Naming Your Unique PurposeSample

One of my favorite concepts in the Bible is naming. When God allowed His people to name things, it was a holy moment because they also took responsibility for them. Adam named all the creatures and accepted responsibility over caring for them. As we saw earlier, God even allowed Hagar to name Him “El Roi.” When she did, she changed her life to take on the identity of the child of the one who sees.

When God and Jesus gave people a new name, they also gave them a new identity (see Abraham & Peter). The people were changed after the naming: they saw who God called them to be, confidently embraced it, and chose to live differently.

There is power in naming what is God-given. It shows God that we see what He has given us, and that we are in awe of the power of it. It shows God that we accept it gratefully and that we are willing to walk in it, practice it, and pray for His specific equipping.

Naming helps us understand the specific value of what we have been given. It gives us something we can visualize. It gives us something we can practice. We can even look up similar skills in the Bible and see how they were used to redeem and restore.

Just as you mentally focus on a muscle group as you train it at the gym, you need to know the specific purpose you’ve been designed for to know how to focus on training it. However, if you keep denying it’s there or neglecting to train it, it is impossible to strengthen.

Naming our purpose is one of the most powerful things we can do.

Practice pulling together what you have discovered so far into a purpose statement (the goodness you are passionate about seeing come into the world, the unique angle where you are drawn to engage, and the specific skills/abilities you want to use). There is no perfect statement. If you strive for perfection, it makes you focus more on your statement and leaves you less brain space to imagine what you and God can do.

See your statement as a jumping off point, giving yourself something to visualize. It takes time to practice naming it, testing it, and refining it, but you must start somewhere. If you are struggling, ask a trusted friend, or consider hiring a coach, who you know has developed purposeful sight and can help you find the specific words for what is on your heart.

You will be amazed seeing words that describe the deepest aching of your heart. Most of us have never had the words to describe that ache before. Describing it makes it comes to life. You can see how you bring good things into the world and the affect those things have on others. You won’t be distracted by comparing yourself to others because you are excited, inspired, and motivated by your own calling. You can start living a more meaningful life and experiencing the wonder of your purpose in action.

Practicing my purpose statement: (My purpose is to bring this good thing to others, by focusing on this angle, and using these skills/abilities, allowing them to feel…)