Finding What you are Created to do.
What has God created you to do? First he has created you to be in fellowship with him. This means to love him and to open your heart to his love. The bible directs us in the most important thing that we are to do when it says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength (Mark 12:30).” According to Jesus in Matthew 22:38, this is the first and greatest commandment. He goes on to tell us the second is like it, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Above all else, living out these two commands is what God has created us to do.
We are created both to be in a relationship of love wherever we are and regardless of what we are doing. The Bible tells us in Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” A few verses later in Colossians 3:23, the Bible says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” We were created to live for God by doing everything with a heart of love for him.
In life, there are a multitude of things that we may end up doing at any given time. The most important thing is to do it as unto the Lord. The most important thing about doing something unto the Lord is to do it with a heart of love towards him. Part of loving God is to follow his command of loving others. This doesn’t mean that we put our love for others before God so that we end up following along with a crowd that’s headed in the wrong direction, but we still love others, even if we don’t go follow them in doing wrong.
The Foundational Will of God for Everything We Do
The Bible makes it pretty clear that the top priority of what we should be doing in life is to love God and others, and to do everything as unto the Lord. This is the foundation that is to permeate everything else that we do. It’s the starting place that brings life and blessing to everything else. We can have food, clothes, possessions, money, relationships, the job we want, and leisure time to do other activities that we want, but it won’t bring anywhere near the blessing that God wants it to bring without the foundation of love and living for him. Often times all the things we think we want end up bringing heart-ache when living for God and loving others are missing. The foundation of love and living for God must be the starting place for everything else to produce the positive life that God intends.
Your Unique Expression of Love
If living for God by loving him and loving people is important, how do we go about doing that? Some people may believe that there are only a few things that we can do that are considered worthy of living for him? This may include being a Pastor, a missionary, or having a Mother Teresa type ministry that is completely dedicated to helping the poor and dying. Certainly, these are noble things to do for God and a good way to love him and others, but there are other ways to live for him as well.
God has made everyone unique, and you will have a unique way of expressing love that will be a blessing to others. The way you express love may look different than the way someone else expresses love. If you are enjoy cooking and are gifted to do it well, it can be used as an expression of love to bless others. If you enjoy building, art, or music, God can use that ability as an expression of love to him and to others. Among the human race, God has given a vast diversity of interests and abilities to take care of the multitude of needs and situations that he knows will arise in life. Take away janitors, doctors and mechanics, and suddenly you have a big problem that you didn’t think about until their services are no longer available. The same would hold true for any other line of work that is taken away.
Check Your Heart
Do you wonder what God wants you to do in life? You can ask him. Then check your heart and see what God has put in your heart to do. How do you check your heart? It’s not supposed to be complex. Kids often know what’s in their heart and they go wherever it takes them. Adults tend to be conditioned to think in terms of the values of culture, society, family, and even religion. With all of these influences, there may be too much static within a person for them to discern where their heart is truly leading them. That’s why it’s important to do what you do as unto the Lord, not for man, or you’ll start moving in a direction based on pleasing others, or pleasing a religious system that only sees a few select jobs, ministries, or activities, as worthy of God.
Checking your heart is not a one-time occasion. As you mature and accumulate knowledge and experiences, your heart may lead you in different directions. You may not be interested in going on a mission trip at a given time in your life, but with education, new experiences, and new mission opportunities, God may move on you in regard to a certain mission he wants you to go on. This doesn’t just pertain just to missions, it could pertain to getting married, going to school, pursuing a certain job, helping someone, or coaching a sports team. Whatever your heart moves you to do, if you bring love and a heart for God into that situation, you will be the treasure that God uses to bring his kingdom into the surroundings you are in.
Direction from God
As you read the Bible, you find several people such as Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David, Gideon, and the Apostle Paul who had a definite call of God to move in a certain direction, or fill a position that God assigned to them. These encounters consisted of visions, audible voices, angelic messages, and prophetic messages. The call of God that came to them occurred through unmistakable encounters with him. At that point, they had a choice to be obedient or not.
Encounters with God that Provide Direction
There are also men and women of God today who have had a definite call of God through an unmistakable encounter with him. Not everyone has such experiences, and even people such as Moses and Abraham who had encounters with God that provided specific directives that they were to act on did not receive these directions until much later in life. Before that happened to them, they did what was put before them to do in life and let their hearts lead them.
