As we start this second week of January, many of us have already broken or didn’t even start our resolutions for 2017. I wonder does God even want us to create resolutions? I believe God wants us to create resolutions that are in keeping with his will for our lives. The Bible says, “Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.” Lamentations 3:40 (NIV) This verse shows us that we should examine our lives. It doesn’t provide a specified time, so if examining your life on a yearly basis works for you, then that’s between you and God. I believe God wants to work on our hearts above all else.
Sometimes, I make goals or resolutions which are completely unrealistic or even crazy. Now, if these were goals I created while sitting quietly with God, then I’d say, okay God, you had better show up in the details here, because this is beyond my strength. More often though, I create my goals in a vacuum, without checking in with God. Cue the doom and gloom music because these goals are crashing and burning in a horrific way. See, I’m attempting to create something in my life that was never in God’s will for me and He graciously doesn’t allow it to happen.
This doesn’t mean the goals that I haven’t achieved are because God doesn’t want me to have it. I need to examine my role in the attainment of my purpose. I can pray all I want, but I also need to put my prayers into action. Without action, my prayers are one-sided. God expects me to work for Him. It’s not because He’s some taskmaster in heaven with a whip waiting to dole out my punishment if I don’t do what He asked. I view it as having the greatest and most understanding boss I could imagine because He wants me to succeed. And He wants you to succeed too.
The beginning of the year opens up possibilities to change and grow, not only personally and professionally, but also in pursuing our purpose. God has created only one of you. No one else has been given the gifts, abilities and passions that you have. If that doesn’t excite you, check your pulse, I want to make sure you’re still alive. If you have breath in your lungs and blood flowing to your brain, God has a purpose for you and you alone.
Consider some of these questions to figure out what your purpose is:
1. What are your passions? This is the thing you would do, even for free. It sets your heart on fire to participate in this activity. If nothing comes to mind, sit quietly in prayer. Ask God to reveal what passions He instilled in you.
2. What energizes you? This is similar to the passion question, but if you couldn’t get clear on the first question, this might be easier. Is there something that when you do it, you lose track of the space-time continuum? When I write or do graphic design or photography, I could look at the time and three hours have passed without looking up from my screen. Not the healthiest way to live, but it’s rare I get a three-hour block of time in my family of five anyway. The point is, is there an activity in your life where you require an alarm to remind you to eat when you do that activity?
3. What would your ideal life look like, feel like, and sound like? Get down to the nitty, gritty details. Close your eyes and go through all of your senses. If you’ve forgotten the five senses, it’s seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling. When your mind generates your dream life, what do you see around you? What can you hear? Do you hear the noises of busy streets or crickets beside a slowly flowing creek? Ask questions like this to draw you closer to finding your purpose.
Write down the answers to all these questions. Then pray over them and ask God to reveal if you’re on track or way off base on the road to your purpose. In the past, I’ve asked God to provide encouragement in some form to know I’m on the right path. He has always answered me. If we ask for wisdom, God freely gives it. In James 1:5, (NIV) the Bible says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
If we are serious about creating resolutions or goals this year to pursue our purpose, we must start with the One who created us. He loves us so much that He won’t allow us to stay the same. Rather, He is continually molding and shaping us through the purpose He’s put in our heart.
What’s your purpose? Put it in the comments below so we can pray for each other as we pursue our purpose.