Are You Living In Purpose On Purpose?

Originally posted 2015-11-05 13:01:49.

Hi!

I recently read a very thought-provoking question, “Are you striving or thriving?”  That question sparked another question in me.  “Are you striving, thriving, or satisfied with just surviving?”  The thought, “living in purpose on purpose,” also resurfaced and resonated in my spirit.  So today,  I thought to share an excerpt of one of my studies from a couple of years ago.  It’s edited for this setting….

Are you living in purpose on purpose? 

Purpose is a key aspect of our daily living.  Without purpose, life has no real meaning; we just drift through life.  While some of us do this haphazardly, some of us spend each day, eating, drinking, working, playing, studying, talking, and sleeping.  And we continue this cycle day by day.  There is nothing necessarily wrong with the daily routines of life.  However, routines without meaning can sometimes become mundane and spark questions that lead us down the road of weariness.

Have you ever been in situations; on the job, in the church, in business or even at home and pondered repeated questions?  Such as; Why am I here?  Why am I travelling down this road?  Why do I like to read so much?  Why are the trees green?  Why am I really working  in this career or serving in this particular ministry?  Why do these things seem to always happen in MY family?  Why is life so hard for me?  Why is the sky blue?  Why do I get so many calls to clarify situations?  Why do I do what I do?  Why?  Why?  Why?

Years ago, I was working late one evening; a corporate executive came into my cubicle and sat down.  He started the conversation with discussing some new techniques of how I could inspire the team I led to reach goals in a more efficient way.  Then he told me of how his wife had tried to get him to go to church for years, and he is now thinking about going.  I said, “That’s wonderful, you will really enjoy going to church and getting to know Jesus.”  Yet, I wondered where he was going with this conversation.

Then he talked to me about how becoming a carpenter was always his passion.  I asked him why he never pursued carpentry.  He said that he met his wife in college, got married right after graduation, had children, and landed a lucrative job that gave him the resources to take care of his family.  He also said that carpentry became a distant wish.  Now this was a man making well over six figures, feeling dissatisfied, because he was not walking in his total purpose.  I asked him, “Why don’t you do carpentry as a hobby or as voluntary work for those in need?”  He told me that he set up a work area in his garage years ago, but quit doing carpentry because of the demands of his work schedule.  But he will start doing carpentry again on the weekends.  I said, “That is wonderful.  I believe you are on the way to totally living in your purpose.  You already fix things around here with your mind.  Carpentry involves fixing and creating things with your mind and your hands.  You plan to start going to church and to start doing your true passion again; carpentry.  Your wife will love it.”  He smiled, said, “Thank you,” got up and left without ever finishing the conversation about my team.

The main reason for our conversation wasn’t about my team’s goals.  It was for him to talk about his passion for carpentry work and purpose.  He had revived hopes, and he sought the path of true joy through purpose.  And, I was living in my purpose on purpose; telling him about Jesus, helping him to see his purpose in his daily life and encouraging him to pursue more of his purpose.  Also, as a single woman, not flirting but mentioning his wife.  In this, I gave God glory through my life; the very reason God created me.  That conversation brought light to the question, “Why do I do what I do?”  

Have you ever applied that question to yourself? ….Why do you do what you do?  …I truly believe questions ignite the pursuit of purpose.  Even though you don’t always receive the answers, when you find yourself on the road of weariness, purpose causes you to make a u-turn and leads you away from roads of distress.  Have you ever been so perplexed until you were ready to just go somewhere, sit down, throw in the towel and quit?  I know that I have.  Purpose is the driving force that often keeps you going.  When you have purpose, you can joyfully press through the trials and overwhelming circumstances of life.  Also, you don’t give in to the constant bombardment of your mind by the enemy of your soul.

Oh yes, your cunning adversary will speak to you with words in the first person.  Have you ever found yourself thinking, “What’s the use, I give up?”  This is a trick of the enemy of your soul filling your mind with negative thoughts to have you thinking that it is you that really want to give up.  And even though quitting sometimes knocks at the door of all of our hearts, my friends, you must realize that God has a plan and a purpose for each and every one of our lives.  It does not matter what you have done or how dismal the situation.  God’s intent for you is for His good pleasure.  One of my favorite passages of scripture is Ephesians 1:3-11.  That 11th verse in the Message Translation reads, “It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.  Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living.”

This text spoke to me; and the Holy Spirit told me, “Rochelle, when you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior, that was the beginning of your living in God’s purpose for you.”   …My friends, if you have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior you can relate.  Once you began to live for Christ, you became a new creation and a transition occurred in your life. (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:17)  Even if you didn’t see it, or didn’t feel it or didn’t know it; you moved from just living, and stepped into the realm of “living in purpose.”  And when we live our lives serving the Lord, with our hearts determined to please the Lord, we all are not just living in purpose.  But we are living IN purpose ON purpose.  Yet we must actively do more….

What does it mean to live In purpose on purpose?

We can find ourselves in something by happenstance, but when we are in something on purpose; that’s a deliberate act.  Walk with me as we look at several examples of persons who actively lived in purpose on purpose.

• Mary – She chose not to become encumbered with distractions, but to sit at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.  (Luke 10:42)
• Isaiah – He heard, responded and obeyed.  He recognized his unclean lips,  experienced the Lord’s purging; and when the Lord needed to send somebody, he freely said, “Here I am, send me.”  (Isaiah 6:1-9)
• Moses –  He left the comforts of Egypt (sin).  He gave someone else’s flock the best.  When God used an unusual circumstance to get his attention, he turned aside to see.   And despite his feelings of inadequacies, he went on and walked in his assignment from God.   (Exodus 3)
• Paul – He experienced allot.  However, he held fast to the work Jesus commissioned him to do.  (Acts 13:2)  He held on to his purpose no matter what.  He had compassion on the keeper of a prison that he was in; so that the man would not kill himself.  (Acts 15:25-31)  Paul was in purpose on purpose.  He even spoke a word to encourage those who had him bound. (Acts 27:21-24)

How do you live in purpose on purpose?

Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior.  Believe in Jesus.  Trust in Jesus.  Seek to live holy; and if you don’t know how, ask God.  His word says in Leviticus 20:7, “I am the Lord who makes you holy.”  (KJV)  Know that God always has a plan for your life.  (cf. Jeremiah 29:11)  He chose you in Him before the world was ever created. (cf. Ephesians 1:4, 5)  Find your passion.  Pray and seek the Lord about your why.  Recognize what has bloomed and expanded in you.  Discover what God has called you to do for Him that will give Him glory.  Spring beyond the walls, walk in your call from God and Soar!

Thank you for joining me in these Thursday thoughts.  My last questions today are, “In what ways are you living in purpose on purpose?  What is God calling you to?”  Join me in conversation.  I’d love to hear from you.  We will talk with you soon.

Blessings!

Rochelle