Non Directional General Encounters with God
While we can all encounter God as we experience his presence through prayer, worship, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and through daily living, those encounters are not always in the form of a definite call of God to pursue a certain job, location, or ministry. These encounters may fill us with more love and godliness to be more effective at bringing God into the things we are already doing without directing us into a new job, location, or ministry. In the mean-time, unless God directs us to do otherwise, we can follow our hearts in the direction we feel compelled to go when we have the opportunity to do so.
Sometimes responsibilities and circumstances will play a large role in dictating our direction in life. There may not be an open door for us to do what is in our hearts. If this is the case, we do what we need to do. On the other hand, if an opportunity opens up to do what is in our hearts, then we can do it whether we’ve had a vision or heard an audible voice to do it or not.
Do Whatever Your Hand Finds to Do
If you read 1 Samuel 10:6-7, you’ll find that Saul is chosen by God to be king over Israel. God did speak to Saul through the prophet Samuel and let him know that his Spirit would come upon him with power and that he would prophesy and be changed into a different man. But God never told Saul that he would give him visions, dreams, and audible directions about how to rule his kingdom. Instead, he simply told Saul, “…do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.” There is a sense in which God gave his Spirit to Saul, and Saul was simply to rule his kingdom and live his life by doing whatever his hand found to do unless given specific directions by God.
Much of what God wants us to do in life is simply a matter of doing whatever our hand finds to do. That’s why in Colossians 3:17 we are told, “and whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” We are not told here to do a specific job or task, or that we should be looking for the perfect job or task that God wants us to do. Instead we are given directions about, “whatever we do,” and that whatever we do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus. There is a sense that God leaves it up to us to determine whatever we do, but he tells us that it should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. God does give us freedom to choose much of what we do in life while still being in his will if we do it with the right heart.
Although God gives us some freedom in regard to the direction we go in life, we can always take any concept too far. If our hearts are sinful, and we follow the inclinations of our heart into sinful practices, we can’t claim to be doing it unto God. God isn’t in sin and sin isn’t in God. He is light and in him there is no darkness at all. When you do whatever your hand finds to do, it’s based on having a heart that is filled with God’s Spirit. A Spirit filled heart will be led into things that are healthy, beneficial, productive, and righteous. Paul tells us in Galatians 5:16, “So I say, live the Spirit and you will not gratify the sinful nature.”
What It Means to Be Led by the Spirit
God has given us his Spirit to lead us. Romans 8:14 says, “because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” Although God certainly does give specific direction at times, being led by the Spirit does not always refer to a specific activity that he wants us to do. Often he leaves that up to us, but his Spirit always leads us in terms of doing whatever we do with a Christ-like attitude as unto God, and we should be open and willing to allow his Spirit to lead us in that manner.
I have mentioned all of these things about doing God’s will because there are many instances where people hesitate to do what’s in their heart when what’s already in their heart is from God. Often this is because they are waiting for a sign from God to know that they are in his will. I believe you can pray and check your heart to see if you have peace on the inside. If you do, you can quit waiting unless you are planning on doing something sinful and being led by the sin nature. Otherwise, God puts desires in your heart to motivate you to act, so step out and start doing something that you can put your whole heart and energy into. Then stick with it to the point where it develops into a full blown treasure rather than a than an empty treasure chest that leaves you with nothing.
The greatest treasure that anyone can offer is the treasure of love and bringing the light of God into the world. This is first. After that, there are other treasures that can be uncovered, developed and discovered. But it doesn’t usually happen through inactivity, passivity, uncertainty, and half-hearted efforts. It takes a heart that is fully engaged and impassioned with a cause, a mission, or a skill or ability that can be developed.
For Some People it’s Clear
Some people know exactly what they are passionate about. Arnold Schwarzenegger talks about the first time he walked into a gym where people were lifting weights. He immediately knew that what he was seeing was what he wanted to do and immediately started to pursue his passion. I know people who knew from childhood that they were called into the ministry to preach. My grandfather told me that he always wanted to be farmer, and if he were given a chance to live his life over again, he would he would still make the same choice to be farmer.
Other People Need Exploration
For other people it’s not as clear. There isn’t a clear cut urge to pursue just one thing that they know for certain that they want to do. Often such people explore and try a lot of different things. This is not a bad idea and may be necessary in order for a person to see what their heart engages in. If you are looking for direction in life, only you can know what happens inside your heart as you encounter life. It’s important that you stay alert and that you are tuned in to what is going on inside of you if you want to find something that you are compelled to do whole heartedly.
