Purpose Over Enablers

In 2010, I was preparing to speak at a local church in West London on discovering purpose when God spoke to me. This wasn’t a word for my audience. No, it was for me personally and it unsettled me:

Your job is NOT your purpose.“

There was clear emphasis on the ‘NOT’ and I knew why. Two years into my graduate career, it seemed I had it all mapped out. My life was finally starting to gain traction and I relished the exposures of corporate UK.

In those six words (“Your job is NOT your purpose”), God effectively turned my perspective on its head. I was broken. But truth be told, I’m grateful He did.

We could easily fall into the trap or unintended error of embracing what we do or have as the essence of our lives. We mustn’t.

Enablers matter but purpose is more

Perhaps for you (as is the case for many), there has never been a time when job security, family ties and a sense of collective community mattered more, than in the current climate as we recover from COVID-19. And rightly so.

However, it’s important to understand that your degrees, job, family, friendship circle, influence and even (I mean especially) positional church platform are only enablers.

Your job is not your purpose; God has blessed you with opportunities to enable you have eternal impact on others as you live out your true calling.

If you fail to realise your higher calling, you risk living for less and wasting your life. Click To Tweet

A balanced understanding of the relationship between enablers and purpose liberates us to live as God intends.

Utilise, not idolise, your enablers to fulfil God’s purpose for your life. You have a calling. You have a WHY. And it’s not your job, degrees, money, family or anything else you do (in themselves).

Most enablers are transitory; purpose is more

Most enablers are transitory. The probability that you will stay in the same job for the next 20 years tilts closer to zero than it does to 100%. Your degree is a milestone. Your work is important but will end someday. Your church title will eventually fade into insignificance.

God didn’t create you ultimately for these. Instead, He packed them in your bag as tools to help your journey through life.

What am I trying to say?

Don’t define your worth, joy and fulfilment in the context of what you do or possess.

If you do, you’ll forfeit the very purpose for which you were created. Don’t lose the forest for the trees.

There is more to life than your job and academic titles (or the absence of either). Your purpose is more. I pray you discover, pursue and live it out. Click To Tweet

The world is waiting for you to break out; to choose purpose over enablers.

Photo by Marten Bjork on Unsplash.