It’s been said, “the two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.” Christians and non-Christians alike long to find their purpose. We desperately want to know, “Is my life going to count for something outside of my career?” Finding one’s specific purpose in life can be difficult for some people and at times it seems like God may be playing a cruel game of hide-and-go-seek on us. Unfortunately there is no cookie-cutter formula that one can use to discover one’s purpose. However, I believe there are some specific questions you can ask yourself when you are on a quest to discover your purpose and why God has left you here on this earth.
#1 – What is it that you have a BURDEN for?
Is there some assignment or burden that keeps coming up to where you don’t have true peace within yourself until you are walking in this assignment? In the book of Nehemiah chapter 1 a man named Nehemiah heard that his hometown Jerusalem was burned down and in ruins. Immediately when he heard this news a burden was created deep within him to return to his hometown and lead the effort in rebuilding it. It was a burden that he couldn’t shake. It was something that he wouldn’t have been able to be at peace until he completed this mission.
#2 – What areas/gifts have other PEOPLE consistently AFFIRMED in your life?
Rarely will you discover your purpose in a vacuum. God uses people to affirm you in your areas of greatest giftedness. Notice in Nehemiah 2 that even the King of Persia (a pagan king who was Nehemiah’s boss) recognized Nehemiah’s purpose and was willing to let him go. Nehemiah was his most trusted employee and served as his cupbearer so it had to have been God for this pagan king to have recognized it. When you are walking in your divine purpose God will send people into your life to affirm you and confirm God’s calling on your life. This is one of the ways you will have the confidence you need to carry out this assignment. They will have seen glimpses of this in your life.
#3 – Does it give you a sense of divine FULFILLMENT when you are doing it?
When I’m teaching the Bible to others I am “in a zone.” I’m in my “sweet spot.” I’m at my place of greatest fulfillment! Is there anything that you do in life that when you do it, you are overcome with the feeling of “this is exactly what I’m supposed to be doing?” It might not be this instant grandiose feeling but do you sense God working within you to help you carry this assignment out? This is a feeling that is beyond anything you could have experience in your daily career.
#4 – What is it that you are consistently willing to SACRIFICE for?
For example, are you willing to sacrifice your time and money in order to fulfill this particular assignment? Notice here that Nehemiah was willing to leave his career as a cupbearer (may not seem like much to you but in his day that was a coveted position) to fulfill something greater.
4 The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?”
With a prayer to the God of heaven, 5 I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”
Nehemiah 2:4-5
When God shows you your purpose you will be willing to sacrifice quite a bit to follow it. And often times it won’t feel like much of a sacrifice because you’ll be so drawn to it.
#5 – What PAST EXPERIENCES can be recycled to help others?
Many times our purpose can be tied to something from our past. This could be a pain we experienced or perhaps our failures in a given area. Or maybe it’s an area of success that you feel called to help others achieve. Whatever it may be, we are intricately tied to these experiences and they have shaped who we are. As a result, they often create a deep desire within us to help others with similar experiences.
#6 – How does your PURPOSE tie into building God’s KINGDOM?
This is perhaps THE most important question. There was a clear connection to what Nehemiah felt God was leading him to do with advancing the God’s kingdom. This is where many people get confused. People will say, “My calling is to be an accountant.” Well, how are you impacting the kingdom by being an accountant? And you can’t use the cop out and say, “well I just model being a Christian on my job.” That’s not your calling, that’s your career. Your purpose, or calling, as a Christian is going to be something that you can specifically tie back to the advancement of His kingdom? If you are a Christian, a good question to ask yourself is, “could what I think my purpose is be accomplished by someone who a non-believer?” I teach high school math, but there are non-believers who can and do teach much better than I could. Occasionally we can intertwine the two but more often our purpose is outside of our careers. Remember
A CAREER is what you get PAID for. Your CALLING is what you were MADE for.
#7 – Are you fulfilling your basic purpose as a Christian?
Until God reveals His specific purpose for your life, there are some general purposes He has already revealed for every Christian to follow. The main one is found in Matt. 28:19-20 which teaches us to be about the business of making disciples.
Therefore, GO and MAKE DISCIPLES of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. TEACH these new disciples to OBEY all the commands I have given you.
Matt. 28:19-20
Here are some questions to ask yourself. Are you pouring into someone right now and making disciples? Are you helping others know the word and helping them live out the Christian life in a way that honors God? Are you serving in your local church? Are you aware of and using your spiritual gifts? Before we go searching for some grandiose purpose let’s make sure we are living out our Christian purpose.
SUMMARY
Contrary to what people may believe, there is no set formula for discovering one’s “purpose.” The story of Nehemiah is a perfect example of that. God desires that every one of us makes our mark on eternity and leaves a legacy behind. My advice today is that you focus on living out your basic purpose as a Christian and I trust that as you go God will reveal to you a very specific purpose and calling He wants you to fulfill.