Adulting for Jesus: Purpose, Trusting God and Obviously BurritosSample

Winning at Life

Had I known in my twenties that I’d be where I am today in my mid-thirties—still living with roommates, still unmarried, and still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up—I would’ve had anxiety insomnia for ten straight years.

Fortunately, God has made it so that our lives are revealed to us one day at a time instead of decades at a time. And though God’s greatest desire is to see us trust Him and become more Christlike, He delights in His children, and like any parent who delights in a child, God loves giving good gifts. 

When I take a step back, I see that God has granted me many of my desires: deep and lasting friendships, a creatively fulfilling job, opportunities to pursue hobbies, a great church here in Atlanta, and the ability to travel and see the world. Had I gotten everything I wanted out of the last decade, though, I would have missed out on the biggest gift God has given me: peace in Him.

Your journey won’t look like anyone else’s, which is both immensely freeing and wildly terrifying. While I can’t promise you that you’ll get everything you want out of this life, I have this to offer you: joy in the Lord, and the ability to trust in the goodness of God’s plan, is truly better than getting everything you want.

If joy in the Lord doesn’t sound like the better end of the deal, take heart! (I’ll say it again: God can handle our honesty.) Ten years ago, I saw God as a means to getting what I wanted out of life, not my life as a means to worshipping God. When pastors and spiritual leaders used to say “getting more of God” was the prize for obedience, I’d stare at them skeptically. I’ve learned that satisfaction in God alone is a concept that can be understood to a certain extent in your head, but it takes time, experience, and some spiritual wrestling to move to your heart.

If you’re struggling to see God as enough, I want to encourage you to continue getting to know Him. Read the Bible with the intention of learning about your Creator and Father. Pray and ask your heavenly Father to show you His heart for the world and for your life. As you get to know God for who He is and not just for what He can give you, you’ll gain a better understanding of who you are as His child. If you need a place to start, begin with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the New Testament and get to know Jesus through His life here on earth. In becoming human, Jesus made an incomprehensible God accessible to us.

If you have a beating heart and breath in your lungs, then God is still moving and working in your life. So have hope and dream big, but do so openhandedly, allowing God to replace old, stagnating dreams with new, life-filled ones.

None of us knows what lies ahead. We know neither the trials, heartbreaks, or temptations awaiting us, nor the joys, gifts, and blessings lying around the corner. Fortunately, we serve a God who promises to sustain His children through anything. If you’ve repented of your sins and are following Jesus, then no matter what - you’re winning at life.

For more on Adulting for Jesus please visit here