One of my favorite things to help people figure out is their purpose in Christ. This is the core of my purpose is to empower people in their purpose. It’s everything I love most in my job, and it’s what has driven me to start Weird Souls; I love people discovering who they are in Jesus.
But it’s taken me a while to get there. So don’t worry if you’re scratching your head wondering what your purpose is. It can take time to develop it. So let’s talk about what to look at to help you start figuring out your purpose.
Your Past Informs Your Purpose
It doesn’t matter if you’ve always followed Jesus or if you only recently started; your past is part of your purpose. I have a friend who always says, “God doesn’t waste your dirt or your hurt.” And I think that is shown over and over in how some of the most impactful ministries succeed. Often they are led by people who experienced something in their past and want others to know they made it through, and so can they.
And it doesn’t have to be the hard or bad things in life; sometimes, good memories push us towards discovering our purpose. Growing up in the church, I always wanted to help, and children’s ministry always seemed like an area I was welcome to help in, no matter my age. That stuck with me and gave me a way to put the faith I was learning about into action. And that is why I went into full-time ministry. In the beginning, I thought I would always be a children’s minister, but over time, God’s led me through different avenues to get me to this moment. And it’s worked because, at my core, I just want everyone to love God and live a purpose-filled life in him.
Your Personality Informs Your Purpose
We all have different personalities. Whether you are a DISC, Myers Briggs, or Enneagram kind of personality, we are a kaleidoscope of personalities that give so much variety to how life and faith can be lived. The same God calls us to so many different ways of expressing our faith, and it all varies by personality. Not everyone will speak from a stage, not everyone will move to a different country, some people will live a quiet, low-key life that ministers to a few people really well, and some will lead large revolutions that impact future generations. One is not greater than the other but different.
Your Passions Inform Your Purpose
I think this is the most important part of finding your purpose. Your passion is the thing you will fight against or for. Or it may be the thing that if someone said to give a 5-minute talk on something, you would immediately have enough to talk about and probably struggle to keep it under 5 minutes.
It might be advice or how to, or maybe what not to do, but everyone has something they are passionate about in life. That is probably a good starting point to find your purpose. And it may be that your passion doesn’t directly lead you to your purpose, but it connects you in ways that get you there. Or maybe it gives you confidence and skills that get you to what you would say is your purpose.
It could be that you have a purpose that spans many different life categories, or maybe it’s as simple as loving your family well. Purpose doesn’t have to be something as epic as an Avengers movie. In fact, many of us are here because everyday people simply fulfilled their purpose to love the person in front of them well. No bells, no whistles, and no books written about them. But here we are because of the unsung heroes living a life following Jesus.
What Now?
So this week, write down the things in your life that stick out in those three categories: past, personality, and passions. See if there is any common ground among them or anything that pulls at you, and explore it more this week in life and prayer to see where God leads.
Stay Weird,
