Everywhere you look people are trying to find out who they are, and what they were made to do. Even in the church, you’ll hear  God has a purpose for you and that you have to go find it. Can I be completely honest and say that these type of sentences always freaked me out? It made me feel like I was behind because I didn’t know the purpose God created me for at that very moment. It made me feel like I had to hurry up and go find it. Hearing those types of things left me confused and trying to force an outcome. Do you ever feel this way as well?

I know for me, the whole “finding your purpose” thing left me feeling more overwhelmed than encouraged. But let me tell you what God has been revealing to me about purpose. One of the best things he’s shown me is that you don’t go find it. Purpose is not something you go and find outside of yourself. It’s already inside of you. We bring our purpose wherever we go because it’s already apart of who we are. We just bring that purpose to different areas, platforms, and things God wants to take us to. 

Purpose flows from your identity.

What you are made to do is discovered overtime through your stance as a son or daughter of God. We discover what we are made to do by first looking to the one who created us. Identity is key. You can not discover who you were made to be without first knowing who you are. Knowing your identity opens up the possibilities of all that is available in Christ.

What is your identity? A child of God. Sounds super boring and not profound, but it is when you really believe it in your mind and spirit. As you all know from my blog name and recent post, knowing God intimately is the main thing I will always go back to. You can not find out who you truly are without looking to the one who created you and knows every detail about you. He knows things that you don’t even know about yourself. Things that are not beyond your reach but right inside of you just waiting to be discovered. Things that may be dormant now, but will come out in the right season. 

Being confident and knowing your position as a child of God opens all doors to self-discovery. This one thing is what brings authority, power, faith, strength, and purpose. Knowing who God says you are takes away insecurity and makes you secure in who he created you to be. It takes away comparison or feeling like you need to keep up with what everyone else is doing. We can’t live out our purpose if we’re looking to find ourselves in every temporary thing of this world. If we think our purpose is in what we do then when that thing is gone we will think our purpose left with it. 

In the book “Own Your Every day” by Jordan Lee Dooley she quotes a friend of hers and says that we live out of who we believe we are. Woah! Such a perfect statement to reiterate the fact that purpose flows from our identity. If our identity is wrapped up in fear, doubt, and insecurity then we can not see anything clearly and we end up living out of those things. We keep that baggage and claim it as our identity and then we can’t really see who God made us to be. 

You live out of who you believe you are.

Believe that you are a child of God. Learn what that means. Seek God first and as you become healed you become surer of your identity. Your purpose stems from that realization. God will reveal what he’s already put in you as you journey along.

Don’t see your purpose as just one thing. You can be a teacher and an artist. A pastor and a photographer. 

 Purpose is multifaceted in that it can flow and change depending on the season you’re in. Purpose has to be multifaceted because God has put so much inside of us. I believe he wants us to seek out and discover what we are made to do as life goes on. Believing that we can only do one thing is boxing God in. When God made apples he didn’t only make one apple he made hundreds of different kinds within that same fruit. So why wouldn’t he be so creative with us? 

From what God has shown me about finding your purpose, you don’t need to stress out about figuring it all out right away. I think God purposely shows us who we are in small increments so that way we can always go back to him to seek more. I also believe that different seasons call for a different version of us, hence another purpose that needs to be brought into that season. For example, I am going from being single to married in the next few months and that new season will call for a different version of me. The purpose I brought in my single season will now shift and change as I become a married woman. Even within motherhood, your purpose changes for the child as they grow and mature into different stages.

Allow yourself to be where you are.

Let God show you who He is, then let Him reveal to you different parts of yourself in this season. Next season will cause more to flourish out of you. 

Just go with the flow. Appreciate where you are now. Explore the different aspects of who you are right now. You don’t need to wait to be on a stage to find your purpose. It’s right there inside of you and you can use it today.