“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”- Mark Twain
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.”- Jeremiah 1:5 (NIV)
In Chapter 2 (“Discovering Your Purpose”) of The Joseph Calling, Os Hillman defines the way you discover how God wants to use your life and work. You must know why God created you in the first place. The author observes that discovering why God created you precedes trying to determine your purpose. Otherwise, the things on which you base fulfillment in life hang you up. This, in turn, only leads to frustration and disappointment. For without purpose, life’s meaningless.
Most importantly, Mr. Hillman asserts, you must begin with God and God alone to find your purpose. First and foremost, Os states, God (1) created you to know Him and (2) to have an intimate relationship with Him. Thus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, establishing this relationship with God becomes vital to discovering your life’s purpose. Otherwise, you use the wrong motives to fulfill your purpose. For example, wrong motives include fear, insecurity, pride, money, relationships, guilt, or unresolved anger.
In conclusion, Os ties together motivation and purpose. He explains:
“God’s desire is for you to be motivated out of love for him and to desire to worship him in all that you do. As you develop this relationship with God, he will begin to reveal his purpose for your life. Your purpose in life . . . is nonnegotiable. God had a plan in mind when you became flesh and blood on earth. . . . There is no changing God’s purpose for your life, but you may not fulfill it because free will is involved.”
Today’s question: Please describe the two most important days in your life.
Tomorrow’s blog: the new Short Meditation, “Each day holds a surprise — only if we expect it”
