Finding Purpose

I was recently speaking with a friend about our struggle to find purpose in our daily lives. I am a stay-at-home mom and I often feel that my life doesn't have a real purpose because I don't have a career; she is a single career woman and she doesn't feel like she has a purpose because she isn't married and doesn't have children. I was waiting for that career believing that once I had it, I would finally be fulfilling my purpose; she was waiting for that husband and those children believing that once she had them she would find her purpose. Funny, we both had what the other wanted but both of us struggled to feel as though our lives were achieving the purpose that God had for us.

I began to process that idea and came to the conclusion that we are often very confused as to what God's purpose for our lives truly is. It is much easier to say that I will be able to operate in my purpose once I have achieved some far off goal rather than to admit that the real problem is that we are not living God's purpose for our lives now and in order to begin living out God's purpose now, we will have to do some work and make some changes.

The first change that needs to be made is a change in our thought process. Instead of asking God to fulfill that far off goal (career, marriage, children) we need to begin asking God what His purpose for our lives is now. I have begun to come to God by saying, "With all things being as they are, no major changes, what do you want me to do with my life now?" I made a paradigm shift from finding purpose in a future goal to fully living my life now in order to fulfill God's purpose. I can't tell you how much of my life I have wasted waiting for the next big thing and then regretting what I didn't do before I had it. I wanted to get married so instead of enjoying single life, I waited and prayed for marriage and missed out on many of the things that God may have had for me in my single life. Now I don't want to miss out on the amazing things that God had for me in this season of life by being too focused on the next one.

God has a purpose for each and every one of our days. There is no day too small or insignificant. It is up to us to use the time that we have purposefully and intentionally and not to waste it on the things that could be.

I encourage you to start asking God what is your purpose now. Don't ask God to change your circumstances, ask him to change your outlook. You will be amazed at the freedom that you can find by starting to live your purpose today rather than waiting for that magical far off moment when it will be achieved. In truth, there will always be another milestone to wait for so you will never arrive at your purpose until you start to live it in the here and now.