Discovering PurposeSample

When Purpose Feels Out of Reach

For many of us, disappointment, setbacks, and discouragement can make us feel like our purpose is out of reach. When we look at the path of our life, it often does not match the upward and onward vision of what we thought pursuing our purpose would look like. 

It’s natural to want to avoid the setbacks and detours we experience in life, but the truth is that most of us will experience them. It may come in the form of an unrealized dream, like wanting to be married and finding yourself single at 45. Or maybe you just got let go from the job you thought was going to finally elevate you as a leader. Perhaps a health diagnosis is physically preventing you from doing what you thought was your purpose. 

The good news is that God does not waste any of it. In fact, He is the One who can take what the enemy meant to derail us from our purpose and use it for good. The very challenges, mistakes, and difficult circumstances we try to rush past or hide do not disqualify us—they often cultivate the effectiveness of God’s unique purpose in our life. 

So what do you do when your purpose feels out of reach? First, remember that God’s Spirit lives inside of you and equips you with everything you need to live out God’s purpose for your life. Second, remember that His grace covers our every mistake and shortcoming because of Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins (1 John 1:9). Lastly, remember that the key to continuing forward in our God-given purpose is that when we fail or fall short, we get back up, talk to God about it, and keep moving forward in the confidence of the Holy Spirit.

Whatever you have faced in your past and wherever you find yourself today, you are not too far gone and your purpose is not lost. Don’t give up because the long way around with God is better than the shortcut without him. He uses the fractured pieces of our lives to create marvelous mosaics that can be used to display his goodness and his purpose.