Clarity Between Activity and Setting
One thing you must be careful of when checking your heart is not to confuse a setting that turns your heart on with an activity that turns your heart on. A setting that has people who love, honor, and care about you can make any job, task, or activity an absolute joy; even if you are doing something that you wouldn’t ordinarily be interested in. You need to be careful that you don’t mistake a setting that you love for a job, a task, or activity that you love. It’s perfectly ok to commit to a job, task, or activity on the basis of a wonderful setting, but if you pursue the activity and the setting changes in an unfavorable way, you may suddenly be left with a job, task, or activity that you’re not interested in.
The opposite can be true as well. You may naturally be drawn to a job, task, or activity that you can’t get enough of, but if it’s in the wrong setting, and there are inadequate physical resources, or you’re with people who are negative, critical, hard to get along with and condescending; then suddenly the thing you loved doing is no fun. The truth is that you would ordinarily love the activity, but the other conditions that surround you are so negative that it over-rides the joy you would normally get from the activity.
Finding God’s will for what you should do with your life often goes beyond getting into a specific field of work, ministry, or activities that you pursue. You must let God lead you to the right setting and people as well. There is no such thing as a perfect job, and there is no such thing as a perfect setting, or perfect people to work with, but the overall situation will often feel right, or it may just plain feel wrong, and you will have to pray and check your heart for the direction you should go.
Looking Beyond the Approval of Others for your Treasure
As I stated earlier, there may be social, cultural, family, and religious mindsets that cause you to turn your heart off and process your experiences through these outside influences rather than through your heart. If you were to like some activity or job that is not valued in the circles of people that you are a part of, it may never register on the inside of you that it’s something that you would truly like to pursue. One of the ways to deal with this is to find your identity in Christ who created you and approves of the interests, talents, and abilities that you have, provided it is not a sinful pursuit.
The Example of Jeremiah
A treasure can be just about anything that you or someone else, values in a righteous way. It can also be something that God greatly values when others may not value it. There was a prophet in the bible by the name of Jeremiah who had a treasure to offer. His treasure was his love for God and for his nation that gave him the desire to move his nation in a Godly direction through the prophecies that God gave him. He was a spokesman for God, but during his time, the nation of Israel was in rebellion towards God.
People never did listen to Jeremiah’s warnings, admonishments, or the direction that Jeremiah provided directly from God. As great as he was in God’s sight, no one else valued him. If he let the values of others determine what he did or didn’t do in life, he would have never stood up for God and righteousness. He would not have been the treasure that he was to God, or to people who would read his story and his prophecies in the centuries to come.
Unrecognized Treasures are Still Treasures
Sometimes the treasure that God gives to a person won’t be recognized by others, but it’s still a treasure. It may not seem like it on earth, but it’s a treasure in heaven that will be stored up for us. The Bible says in Matthew 6:19, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and stead. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” When we think of Jeremiah, he may not have done anything that was treasured on earth during his time, but it was treasured by God and he was storing up treasures in heaven by using the gift of prophecy that God gave him in an obedient manner.
Please consider that you may have a treasure that God has put within you that he wants you to use and to develop, but what is in your heart may be silenced by the values of culture and the people you are with, and when you finally do recognize the treasure that God has put within you, it may not be appreciated by others. However, it will still be a treasure to God and will lead to heavenly treasures. In Jeremiah’s case, he is now recognized as a great prophet and is held in high esteem, both by the Jews and by Christians, but during his time, he was lowly esteemed, yet we know that he truly was a treasure.
Exploring What’s In Your Heart
Some of you know what’s on your inside. Your dreams, desires and passions are obvious to you and you really don’t need to keep on reading this section because you already know what you want to do, and what you want to develop. Others will need to explore more and think about it more.
It often helps to ask yourself some questions, so I’ve listed some below. It’s very important that you don’t answer the questions how you think you should answer them as though there are good answers and bad answers. It’s also very important that you don’t think about what other people might think or say about your answers, and whether others would approve, disapprove, or think your cool or not. None of that matters. You are only looking at how your own heart responds to each question and you have total permission and freedom to answer according to how you are naturally inclined to answer.
What interests do you have?
What do you like to do?
What do you like to learn about or talk about?
What do you like to be a part of?
What do you look forward to?
