Hello Hello! Welcome back!
We are still talking about our purpose: what God has for us. We started this series talking about how you are god’s workmanship and because of that you have strengths that you can play to and know more about who you are.
The Challenge
But the challenge comes once we identify those strengths. Where do you serve? Where is your place?
The answer lies in a strange place: in the heart, in the hurts, and in the healing that God reveals himself to you.
There are a lot of pains in the world. There are a lot of places where someone who is capable, like yourself, could make a huge difference. So where do we start?
The heart
The first key is to look at your own heart.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. – Ezekiel 36:26-7
God has given you a heart that is built not just on your own desires but empowered by his spirit to move you. You are moved by God’s spirit to see the world in a particular way.
The Hurt
And in light of your heart, you can see hurts that not everyone else can. You can see the pains around you in a way that is uniquely you.
The book Nehemiah begins with Nehemiah learning about the walls around Jerusalem.
As soon as I heard these words I say down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. – Nehemiah 1:4
I cannot imagine fasting for walls. But God gave Nehemiah a heart to see these walls. He saw the walls as critical. And the Bible is full of stories of people who do these things and see these hurts.
Nehemiah, Ezra, David, Moses, Peter/Paul, Mary, John the Baptist.
All of these people saw these hurts around them and did something about it.
The Healing
Ultimately, the answer to the question of purpose lies in the healing of these hurts. In Exodus when God is calling Moses he says:
And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. – Exodus 3:7-9, 10
God is not oblivious to the pains of the world. In fact, he has given you a heart empowered by the spirit to see the hurts of our world in a unique way and to those hurts, he is sending you.
Regardless of your age, your capabilities, of anything; God has chosen you to address the hurts of this world.
I have an exercise for you
Create a list of problems and pains you see in the world.
***Remember think locally, nationally, and globally.***
With that list:
- Take ten minutes
- Reflect on Eph 2:10 – God’s Workmanship
- Dwell on your loves/Passions
- Dwell on the pains that hit your heart
- Give them to God.
Somewhere between the pains you feel and the passions/strengths that God has given you is a sweet spot where you are uniquely qualified to serve. By leaning into these two things you can get a clearer sense of what God is calling you to.
It may not be as specific as arrive at this address on this day and you will have an opportunity. Instead, you may discover that you have a strength in caring for people and you see people suffering in loneliness. Together these two ideas can help you start moving in a great direction.
You may discover you have a strength in music and you have a heart for the elderly. Together this may lead you down a path to bringing music to the local retirement community.
It’s hard to say what you will discover but between your strengths and the pains that you see God has uniquely equipped you to start bringing his love into this world.
If you want to talk through the things you are discovering. I am always available. Hit me up at pat@miniyowe.com.
I can only imagine the future God has for you but I know that he is equipping you with strengths and a heart to make a difference in his name.
I’m excited to see what God will continue to do in you.
Keep being you. You are amazing.
Take care.
This post is part of our Leap of Faith Audio Check-ins. We want to encourage you to leap into your faith and continue to grow at home, at school, and in your church. These audio check-ins are meant to encourage you as live out your faith every day.
Want to keep growing?
There are more episode of Leap of Faith and other resources for you to grow in your leadership and faith here.