Discovering why God made you

Humans are naturally drawn towards money, power, status, beauty, sex, pleasure and meaningful relationships. We want what we want because we are convinced that when we get that thing it will bring us joy. Sometimes these things bring us joy, other times we end up disappointed. The good news is that there’s one source in this life that will never disappoint us and that is God himself. In God we find the deep joy that our souls crave from the day we are born.

In God we find the peace, meaning, joy and satisfaction that we have spent our whole lives looking for. The good news of the Bible is that God loves every single one of us, and that he has a great plan for our lives. Everything in our lives get new meaning and purpose once we get to know God.

Over time we discover how everything in our lives is working together for our good. God uses both our greatest achievements and our worst mistakes to bring us closer and closer to our destiny. Some of our biggest regrets in life will become exactly what God will use to bring us to where he needs us to be, to a place where our purpose in life becomes crystal clear.  

Leaders and Followers

There will come a time in life when we need to step up and be a leader, and there will be other times when we need to follow. I wasn’t designed to live this life following other people, but I often do just that. It starts in Elementary school when we learn what types of music we should listen to, what clothes we need to wear and how we should think and feel. As an adult, I’m fully aware of how I should dress, talk, think, work, play etc. Humans live in communities, which means our lives will always be influenced by how other people live. This isn’t necessarily all bad, but we need to understand what makes us unique so we don’t end up living exactly like our friends or co-workers just because that’s what’s expected of us.

I watched a video last Christmas from when I was two years old. I can’t believe how eye-opening it was to watch that video as an adult. I looked at this little girl in the video who clearly wasn’t comfortable in big crowds but who flourished when she got to spend time with her own family. That little girl is me, and guess how I have treated her? Over the years I have forced myself to spend a lot of time in crowded environments, although my whole being prefers calm and quiet. I have tried to live the way I’m expected to live based on all the current ideals my culture holds dear, but many of those ideals don’t fit me. I have thought to myself: “I should be more like this, and less like that.”

The truth is this: God didn’t make a mistake when he created me, I am who he made me to be. I need to stop trying to fit the culture around me and start being myself. I will always have areas where I need to develop self-control, strength and character, but I don’t need to change who I am. My lack of self-control is a problem, my personality is not. When it comes to the relationship between me and other people I need to learn to be a leader and stop being a follower. It doesn’t matter what other people think I should do, I need to be the leader in my own life and stop following other people’s opinions.

My relationship with God is the complete opposite to my relationship with other people. I tend to bow to other people’s opinions when I should take on the responsibility of being the leader in my own life. When it comes to my relationship with God I need to learn o be a follower, but I tend to leave God out of all the important decisions I make. A few years ago, I was still “a baby-Christian” and I honestly used to think that it was unnecessary to read the Bible every week and pray to God before making any big decisions. Fast forward a few years later and it has become crystal clear to me why I need to seek God’s counsel. I could have spared myself from a lot of unnecessary pain and complications if I had taken the time to seek God’s counsel before making my big decisions. Nowadays I try to practice asking God for what I should do before I make big decisions. It’s fascinating how well things work out when I include God in the decision-making process, even when it looks like things won’t work out God literally shows up to move mountains so that things work out after all.

I’m a perfectionist and a control-freak so to let God lead in my life hasn’t been an easy transition, mainly because it’s all about letting go and learning to trust God. The great news is that the more I have learned to depend on God and trust Him the less worried I have become. I used to be very worried about many things a few years ago, today I’m hardly ever worried. Every time I feel worries starting to creep in I pray to God and ask him to intervene in whatever circumstance I’m worried about. When I know that God has it all in His hands I can let go.

Fear is another thing that wants to creep in and hinder us from depending on God and trusting Him. My greatest weapons against fear is prayer and worship. When I’m afraid I pray to God and ask him to bless me with His peace and joy, because I badly need it. If I’m very afraid I turn to worship next and sing a few worship songs to God. As I worship God I can feel the fear lifting off me and peace comes over me. When I’m worshipping God, I’m giving Him control of my situation and at the same time I’m reminding myself of his love for me, his strength and his power. Here’s three of my favorite worship songs that I like to sing to God when I’m afraid:

“You Never Let Go” by Bryan&Katie Torwalt

“Call Upon The Lord” by Elevation Worship

“The War” by Leeland

Why does God want me to be a follower? It’s not because he’s a control-freak or some strict military sergeant. The Bible describes God as “our Heavenly Father”. God wants me to follow him because he loves me and wants what’s best for me. God will not always call me to do things that are fun or easy, but He knows what I need. One year God might ask me to forgive someone when all I want to do is stay bitter. God might ask me to give up some comfort in my life to be able to help someone else. Over the years God has asked me to do both things I just mentioned and countless other things that I did not feel like doing. Sometimes what God is calling me to do will be fun and exciting, other times it will be the last thing I want to do. Did you want to do all the things your loving parents told you to do growing up? Probably not. Are you grateful today that your loving parents taught you many great lessons that developed good character in you? Yes. Following God will not always be easy, but God knows exactly what he is doing, He always has our best interest at heart.

Today I can look back at the last 15 years of my life and see how God used many difficult situations to form me, teach me and grow good character in me. I made some bad mistakes along the way that caused me (and others) pain, but now I know better. The more I learn to follow God and His plan for my life the more joy, peace, meaning and contentment I get to experience in my life every year. Every year I think to myself: “Life doesn’t get better than this” and then it does! The following year I get to experience even more peace, meaning and joy. God truly is the giver of good gifts, when you think life can’t get any better he surprises you with even more blessings!

The Workout

My favorite workout during the summer is swimming. I like to do a HIIT swimming workout just before sunset. I love doing swimming workouts in the lake because I prefer to do all my workouts outdoors. Lake Ontario and Lake Huron are my gym in the summer.

My workout routine has changed a lot over the years. In my early twenties my main motivation for working out was to lose weight or become fit, it was all about beauty. During my late twenties my motivation changed and became all about performance. My focus was on getting faster,stronger and better. I was focused on getting a better PR every year and winning medals. After getting injured a lot I decided I was done with trying to prove my worth through fitness and sports. It's astonishing what us humans will do to ourselves in the search for meaning and self-worth.


Today my motivation for working out is to take good care of my body. Some weeks I treat my body well, I eat healthy and reach my goal of four workouts per week. On other weeks I eat more cupcakes than green juices and do zero workouts. I have to admit that it was easier to find motivation to work out when what motivated me was fear of not performing well enough or fear of not looking good enough.


Today I'm very content with how I look and I no longer need to have a good PR to feel that my life has worth or meaning. The downside is that contentment sometimes leads me to choose watching TV over going for a bike ride. On the other hand, I still remember what it used to feel like to obsess about my level of fitness. A few years ago I used to work out 5-6 days per week, sometimes twice a day. Today I do 3-4 workouts per week (on a good week). I have a peace, joy and contentment about my body and performance level now that I never want to lose. My body and my strength are gifts to enjoy, but it's not what my body looks like or how fast I can run that gives me my worth as a human-being.


What can easily happen with things like a sport/fitness is that we make it the source that will give us our worth in life. We become addicted to the praise and approval we get from others when we look fit or perform well in a certain sport. But fitness isn't the only thing that can make us addicted when we start relying on it to give us our sense of self-worth. We can get addicted to things like our careers, our achievements, our social status etc. We get addicted to the approval we get from these things so we have to have them.


We know we have become addicted to something when without it we feel insecure, anxious and like we aren't good enough. Good things like our work, relationships, sports etc. have the power to enslave us if we start basing our identity on them. There is a big difference between being good at a sport and needing to be good at it constantly to feel good about oneself.

Living a Life of Meaning and Connection

Twelve years ago I was 20-years old and realized that I had no idea what life was about, and neither did anyone around me. It seemed like everyone were busy living their lives in the way they felt obligated to live. I was studying towards a Master's degree in Education, having my own appartment, dating many different guys while I was looking for Mr. Right etc. I was doing all the normal stuff, all the things my own culture was telling me was the right way to live.


At 25-years old I had just graduated from university and moved abroad. It was a very exciting time in life and at the same time a confusing time. Living abroad opens up your perspective on life. I soon realized that many of the goals I was pursuing in life were goals my own culture had taught me to pursue. It was exciting to be exposed to many different cultures in Toronto which meant many different ways to live. The only problem with more options in life is that it makes everything even more confusing. "Who am I and what do I really want to focus on in life?" Questions like these we all ask ourselves during our twenties.


