The Spiritual Art of Businessعينة

Purpose in Life and Work

So many of us are trying to find meaning in our work. But what if we will never find meaning in our work until we properly understand the source of purpose in our life? This was certainly true for me.

God had to reframe my perspective of who is God and who is not, of who is the Creator and who is the creation. Though a new creation is born when we surrender to God, this spiritual embryo must grow immeasurably before it approaches maturity.

Even after coming to this understanding, my strong will continued to battle God’s. I wasn’t living into the truth He was asking of me—to “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness,” believing “all these things” (including meaning in work) would be given to me as well (Matthew 6:33 NIV). I was fighting God’s commands, refusing to allow Him to fulfill His purposes in me and for me.

We may not always see or understand God’s purpose or plans, but He always has our best interests at heart. Certainly His plans are so much better and grander than our own, for He “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20 NIV).

Every moment of our lives conspires to bring us into the expansiveness and richness of the life He promises. Every moment contains everything we need to fulfill our deepest purpose in life. The interaction between these exterior and interior worlds stimulates our growth and leads to living the bountiful life God promises each of us.

So we are left with a choice: either we can choose to live within the designs of the Enemy we carry with us from the fall, or we can choose to live into God’s unfolding design for His children.

In what areas of your life might you be trying to fit God into your plans rather than submitting yourself to His plans? What’s behind that way of thinking?