You love the Lord and want to serve him, but you wonder, “Am I walking in God’s purpose for my life?” You are worried about “missing God’s calling for you” or ask if there is more you could be doing for the Lord. Sometimes it’s overwhelming, so you choose not to think about it, but it lingers in the background: “What is my God-given purpose?”
I can’t tell you your unique calling in life, but I can give you five tips to help you find it and help you become more aware of ways God may be showing you his unique purpose for your life.
1. Pay Attention to Your Tears.
In this day and age, hearing bad news is just a matter of time. We have become calloused by constant headlines of famine, war, and evil.
It is essential to pay attention to what makes you cry. What deeply moves your heart? There is a good chance that what you are feeling is the heart of God, and where you find God’s heart, you find purpose.
I never understood why, but whenever someone would talk about revival, I would begin to tear up. Then a speaker came to our church and told stories of revival. He spoke of mass salvations in cities, people getting healed, entire regions transforming throughout history when God moved.
I sat in my chair and cried, and I did not understand why. Later I asked him, “Why do I cry whenever you talk about people getting saved?”
“Because you are called to do the same thing,” he replied. He then told me that if you play a note on a piano and a guitar is nearby, the same musical note on the guitar will begin to vibrate. This is called “resonating.”
“When I share revival stories,” he said, “a note is being played, and your heart is resonating. That is a sign that God has called you to play the same note.”
That was one of those moments when I felt like life made sense.
Lou Engle says, “Pay attention to your tears. They will point you to your destiny.”
What about you? What in this world brings you to tears when you hear about it? It’s is a calling to do something about it. Do you weep when you hear about orphaned children? That is God giving you His heart for His kids. Maybe you are called to adopt, foster, or support an orphanage.
When you think of a specific nation, state, or region, do you tear up? Maybe you are supposed to be a missionary there or do something for God in that region.
Is your heart moved when you think of God showing up in businesses, schools, families, politics, or another area of society? Wherever your heart is moved to tears, that is the place where God has placed purpose for you.
Finish this sentence. “I long to see God move in ________.” Whatever you used to fill in the blank, that is where God has placed a piece of your purpose and calling.
Nehemiah was a Jewish man living in Babylon and working as a cupbearer to the king, meaning he was a glorified waiter. But when he heard that Jerusalem’s wall was destroyed in Israel and the city laid to waste, it broke his heart.
“As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.” Nehemiah 1:4
But he did not just shake his head and move on. He knew that he had to do something about it. So, though he was just a waiter, he decided to talk to the king, and he prayed that God would give him favor.
Nehemiah 1:11 “O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”
Ask God to allow you to do something about whatever breaks your heart.
2. Find the Favor.
Where do you find weird favor in your life? Where do doors seem to open in strange ways? Have you ever heard the saying, “Where God guides, God provides?” There is some good truth in that.
God will never ask you to do something for Him and then not provide a way for you to do it. So, when something is on your heart, look for the provision. Does God open a door for you to do that thing? That is a clue to your purpose.
I longed to go for three months as a missionary to Colombia but had no money. I worked as hard as I could, called everyone I knew. But by the time the deadline came, I was still $2,500 short.
I prayed, “God if this is you, you have to provide.” Then miracles started happening. People at church started walking up to me and handing me money. Within 20 minutes of praying, not only did I have all my money, I was able to give away $600 to someone else who needed money for their missions trip.
So ask yourself, “Where do I have favor in life?” Not just with finances, but in relationships, businesses, strategies, etc.
Do people just weirdly like you and want to be around you? Do people open up to you and often say, “I don’t know why I’m telling you this.” Are you randomly given gifts you didn’t ask for? Do you seem blessed with finances? Does everyone want to host events at your house?
Big or small, pay attention to the favor on your life, because God has a purpose for it.
The king of the Nehemiah’s nation was unapproachable by anyone. But luckily, Nehemiah was his waiter. He did not have money, but he had favor with relationships, and he did not just waste the blessing he had. So he asked the king for help.
Nehemiah 2: 4 “Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.”
The king permits him to go and gives him all of the supplies he needs to rebuild the city wall! So Nehemiah goes from being a glorified waiter to the man commissioned by the king to rebuild a city!
“And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.” Nehemiah 2:8b
Pay attention to where there is strange favor on your life, and ask, “How can I use this for God?” Your favor is not just for you. It is so that God can do something through you.
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3. Look for the Passion That Takes Action.
Nehemiah then plans day and night on how to rebuild Jerusalem. In fact, upon arrival, he spends multiple nights tracing the entire wall of the city. He marks every place that needs to be rebuilt and begins to map out a plan to change the city.
He cannot sleep but uses all his free time thinking about his dream of seeing the city restored. The place where he put his passion on paper and took action was where purpose came.
God has also placed purpose within your passion. So where do you get excited, find meaning, and see yourself coming alive? In this is a piece of your purpose.
Where do you find yourself not just talking about a “someday maybe dream,” but are taking action? What dream do you research day and night for? What keeps you awake at night thinking? Where would you spend all your time, energy, and resources without question?