What do you think about most often?
What do you talk about most often?
What do you read about or watch or listen to most often?
What do you dream about?
What talents and abilities do you feel you already possess?
What’s the first thing that you want to do or put on your schedule when you get a chance to do something you want to do?
Who inspires you?
Is there someone you want to be like?
Is there someone who is doing something that you would like to do? If so, what are they doing?
When have you experienced the most joy from what you did? What gives you a natural high?
Is there something that makes you feel more alive than anything else when you are doing it?
What have you done that gave you the greatest sense satisfaction from doing it?
What have you done that gave you the greatest sense of accomplishment when you did it?
When have you had the greatest sense that you did something of value?
What do you do well at that seems easy without excessive effort?
What feels like it comes natural to you when you are doing it?
If you could ask someone for any gift what would you ask for?
If someone who knows you really, really well, and they also love you and care about you, what would they give you as a present if they were not limited and could give you anything?
When answering the questions, are some of the same answers coming up again and again? That’s a clue to what’s in your heart. After answering the questions, you should be able to write down list of the top ten things that you would most like to do in life? Perhaps you have more clarity and already know the top five things, or even the single top thing. However big your list, look at it and narrow it down to the top one, two, or three things that you most want to do, and if you have the means to do so, consider choosing one of top pursuits that you listed.
Of course we our experiences, knowledge base, and level of development will change over time. As this happens, the direction we are inclined to go in life may change and it may be helpful to revisit these questions from time to time.
Setting and Relationships That Match Your Heart
It’s one thing to know what you want to do, but the people you do it with will often strongly figure into the equation of what you want to do. It is therefore important to know who you can work with or relate to. If not, you may be in a field of work or activity that you love, but be matched with the wrong people, and it turns out to be a miserable experience. If you don’t already have a good idea of who you can relate to and work with, and it’s an important part of what you dream of doing, then it would be wise to ask yourself some questions to help yourself identify what type of person you can work with and relate to effectively. The right work or activities combined with the right people equals right. If one or the other is wrong, you may find that it feels all wrong.
Questions to Ask Yourself
Who are you with that you can work with well or relate to well? What do these people have in common that make it better for you to work with them?
Who are you with that you can’t work with well, and don’t relate to well? What do these people have in common that make it hard to work with them?
Who Do you Work Well With?
When has working with others gone well for you? When has working with others not gone well for you? Consider the factors listed below. Some of the factors may matter more than others. Circle the factors that help you get along well with people. But an “no” by the factors that you have found make it difficult to relate with or work with another person. Don’t do anything to the factors that don’t seem to matter that much.
Age: pre school, elementary school, teenage, young adult, middle age, old age.
Gender Male Female
Interests: Which interests are important for others to have in order to get along with them? What interests do others have that make it hard to get along with them?
Values: which values are important for others to have in order to get along with them? What values do others have that make it hard to get along with them?
Out going
Introverted
Optimistic
Happy
Serious
Expressive
Non expressive
Disciplined
Care free
Open minded thinker
Opinionated
Smart
Average intellect
Below average intellect
High status
Normal status
Low status
Strong leader
Follower
Mutual leader-follower relationship of equals.
Prompt
Sticks to a schedule
Doesn’t care about time or schedules
Formal
Informal
Allows you to be yourself
Likes to fit in with hottest trends and life style
Tries to get you (or help you) fit in
Doesn’t care about trends or fitting in.
Initiator
Responder
Prefers to talk
Prefers to listen or be silent
Prefers mutual conversation
Driven to improve and succeed
Content at whatever level of competency they’re at
High Economic status
Low economic status
Energetic highly active
Enjoys relaxing and low energy activity
Aggressive
Passive
Likes being in a crowd
Likes to be in a small group
Likes to be one on one or alone
Other important qualities that are necessary to work with or attributes that you don’t like
After thinking through all of this, describe the ideal person, or people that you would want to work with?
Not a Perfect World
Once again, we don’t live in a perfect world and you’ll never find perfect people or the perfect job or activities. Even though this is true, you can still get a feel as to whether a situation is right or wrong if you know what you can work with easily, and what is difficult to work with.
When you find what you love to do with people that you love to do it with, you are on your way to finding the sweet spot where your treasure can develop and be appreciated. It’s hard to find these ideal conditions without taking deliberate steps to find or create those conditions and it’s also important to realize that we live in a fallen world where things are far from perfect. While none of us are going to find a perfect world with perfect conditions, we can take steps to create the best conditions that we can. This is not something that we deal with once, but it’s something that will be ongoing as long as we live.
