One of my
favorite parts of kicking off a new year has become choosing a word of the
year. Since being introduced to this concept several years ago in a women’s
bible study (thanks Jodi!), I find that I look forward to seeing which word
finds me as one year draws to a close and a new one begins. I am amazed at how
often I start to hear or read a certain word—I hear it on the radio, read it in
my quiet time, and hear it in sermons. I just can’t seem to escape it. As 2016
approached, I kept landing on the word “purpose,” and God is already using this
word to rock my little world and challenge the way I view my life and the
people around me.
As I landed
on this word, it started to expand to encompass several different meanings.
Then, as I felt compelled to relaunch this blog which I started several years
ago but failed to maintain, I knew that I needed to apply this word to my
writing in 2016. I feel God calling me to step outside of my default mode and
live a life on purpose, with purpose, and according to His purpose. In a
nutshell that means that my life really has very little to do with me and very
much to do with Him and the people He has strategically placed around me. While
I am so very early in this journey, I am already seeing that if I can truly
embrace His purposes (even when I don’t know or understand His purposes), my
whole perspective towards life will be different and more meaningful. So what
exactly does all this look like? I’m not completely sure, but this is where I’m
starting this journey to purposeful living.
Living on Purpose
As I thought
about my word for 2016, this is where I landed first. As a mom of three littles
who are quickly turning into bigs, I am becoming more aware of just how short
these years are. My oldest is over halfway to being an adult! Our time with our
children, while some of the days seem to last forever, is so fleeting, and I
know I have squandered so much of it. I have wasted it looking at a television
screen, crushing candy on my cellphone, and choosing lesser things. In the
fall, my husband and I made a decision to become more intentional with our time
as a family. I don’t want my children to have an accidental childhood. I don’t
want my marriage to survive just by accident. I want to intentionally invest in
the relationships that are the most valuable.
Job 14:5
tells us that “man’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his
months and have set limits he cannot exceed,” and in Psalm 90:12, Moses says, “Teach
us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” I must live
my life within the reality that my days on this earth are already determined
(as are the days of those around me). I have no idea how much time He will give
me, but even if I live a long life, the time will still be fleeting in the
whole scheme of eternity. Numbering of our days shouldn’t feel us with fear or
dread—it should prompt us to make better use of the time we have. I want to use
the time that He grants me to focus on the roles where God has uniquely placed
me and uniquely gifted me. I want to choose the best things. I want my minutes
to matter, and I want to live on purpose.
Living with Purpose
As I started
this move toward more intentionality, God started to show me that it isn’t
enough to just do good things. I can put my cellphone down and spend more time
with my husband or my children, but if that time serves no eternal purpose, I’m
still missing what He has for me. If I truly believe in the sovereignty of God
(and I do), then I need to live like it. I need to accept that conversations
and opportunities are divine appointments. As a teacher, I need to step into my
classroom each day, realizing that this is a calling God has placed on my life.
He has sovereignly placed every student on my roster, and I might not ever know
why that student is sitting there, but it’s enough for me to know that God does
know why he or she is in that desk. This changes how I teach. Living with
purpose changes how I treat my husband. It changes how I parent my children. It
changes my interactions with family and friends. When I live with purpose, I
replace superficial conversations with meaningful ones. I trade complaining for
thanksgiving. I change worry for trust. I trade meaningless calendar-filling
family activities with activities that build relationships and encourage
communication. I serve with purpose not out of obligation.
I can only
imagine what my life would look like if I did everything with purpose. If I
taught with purpose, parented with purpose, loved my husband with purpose,
ministered with purpose, spent money with purpose, served with purpose, and
cooked with purpose, my life would start to look a lot more like Jesus and lot
less like the world.
Living according to His purpose.
Those of us
who have spent a substantial amount of time in church often quote Romans 8:28: “And
we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who
have been called according to His purpose” (NIV). From this verse, we take
comfort that no matter what we are going through, no matter how painful, God is
working behind the scenes and He is working it for good. This points back to
His sovereign plan, which leads to a life with purpose, but this verse also points
out that more important than my purpose is His purpose. I can make a lot of
really great choices, and I can impact those around me in a positive way, but
if I’m not acting according to His purpose, my deeds are in vain. My life
should be one of submission to His purpose.
One of my
favorite passages is in Philippians 2 as Paul teaches us what it means to
imitate Christ in humility, and there are so many ways that this chapter speaks
into living life on purpose. In verses 12 and 13, Paul says, “Therefore, my dear
friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more
in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for
it is God who works in you to will and to act accordingly to his good purpose.”
The “therefore”
in verse 12 points back to the earlier verses where Paul describes Christ’s
example, and then he instructs his readers to work out their salvation. He is
telling them that they are saved by their words, but he is teaching them (and
me) that since they have been saved, they are to live out their salvation. Why is
living out our salvation important? Because God works in us to will and to act according
to His purpose. As a believer, I am to live a life surrendered to His calling.
My life is no longer about me. It’s about Him. I focus on His deal and His
kingdom instead of my deal and my kingdom. And that change of perspective
impacts how I act. It impacts how I live. It impacts how I live on purpose and
with purpose.
Final Thought
Time is limited; I don’t know how many minutes or days I will have with my husband, with my children, with my students, with my friends, family, or acquaintances. It would be easy to take this truth and jump to an application of “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we may die.” However, numbering my days is not an invitation to life frivolously—it’s a calling to live purposefully. Jesus, please help me to live on purpose, with purpose, and according to Your purpose.
