Your Purpose Is CallingSample

Getting to Purpose

When you feel nudged or pulled toward a specific work or develop a passion for serving in a particular way, your Creator is reaching out to show you how he made you - why he made you, and to invite you to fulfill your purpose. When the nudge doesn't go away, it's not a nudge; it's what I like to call "Holy Discontent."

Holy Discontent is the discomfort the Holy Spirit uses to move you towards purpose. When I first started in ministry, I attempted to follow the example of several church leaders I admired. I tried to be like several other pastors whose personality traits and leadership styles I sought to emulate, but I was never comfortable doing things their way. Years later, my wife and I laughed at her many attempts to look like the "Typical First Lady." The result is in the pictures from years ago where you clearly see that our clothes don't fit. Our clothes were an outward sign of inner turmoil to look like the people we admired in ministry.

You can't fake your way into your purpose. God will only anoint the authentic you.

In 1 Samuel 17:38, Saul attempts to assist David as he prepares to fight Goliath. Saul dresses David in his own tunic and sword, but after walking around, David takes them off "because he wasn't used to them." What are you doing that doesn't feel right? Are you somewhere you don't belong? David could sense that, can you?

Where are you? And I don't just mean where you are physically. I mean where you are spiritually and emotionally. You may even be in the wrong place vocationally. The Holy Discontent you feel, that gnawing in the pit of your stomach that has been following you around for years and won't go away, is the sign that you are not operating in your purpose. You may not even be on the road to purpose. Problems occur when we lose sight of who we are, where we are, and what we are to contribute to that space. After years of trying to serve God the way others were serving him, my wife and I listened to the Holy Spirit and started what's now known as Change Church. We are passionate about changing the way church is done. We don't do things church's way, and we don't do it culture's way, we do it the King's way!

Friends, God won't help you become someone he has not created you to be and won't allow you to ignore who he has designed you to be. You can't ignore your unique identity any more than you can create your unique destiny. If you are experiencing struggle and strife in your attempts to live out your calling or achieve a sense of meaning and purpose, there's a good chance you are living outside your unique identity. There's a place for all of us to walk out our unique identity and accomplish our purpose because that space has already been created for us to fit into. It's time to say yes to purpose!

Talk it Over

Who do you emulate, and why?

When have you experienced "Holy Discontent.", a discomfort or inner turmoil that signaled you were not operating in your purpose or living our your unique identity?

How did you respond to that feeling?

Prayer

Lord, help me embrace who you have created me to be to accomplish my purpose and not someone else's. In Jesus name, Amen.