I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life. On the other hand, I knew how I didn't want to live. I didn't want to get married one day and have my marriage fall apart like 50% of all marriages do today. I didn't want to jump on the wheel of normal big city life and become too busy and overbooked. I wanted to have enough time in my life to spend with my future husband, kids, friends and other family members. I knew I wanted to build a meaningful, healthy and balanced life for myself, but I had no idea what that could look like. It turned out I wasn't the only one in our society who was confused about how to create a life that leads to flourishing.


This year I'm turning 32-years old and I'm happier than I have ever been before in my life. I feel much more content and free today than I did a decade ago. My life is far from perfect and not all of my dreams have come true yet, but I still have a peace and joy in my life now that I longed for ten years ago. I'm no longer confused about my own identity and I know what my purpose is. I'm excited to spend the next 50 years or so living out my purpose. Every year I'm learning new things about myself, about other people and about God. I try new things, I succeed, fail and grow. The journey will continue through all the days of my life.


Another woman who has been on her own journey toward peace, purpose and balance in life is Shauna Niequist. Shauna's new book "Present Over Perfect" is one of the best books I've read this year! Here's a couple of quotes from Shauna's journey in the book Present Over Perfect:

"There we were, women in our thirties. Educated, married, mothers, women who have careers, who manage homes and oversee companies. And there we were, utterly resigned to lives that feel overly busy and pressurized, disconnected and exhausted.
But that's shifting the blame, right? Who's the boss, if not us? Who's forcing us to live this way? Or, possibly, do we not want to face the answer to that question, preferring to believe we can't possibly be held responsible for what we've done?"

"Some of being an adult, though, is about protecting and preserving what we discover to be the best parts of ourselves, and here's a hint: they're almost always the parts we've struggled against for years."

"I'm committed to a particular, limited amount of things in this season, and if what's being asked of me isn't one of those, then it stands in the way. That's why knowing your purpose and priorities for a given season is so valuable-because those commitments become the litmus test for all the decisions you face."

Be Who You Already Are

Rebekah Lyons newest book is called "You Are Free-Be who you already are". Rebekah's book is calling women to become who they've already been designed to be. She talks about the struggles women face as they seek to live a life of meaning today. Rebekah also gets vulnerable and honest about her own battle to overcome anxiety, depression and consumer impulses. She challenges women to discover and boldly pursue the specific purpose God has for them in life.

When we let go of trying to be someone else and quit the striving, the perfectionism and the chasing after approval from other people, we find freedom. When we stop trying to please everyone and focus on only pleasing God. Complete freedom awaits us in this place, it's a place of vitality. A place where we feel full of life, full of spirit, full of passion.

Vicki's Search for Meaning and Purpose

Growing up in New York City, Vicki had always thought that being rich, famous, and in Women's Wear Daily would bring happiness and fulfillment. But after all those things had happened, she was still empty. Gnawingly so. Watch her story and discover how this gnawing emptiness was finally filled.

A Life of Meaning

I have a little bit of an addiction to books, at the moment I have more new books at home than I have time to read. The book "Freefall to Fly" by Rebekah Lyons is the book I want to read next, but I've promised myself not to buy any more books before I've finished reading the books I already own. I don't read one book at a time, I read many books parallel with each other. I don't know why I do that, I guess we all have our own way of doing things. My Mom likes to read the last chapter first in a new book before she reads the rest of the book. No matter how you read a book I find that books can add something to life that I wouldn't want to live without; the joy of learning new things about life.

Freefall to Fly is a book about finding your purpose in life and discovering a life of meaning. We all have a need to know who we are, to know what makes us uniquely us, to be able to live life fully. Books about purpose and meaning are one of my favorite categories of books to read during this stage in my life. Last year I read Restless by Jennie Allen, which was a life changing book for me, and this year I want to read Freefall to Fly.

Don't find a job, find a mission

Celeste Headlee gives a great TED talk about finding the dream job. Nine out of ten people in America don't like their jobs, so it's safe to say that we are terrible at choosing the right job. Research shows that we tend to pick our jobs based on things like how much money we will make or how close to home the job is situated. None of these factors have been linked to happiness at work. Out of all the different factors that affect how happy we are at work the most important factor is purpose. People who feel that their work has significance and meaning are more than 3 times as likely to stay in their jobs and they also have higher job satisfaction and are more engaged at work.

