What on Earth am I here for?

Sometimes when we look at ourselves we feel bad about ourselves because we zoom in on all the things we lack. Most of us can easily make up a long list of things we are not good at. It’s easy to feel disappointed, insecure or jealous of others when you are staring at what you lack and then comparing yourself to others who have that particular skill or thing you lack. We often base our self-worth on how well we measure up to the culture’s standard of success and on how well we are doing in comparison to others in our inner circle. God on the other hand, views us in an entirely different way.

 

When we beat ourselves up for what we are bad at it’s like we would complain about how bad fish are at living on land. God didn’t create fish to live on land, he created them to live in water and that is where they will thrive, on land they will become weak and eventually die. Some of us are struggling and draging our feet through life, but God didn’t create us to go through life like that. God created each one of us for a particular purpose, but we are never going to find that purpose if we keep focusing on what we don’t have.

Once we change our outlook on life and how we view ourselves we will discover that the mix of our personality, life experiences (both good and bad), our hearth’s desires and abilities is exactly what God wants to use in this world. Step one on the journey is to stop beating ourselves up for what we can’t do or feel jealous of other people’s skills. God has given every single person on this Earth a unique set of abilities, gifts and opportunities to play an important part in His plan to restore this broken world.

I took a course at my church this fall called “SHAPE- discover how God designed you to serve Him.” The course helped me discover my spiritual gifts, abilities, personality, experience and heart’s desires through different tests and discussions we were having in small groups. It was an exciting course to take because what I’ve been sensing that God has been calling me towards was confirmed through this course. One area that God is specifically calling me to serve him in during this short life is children in poverty.

 

 

My heart aches for children in poverty and suffering and I have a strong desire to help in this area. My abilities and personality also match well with serving God through caring for children in poverty. It has also become clear to me that my past experiences (both good and bad) have helped prepare me to help children in poverty and suffering. As I did the Spiritual Gifts-test I found out that one of my spiritual gifts is “Giving”. Giving goes well together with serving children in poverty since this will require me to give away a lot of my time, money and focus to be able to help the kids effectively.

 

I think that it’s exciting to know that we were all created to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). All we need to do is figure out what those “works” are. Few people will figure out the purpose God has for their lives in one day. I believe that once we start thinking and praying about our purpose God will start revealing to us, piece by piece, what we were meant to do all along. It took me about three years to figure out what God’s plan was for my life, and it’s not like I have all the puzzle pieces today either, but today I’m starting to notice a pattern in my life that points in a certain direction. I now understand things I didn’t understand before and I can see how God used certain places, people and opportunities to bring me closer and closer to the purpose He had for me all along.

 

As I stand on the threshold of stepping into God’s call on my life I’m more excited about life and the future than ever before. I can’t wait to get to put my personal gifts and abilities to work in an area that I was designed by God to serve Him in. I feel passion, energy and excitement when I think of this great opportunity to create a lasting positive impact on the world. That’s the kind of stuff that makes me want to jump out of bed each morning! Following God’s call on your life (once you’ve figured out what it is) isn’t necessarily going to be an easy life, but it’s definitely going to be the most fulfilling, passionate and meaningful life you could ever live.