If I’m honest, 2016 felt more like survival then purpose. Not because of the election or what was happening in our culture, but because of personal reasons. I experienced some of the lowest moments of my life and I wasn’t sure I was going to recover—or if I wanted to recover.
Have you ever felt so low that you didn’t care if you ever felt better? Like it might be better if you stayed feeling crappy so you didn’t have to expect much from yourself? That was me. I looked okay on the outside, but inside I was tired, stressed, and burned-out.
Unbeknown to me, I had taken control of my life. Pain does that sometimes— causes a person to look inward and protect. My natural reaction was to take control because control feels safe. Over time I pushed God aside and put myself at the center of my life. It wasn’t intentional, just survival.
I think we all do this sometimes—just survive. It’s not like we are physically in danger, but emotional it feels like we are drowning. Maybe something didn’t go as planned, or you were hurt by what someone said, or things in your family are painful. Sometimes we just survive.
The problem with survival living is life becomes a reaction rather than intentional. If we live this way long enough, it begins to feel normal. We forget what it was like to have purpose. But reaction mode is exhausting and destructive.
Can you imagine getting angry every time your child doesn’t do what you say? Can you imagine getting depressed every time you feel rejected? Can you imagine feeling worthless every time you fail?
We’ve done that and it’s exhausting. We were never designed to just survive. We were designed to live with purpose and thrive.
How Do We Live With Purpose?
2 Timothy 1:9 AMP“for He delivered us and saved us and called us with a holy calling [a calling that leads to a consecrated life—a life set apart—a life of purpose], not because of our works [or because of any personal merit—we could do nothing to earn this], but because of His own purpose and grace [His amazing, undeserved favor] which was granted to us in Christ Jesus before the world began [eternal ages ago]”
Because of His own purpose and
I think that’s the key to living with purpose — remembering who we are and whose we are. What if we lived out of our identity rather than our good works? I’ve found that good works naturally flow from a heart connected to the Father. Jesus constantly demonstrated this in the Gospels.
Notice what He has already done in this verse; delivered, saved, and called us to a life of purpose. In other words, the life of purpose already exists and is available for us to live. Our response is to simply live it by partnering with Him.
So here’s my challenge—be intentional. Live on purpose co-laboring with Him because you were created with purpose. Yes it’s a choice, but it’s a choice fueled by your identity in Christ. It’s a choice rooted in the person and work of Jesus.
Remember who you are today. I know it’s easy to forget. That’s why we need to remember every day.
Here’s several easy ways to remember.
- Speak scripture over your life. Below is a free resource you can download and start using today. (This is my favorite method and one that I use almost daily)
- Put scriptures about identity on your bathroom mirror (and other areas you see every day)
- Schedule a reminder on your phone with a word, phrase, or encouragement.
- Listen to music and podcasts that speak about your purpose and identity.
- Call a friend and remind each other.
- Spend more time in spiritual environments that are rich with the Word of God (church, prayer room, designated room in the house, bible studies, prayer groups).
Questions: What does it mean to you to have purpose? What are some other ways we can be intentional about remembering?