Embracing Your Eternal PurposeSample

There’s a common illustration of how elephants in captivity are tied with a strong chain when they’re young. They try and try to break free, but when they are unsuccessful, they quickly learn to think they aren’t capable until they no longer even try. That’s why you can tie down even a full-grown elephant with a single, snappable rope. They have endless power and strength, but they let themselves be held in place by an insignificant prison. A lie that’s no match for their true identity and ability, if only they knew the power they had within. Sound familiar?

You have the strength, through Christ, to become unstuck, and the God-given ability to break free. When you start to say yes to the purposes He has for you, you start to trade weight for worth, odds for opportunity, problems for power, and conflict for confidence. Staying in the past is harder than getting past it and living more fully in your potential for Eternal Impact and the freedom that comes with living in God’s Plan for you.

You know the phrase, “What have you got to lose?” There are unique ways to answer that question when it comes to Purpose. Think of things you actually want to lose: fear, limitation, doubt, lack of self-worth. Think also of the unimaginable things God has for you that we stand to lose when we live underneath His Purpose.

That’s the root of unrest in our hearts that leads us to say, “I thought my life would be more meaningful. I thought having kids would make me happier. I thought I would eventually catch up to my peers and stop feeling so inadequate. I thought he or she would love me the way I long to be loved. I thought money, a job, recognition…I thought…I thought…”

Do you have an “if only” or “I thought?” If so, you’re not alone. Instead of letting it hold you back or talk you down, allow God’s promises of Purpose to help you snap it like that rope that’s incapable of holding you back. Whatever is selling you a “not enough” lie, name it so you can face it and make room for God to turn it into something divinely useful. Trade what burns in your heart for what can be used to ignite your gifts. There is a glorious exchange rate when we bring our gifts to God in readiness: Lay down your limited “if only” and redeem your “I never imagined.”