Patience and Development Leads to More Choices.
One year while I was attending college, I began thinking about what type of work I could do during summer vacation. I decided that being a camp counselor at a Bible Camp was something that would fit my interests and abilities; at least I hoped so and I ended up applying for job as a camp counselor. I was fortunate to get the job I wanted. During the summer, my main role was simply to be a counselor. I was able to lead some of the games at the end of the summer, and also played the guitar some during our chapel worship times, but for the most part, I counseled. The second year, I was given a more active role in leading the games and recreation, and the next summer, I was the program director, recreation director, guitar player, and helped the lead the counselors in coming up with our own chapel services during the weeks when we didn’t have a guest speaker.
I say all of this to point out that as time went on, I was given more and more choices in regard to what type of work I was doing at the camp. Having the ability to make choices and fit in where my interests and abilities were strongest was a process. I couldn’t just walk in and tell the Camp Director, “These are my interests, passions, and abilities that I have in regard to camp work, and you need to put me in the positions that I would like to be in.” Instead, I started out by taking the counseling position that was available. Then over time, I had to consistently prove my abilities in a responsible manner and that’s what led to being able to choose more of what I preferred to do. It would be nice to figure out all of the ideal conditions and then instantly move into those conditions, but it rarely happens that way.
Dead Ends, Detours, and Road Blocks
As you make an effort to move towards the conditions that you feel would be ideal, it is likely that there will be challenges, obstacles, and adverse conditions that you must overcome in order to be in a place in life where you are really doing what you feel God has created you to do. When you face challenges that seem to hold you back from the doing what you are cut out to do, you must evaluate the circumstances that are creating those challenges. The challenges you face will come in the form of either dead-ends, detours, or road blocks. In order to respond effectively, you must be able to determine whether you are being challenged with a dead-end, a detour, or a road block. It will take God’s guidance and wisdom to deal with each of these situations.
Dead-Ends
A dead is a circumstance that either won’t change by itself, and you can’t change it either. You may want to see circumstances change because you are hoping to move into something new that is closer to what you are hoping for, but the opportunity just isn’t there; it’s a dead-end road. A dead-end road is not always a situation you want to get out of immediately. Sometimes you can learn, develop, mature, and make changes within yourself, even when things aren’t going to change around you. And sometimes staying in an unchangeable situation is unavoidable because there are no other options. But if you see a dead-end for what it is, you can take steps to prepare yourself for a completely different opportunity.
Preparing yourself often means doing the best you can where you are, and taking any other steps to improve yourself that are necessary. It also means actively looking for another opportunity that is closer to what you are looking for. If you are truly in a dead-end situation, you will stay in that situation unless you take the initiative to pursue something different. Prayer and seeking the Lords will is very important because often God is the only one who knows if a situation is truly is a dead-end. God can quickly change what appears to be a dead-end and put you in a position that you thought looked impossible. He did it with Joseph, David and Daniel, so seek God’s guidance.
Detours
Detours are circumstances in which you find yourself doing something that you never really wanted to do, while pursuing what you really do want to do. Detours are not permanent and they give you an opportunity to get where you want to go in life, but you won’t get there in the manner planned, as the steps to get there will include things you never planned on doing. However, if you stick with it, you’ll eventually get there even though it may seem like you are moving in a different direction than you had hoped. It takes a lot of patience to take a detour and reach the place where you want to be. Joshua and Caleb faced a huge detour when they had to travel around the desert with the rest of the Israelites who lacked faith to go into the Promised Land. However, the time came when God led them into the Promised Land and they reached the place they desire to be. It takes great patience to take a detour, but sometimes it’s the pathway to place you want to go.
Road Blocks
Road blocks may seem like dead-ends, but they aren’t. A road block feels like a dead-end because you are stuck in the same place and it looks like you’re not going anywhere. But the difference is that a roadblock isn’t permanent. It’s a temporary situation that keeps you right where you’re at without progressing, but if you just wait, the road block will be removed and you will once again be on your way to where you want to go in life. It may be obvious that a road block is a road block, or it may be in question as to whether it’s a road block or a dead end. Proverbs 3:5 gives sound advice for these situations, “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and do not lean upon your own understanding. But in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.”
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