Two Questions That Are Helping Me Find Purpose

Are you struggling with finding purpose for your life? Feeling stuck? Do you feel like you’re not doing anything meaningful that will impact the world?

I’ve felt like that way many times. Most of the time, those feelings/thoughts of meaninglessness are straight up lies from the devil and we have to replace those lies with truth. But sometimes, those feelings have actually had a legitimate case in my life. For different reasons, I was stuck in a rut. I was doing a lot of things, but not really doing anything.

 So if you’re in a funk, I have two questions for you that might help that have helped and are presently helping me. I didn’t come up with these two questions. A heard a pastor that I greatly respect share these four years ago, and I’ve never forgotten them. The two questions to ask your self are:

     1.What’s in my hands?

     2. What’s my pain?

 To address the first question, what is in your hands right now? What type of resources do you have right now? Who is around your sphere of influence right now? At times, we seem be so quick to try to be somewhere we’re not. We try to buy what we do not have the money to buy. We’re obsessed and try to force relationships to people that don’t really care about having a relationship with us for the right reasons, while forgetting about the relationships right in front of us!

God has you where you’re at during this season of life for a reason. The people around you are there for a reason.  For example, a pastor said one time, “In ministry, I’ve seen how easy it is for us to focus on what we lack: money, the right staff, encouraging supporters, mentors, education, buildings, healthy family history, the right experience, communication skills, knowledge. The list could go on and infinitum. I’ve learned that our focus too often drifts toward what we don’t have, and we overlook what is already in our hand.”

 With the second question, what is your pain? The answer to this question will take some vulnerability on your part. This will take you being honest about what you struggle with, and believe me…everyone struggles with something. I believe that our greatest weakness can be our greatest ministry…if we allow it. Your pain makes you an expert in the field of whatever you’re struggling with. I am an expert in struggling with panic, anxiety and depression, among other things. Why? Not because I went to school for it. Not because I read about it in a book. But only because I’ve truly experienced it myself. Even if you haven’t overcome your struggle/pain, you’re an expert in whatever that is because of your experience. “Most people can’t relate to our achievements or success. However, most people can relate to our pain and our losses, our disappointments and our suffering.”

Paul begins his letter to the church of Corinth by saying, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

Struggling with feeling like you have no direction in life? Ask yourself these questions. Share your answers with someone you trust. I’m not promising freedom with these two questions, but maybe they’ll help.  They're helping me.

Borrowing Hope,

 Zach