LIVING A PURPOSEFUL LIFE
Living A Purposeful Life
Arise woman, for the glory of God is upon you! God created you to play a special/unique role on this earth. He has a vision for your life. Ephesians 2:10 declares, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Woman, you are incubating purpose. You are carrying the seed that will bear many fruits. You are nurturing children that have great destinies. Let God pull out that purpose in you, let Him water that seedling, and change your nature to have the capacity to nurture children of great destiny and become a woman of influence.
Purpose was defined by a certain author as a self-organizing life aim that stimulates goals, promotes healthy behaviours, and gives meaning to life. The trickiest part is most of us do not know what we are meant to do or where to begin. My suggestion, as a person who is still walking in this journey with you, is to start with prayer.
Prayer: “Without God, life has no purpose, and without purpose (some form of direction), life has no meaning".
Call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. (Proverbs 2:3-5)
Failure to consult God on who He created you to be, will push you in the wrong direction. Think of it this way, if you made/created a calculator, you would know about its functions or its inner working, what it can and cannot do. Now, consider that you are God’s creation, He knows your inner workings, what you can and cannot do. So, it would be a futile task to try and pursue a purposeful life outside the One who created you. Scripture warns us about that. “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us?” (James 4:1-17)
Let God be part of your pursuit. Cry out to the God Most High, to the One who fulfills His purpose in you. As it is written in the book of John, a person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. Pray. God will not disappoint.
Identify your interests:
Is there something you have always wanted to do? Are there people who inspire you by what they are doing? What is the one thing you will click at on social media? What makes your heart leap with joy? What can you do daily with or without pay? Maybe you will have several interests and that’s ok. Note all of them down.
Dig into your experiences/conditions/background:
Experiences, whether good or bad, can lead you to living a purposeful life. There are people who come to mind like Malala Yousafzai, who is an education activist due to her experiences, and Frida Umuhoza, a human rights activist due to her genocide experience, or Joni Eareckson Tada, who became a quadriplegic from a diving accident, and helps others in similar situations. Turn your pain into power. When you have overcome a serious challenge, you get a unique perspective. It makes you more compassionate and provides the ability to identify with others going through difficult times.
Be of service to others (Empower):
Be part of a cause that is greater than you. While you are on the discovery journey, gain a sense of pride while being of service to others. Empowering others to believe in themselves and live a meaningful life will encourage them to also empower others. Your words and actions send out positivity which is passed on to others making a continuous circle of positive influence. Send hope to others for hope is as essential to life as air and water. We all need hope one time or the other to cope, to arise from failure, or to move on after an adversity. Be that hope that gets people back on their feet after a hard knock.
Use your education, skills, gifts, and talents:
Do you have a special skill set, gift, educational training, or certification in a certain area? All this can be wrapped with God’s guidance and goodness to accomplish a lot of good. A little is a lot with God!
Have an attitude of gratitude:
To change your life, you must change the way you think. This is not as easy as it sounds. You must shift your thinking process and the best place to start is being grateful. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18)
Work on self:
Your character, personal, and spiritual growth are vital. You could join a course, take a BIBLE class, enroll in coaching sessions, seek counselling, read a book, or learn something new. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will.” Romans 12:2. As you learn more about yourself, you identify your strengths to enhance them and work on your weaknesses.
Have a growth mindset:
Embrace challenges, persevere in the face of failure. God is with you, accept correction and criticism. However, you need discernment to know what is meant for your good and that which is meant to demoralize you.
Work on self–care and self-acceptance:
This is also very helpful as you pursue your purpose. Most of us work, sleep, eat, work, sleep, eat, and the cycle repeats to keep up with day to day maintenance that never comes to an end. It gets to a point where frustration, resentment, and anger builds up. Hence, self-destructive habits start forming and without our knowledge, one day we look at where we are at and feel completely lost. To avoid being part of this harmful cycle, find ways to take care of yourself. Find some stress relieving mechanisms that work for you. Work on a hobby, do something you love, celebrate small wins as you work towards big goals. Avoid letting failure define who you are as a person. In fact, I hardly think you can be successful at anything without some form of failure. Think of it as part of the learning journey. A child learns to walk by making the first step, taking a few falls here and there before walking on their own without physical support.
Spend time with people who inspire you:
If you can spend some time with people whom you admire, do so. If not, use social media; follow them and see what they are up to, join a master class if offered, read their books, reach out to them, and seek advice. You can even send a gratitude note, comment, email, or text and let them know what an inspiration they have been in your life.
Be part of a community:
Find people, clubs, or organisations that share similar passions, values, and interests. A community of like-minded people could be a small group or just a few people that are working towards a certain goal. People will cheer you on, keep you accountable, and offer support to you on this journey.
Note down your goals and visions:
Sometimes we put a goal on paper and go, what?! Do not worry. Someone once said, if your goal doesn’t scare you a little, it’s not big enough! These days people are big on making vision boards which act as a visual aid to remind you of what you are working towards. The bigger the challenge, the better the reward. Feel the fear and go at it anyway. Is there anything impossible with God? Of course, you must educate yourself on how to set SMART goals, so you don’t end up feeling like a failure month after month and year after year. The aim of setting goals is to keep you motivated and focused on a certain path. It also helps you make better decisions and prioritize on what is important to you.