to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. And, yet, even in the experiences we would wish away, there is a gift. The worst of my experiences opened my eyes and my heart to the suffering of others.
Have you experienced loss, failure, abuse, addiction, treachery, sickness, depression, or suicidal tendencies? Your suffering doesn’t have to be wasted. It can be traded for treasures. Your life experiences, both positive and negative, can be repurposed for good in your life and the lives of others.
Your Dreams & Desires:
The longings in your soul—a wrong you want to see righted in the world, a need you want to meet—or something you love doing because it brings you joy, are all pointers to your calling.
Do you love caring for the elderly or children, advocating for refugees, ministering to prisoners, gardening, feeding the hungry, making art and beautifying the world, taking in stray animals, caring for the sick, proclaiming truth, or writing? These are all worthy endeavors.
The Miracle Question is fantastic for its ability to bring clarity and even to give us permission to dream:
If money were no object and you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you do with the rest of your life?
The answer for me is:
1) to help others recognize their callings and live them out,
2) minister to the needs of refugees in Jesus’ name, and
3) write books that reveal the true nature of God and how he co-labors with his image-bearers to do wonders in the lives of people in trouble, especially in the lives of the least of these—the poor, widows, orphans, strangers, the trafficked and exploited.
I would love to hear yours!
The World’s Need
The place where your personality, gifts, experiences, dreams, and desires intersect with the world’s need is your calling. As followers of Jesus, we emulate him. We pray his prayer, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.” And we co-labor with God to embody that Kingdom of Heaven, of which we are citizens and ambassadors, on this earth.
That Kingdom is within us, as is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, who gives us the power to live out Kingdom purposes in a Kingdom way.
What is it like in Heaven? What is Jesus’ vision for this earth? In Heaven, there is no war or conflict, no sickness, no tears or despair, no abuse, no hunger, no oppression or injustice, and no violence.
Any dream or desire that puts us in a position of co-laboring with God to bring about that vision is worth doing, worth devoting our lives to.
Taking Our Places
Once you have clarity about your purpose, how do you make the shift, re-order your life to live it out?
The Miracle Question is useful, but in this world, money is often an object, and we do fear failure. There are real-world obstacles to stepping into our callings to live them out—we have to pay rent or a mortgage, support families, and attend to their needs.
But there are also the obstacles between our ears, and these are usually the bigger ones—false beliefs about ourselves and what we’re capable of, false beliefs about who God is and what he’s capable of or willing to do with and through the likes of us.
Dear Ones, I believe so much more is possible with God than we have dared to ask or imagine. Do you have a dream than feels bigger than you?
Stay tuned. I’m dreaming of offering a 12-week group for other preposterous dreamers, a launch pad of sorts. I plan to offer course content on: the obstacles between our ears, the kind of person God uses, common fears, counting the cost, mission & money, funding the dream, finding your people, faith & imagination, time & timing.
If this group of interest to you, please drop a comment here or reach out to me by phone.
If you’d like to get started sooner with one-to-one coaching support for launching your dream, please contact me at 470-239-0405.
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