A rich life with less stuff

Most people are aware that research shows that more stuff isn't going to make us any happier or more fulfilled in life. We have read the reports, but why is it so hard to stop buying and wanting more stuff? Us humans have a natural built-in drive to strive for more, for better lives. I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting more, the problem might rather be what we want more of. Do we want more love, joy, meaning and purpose in our lives, or do we want more stuff?

The Minimalists are two young men who had all the things that our culture tells us will make us happy and successful in life, but they weren't happy. Hear them share their story in this TED talk.

Eyes that can´t see and ears that can´t hear

One really interesting thing about my journey to where I am today, having a personal relationship with God and a deeper understanding of life, is that it was always right in front of me but I still couldn´t see it.

I remember once when I was in church and a pastor said that there is nothing in the world that is more offensive than when you talk about Jesus. You can talk to people about meditation, reincarnation, love, destiny or whatever but when you mention the word "Jesus" people will cringe (unless they already believe in him). The Bible explains that the reason for this is that there is two powers at work in the world. One power is good and the other is everything but good. That other power will always do anything it can to keep you away from Jesus, to keep you away from anything that is good.

Jesus once said "I am the way and the truth and the life." (John 14:6 NIV) I´ve wondered many times how it was possible that I grew up in a Christian country, that has the cross on it´s national flag and everything, and I still had absolutely no clue about who Jesus was. After I started to believe in God I realized that I had always sensed the presence of God in my life, but I had called it something else. I didn´t like to talk about God, that word made me uncomfortable. Instead I would say things like: "I believe in destiny, but I don´t believe in God." Today I know that it was God all along that I believed in, but without knowing it.

Sometimes it seems like people look in all the wrong places, they search for meaning and happiness and fullfillment in everything in life except in God. This made me wonder how it´s possible to be on the search for truth and still not find it? I don´t think this would be possible unless there is a second power in the world, another power than God, an opposing power that keeps pulling us in the other direction. This power pulls us away from God and away from everything that is good, true and right. You notice this every time you try to do the right thing, it´s difficult. It´s always easier to do the wrong thing. There is a power struggle.

The Bible describes the situation like this: "Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?" (Mark 8:18 NIV) This is really interesting. The Bible goes on to say that nobody comes to faith in God unless God himself pulls the person toward himself. It´s only when God opens up our eyes and ears that we can understand truth, truth that might have been right infront of us the whole time but we never looked closer at it.

When I turned twenty I started to feel like the most important thing in life was to figure out what "the point" with life is. I felt like I couldn´t make the big decisions in life that I needed to make before I had figured out what life is all about. What am I here for? This was the first time in life that I was truly open to anything, no matter what the truth was I wanted to know it.

I searched through many different religions and philosophies but none of them seemed to have it all figured out. There were big parts of each religion that just didn´t make sense, that allowed violence and seemed to lack love. I looked at every single religion I could find information about, except Christianity. The reason I thought there was no point in taking a closer look at Christianity was that I thought I knew everything there was to know about this religion and I didn´t like it. I really didn´t like this Jesus guy, I thought it was so weird that he "had to" die on a cross and that this was celebrated. I also thought going to a Christian church was one of the most boring experiences ever. I was very sure in my own mind that Christianity was wrong about life, so there was no point in looking in that direction.

At age 22 I wanted to travel and work abroad so I took the first job I could find and ended up in a place I would never have picked myself, Cincinnati,USA. My first thought was: "where in the world is that, I´ve never heard of this place before." This was the first time in life that I really let destiny lead me to wherever I was supposed to be. Long story short, one year later I came back to Scandinavia having found "the point" with life. I had found God and it turned out Jesus was the most amazing person who ever lived because he was God himself walking on earth. It still took me many years to figure out the details of what this meant for my life, but I was finally on the right track. Sometime around age 20 God probably decided to start pulling me toward himself and at age 22 I had discovered the truth. God had opened my eyes and opened my ears.

Today I still have a ton of questions about why God does certain things and about his timing, but I know what I need to know. I know what my purpose is, I know the meaning of life and I know what I´m called to do. I feel more excited than ever to get to spend the rest of my life answering that call. I know I exist to love God, to love myself and to love other people with all of my heart. I also know that God loves me, more than any human ever will in this life.

Does Life Have a Purpose?

We all long for a sense of meaning in our lives. The Curiosity Collective brings together thought leaders, authors, philosophers and theologians to examine whether or not life has a purpose.