How to Rest in Walking out Your Purpose

 

Every person was born exquisitely crafted and designed for a purpose unique to them. That purpose was also crafted and brilliantly fitted for them.

Ephesians 2:10 (Amp) says:

10 For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us].

This verse is packed with so much about our identity and purpose. It highlights God’s mastery, who He created us to be, and what He crafted us to fulfill. It also reveals that there are paths He set that bring about a good life and that there is provision and empowerment to walk those paths out. 

These are such monumental truths for every human being!

However, discovering who we are, yielding to His work in us, finding the paths we are to take, and walking out those paths is, for most people, a monumental struggle. Life, tragedy, loss, trauma, setbacks, … threaten to hijack our sense of self, our well-being, and those very purposes!

My Journey 

The struggle to overcome emotional wounds, discover who I am, and unveil and be empowered in my purpose has taken decades. I have had many false starts, failures, times when I felt I was on the shelf, and times when I wanted to quit. 

This is not to say that things will look like this and take that long for you, but that, if this IS you, it is so worth it! YOU are so worth it! 

Pain often will drive us to do all sorts of things that are not in line with our original design and God-given purpose. There is much to unlearn and relearn. This is an ongoing process — a life-long process — and one that I think will continue after we die. God and His creation is so intoxicatingly beautiful, endlessly fascinating, and infinitely brilliant that, I believe, there will always be more to learn. 

Overcoming Haunting and Crippling Fear 

My point here is not so much to conjecture about post-mortem reality, but to help you relax with where you are and what God is doing in and through you right now. If you feel pressured about fulfilling your purpose, there is likely a fear that is pressuring you. This fear drives you when God never meant for you to be bullied by fear, but to be compelled by Love. 

To help you here, I would challenge you to ask the Lord what that fear is. Possibilities include, “I’m afraid:

• I have to accomplish … by … and I am running out of time 
• I’m not qualified or I’m disqualified
• I’m not enough
• I’m not good enough
• I’m too old/too young/too uneducated
• It’s too late
• I’m too broken/I’m irreparable
• I’m too poor
• There are no opportunities where I am
• I am not one of God’s favorites 
• I’ve too messed up
• Others are more qualified
• I can’t find the purpose God has for me
• Hope has been deferred so long, that I am hopelessly stuck 
• …”

If there is one of these all-too-common lies or a different one operating in your life, let the Lord reveal that. Allow the pain of the lie to be felt. It is coming up to be healed and it cannot be healed, if you stuff it down or medicate it. Invite Jesus/Papa/Holy Spirit into that place, so that you can feel His presence there. You are not alone, and He is not calling you to figure this out on your own. Truthfully, you can’t. Let Him minister His truth to that area. Sit with the truth you get. Ask Him more about that truth. 

If you are struggling to believe what you are getting, ask Him what lie you are believing that is preventing the truth from feeling like the truth. Linger here, engaging with Him about this. Journaling out this time with the Lord really helps. 

When you feel you are finished with what you are supposed to accomplish in that time, ask the Lord when you need to schedule time to re-engage. Schedule that time on your calendar. It is your “date” with The One Who is wild about you! Chances are, you, like most people, will need recurrent engagement here as He heals and brings the next step in walking out the unveiling of who you are and the purposes that He planned for you.  

Note: As God ministers to you about who you are and the purposes He has for you, keep in mind that those purposes will not necessarily look like what you have expected. Let Him minister what your expectations should look like. Let Him help you rest in the process and in the next step you are to take. The joy is the journey because that is where you find Him — right where you are, in your “now.” 

I trust this has been a blessing to you. I’d love to hear what God is revealing to you!

 

Much Love,

 

Catherine