There is a good chance that another clue to your God-purpose lies inside there.
Is it in traveling? Maybe you are called to travel for Jesus as a missionary? Is it in cooking? Perhaps you are called to help feed the poor and bring nutrition to heal people. Is it in music? Maybe you are called to create worship for the Lord. What about writing? Perhaps you are called to write in a way that brings people to God.
God placed that passion inside you and wants to use it for His glory.
So often we believe that our passions are just for us. We want to travel for our enjoyment. We want to cook for our pleasure. We want to create music for our sake. We want to write so we can be famous authors.
But when your passion is about you, it will never fulfill your purpose. Selfish passion is cheap passion. It will not satisfy you. Because, ultimately, our purpose will only come when it is connected to and for God.
Ask yourself, “How can I use my passion for God?” Now you are tapping into your God-given purpose.
You will find a piece of your purpose at the place where your passion is used for God’s glory. Only when you are living your passion in a way that spread’s God’s kingdom will you begin to feel like you know why you were born.
Once again, fill in the blank. “I want to do ______ for God” That’s a sign of your passion. That’s a clue to your purpose.
4. Ask Your Community.
Nehemiah travels to Jerusalem and shares what is in his heart with the people. Immediately, some of the community wants to be a part of it.
Nehemiah 2: 8 “And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.”
How do people respond when you share what God put in your heart? Do people say, “This is God!” Do they want to be a part of it?
Too often, we are silent about what we feel led to do in life and wonder why we can’t find our purpose.
Listen to the advice of your community. Do they encourage you to go for it, or do they all tell you to rethink it?
Proverbs 11:14 “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”
But when you share, like Nehemiah, do some say, “We’re in!”? That is a good sign that God has a purpose hidden there for you.
5. Watch the Attacks.
When people walk in their God purpose, the devil gets afraid and will do whatever he can to stop it.
Part of the community immediately wanted to help Nehemiah, but strange opposition immediately arose.
“But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us…” Nehemiah 2:19
Throughout the entire story of Nehemiah, these men constantly try to discourage Nehemiah. They lie to him about it and throw any low ball they can to get him to leave his God-purpose.
Usually, God’s purposes and ideas are polarizing. Many people will want to rally around to it, but some will strangely overreact against it.
If it was just a random idea, why would anyone want to go out of their way to join you? On the other side, why would anyone immediately despise you? They may disagree, which is normal. But despise you? That’s extreme.
When God is in it, many will want to help! But someone will hate you for it, and you won’t understand why.
Where in your life is there strange attack, pushback, delay, or discouragement? Where do you see constant bombardment against you — not just with people but in the circumstances as well?
There is a good chance the devil is attacking you there so that you will not walk in your purpose. The key is to seek God and godly counsel and then keep moving forward.
May we be like Nehemiah, who would not let himself fall to discouragement.
“Then I replied to them, ‘The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.'” Nehemiah 2:20
Nehemiah won’t allow himself to get discouraged but instead says, “God is in this. With him, we will win. If you hate it, you aren’t supposed to have a portion in it.” So he didn’t give up but recognized some would not like what he was doing, but that was OK because Nehemiah was in his purpose.
We all want to know what our purpose is. How do I find the call God has uniquely for me? Here are some tips. Pay attention to your tears, find the favor, ask yourself, look for the passion that takes action, ask your community what they see in your life, and watch the attacks.
So so accurate! My passions to go to other nations, be a teacher, started when I was a child. I was turned down when applying as an air-hostess as I was ‘too short’! And wanted to teach university students who wanted to learn… not just in a child’s school.
Then when becoming a Believer, mid-twenties, my passion and calling to nations burst out… and in YWAM the teacher in me emerged. I didn’t recognise it but my leaders did.
And I cried for those in emotional and mental pains. Then YWAM started counselling schools and off I went for training… became a teacher and school leader, AND did this in many nations. Now, living in a different nation, I counsel and teach in local churches though am 70 soon. 😇
Wow! Taylor, God’s anointing continues in you.
(Sorry this is so long.)
WOW, I have been hungry, there has been Avery big space to fill inside me but now these Two posts of hearing from God and God’s purpose for my life are filling that big Gap in me. Thank you Taylor, may God bless you abundantly.
This post was such a good way to reflect on myself as a person, to point out things that I knew but didn’t really see clearly. Thank you so much I’m glad I came across one of your blog posts and it led me to this. God works in amazing ways!
Taylor
I know what drives my tears and that’s revival. One time I was sitting in a large congregation when after the sermon, there was an alter call. I sat there sobbing tears of joy!
So because I am alone and can’t seem to connect to anyone, I sit contemplating how I am going to do this by myself. So for now, when given the opportunity, when I am out shopping I will plant seeds of love from our Lord. I want to take my guitar and go to the park and perhaps play and sing some Christian music.
I loved this! This keeps coming up at a new church I joined “what is your God purposes calling”. This has led me to write in my journal and help find the answer on my path! Appreciate this blog and thanks for the comments! God bless!