You are not a waste of space. You were created for a reason. But if you want to find and fulfill your purpose, you can’t start with yourself. It’s like trying to read the label from inside the bottle. Instead, it’s important to zoom out and look at the BIG PICTURE. I call it your “MACRO” purpose.
In my last post about Dealing with Your Daddy Issues, I dropped the first question on what I call The Purpose Roadmap:
Question #1 (MACRO): Who is God and who are you in relation to Him?
You were also encouraged to read the accompanying scriptures and write out your answers. If you follow The Purpose Roadmap, by the end you will have a written purpose statement that brings you closer to finding and fulfilling your purpose, clarifies your present reality, and acts as a filter for future opportunities. You can check out all the parts in the series here:
- Purpose Quest Intro: When Your Purpose Seems Foggy and Unclear
- Purpose Quest 1: Dealing with Your Daddy Issues
MACRO vs. micro
There are at least four “MACRO” or BIG PICTURE questions and several “micro” questions you need to answer to have real clarity about your purpose. Here’s how I define MACRO and micro:
- “MACRO” Purpose is not God’s will and purpose for you but rather His Will and Purpose period. I call them “BIG W” and “BIG P”. These are determined by BIG PICTURE questions.
- Your “micro” purpose is God’s will and purpose for you. I call them “little w” and “little p”. These have to do with your spiritual gifts as well as your natural strengths and abilities, passions, experiences, and your sphere of influence.
Why Were You Created?
To find your purpose, you must answer another BIG PICTURE question. Don’t worry, we will get to what you really want to know i.e. what the heck am I supposed to do with my life? But if you take time to zoom out and look at the BIG PICTURE, your “micro” purpose begins to come clear.
Every child of God shares a common reason why you were created, but it doesn’t diminish your unique individual purpose, not in the least.
If you’re not a person of faith, it’s still important to realize that you were made for something bigger than yourself, and you must define what that is.
It’s Not About You
I still remember exactly where I was when the shoe dropped for me. It was 2003 and I had traveled to Dallas, Texas with a group of young adults for an event called One Day. As one of the speakers shared passionately about God’s glory, it suddenly clicked for me.
It’s not about me.
We tend to live as if the world and everything in it revolve around us. It doesn’t. Never has. Just like the sun doesn’t revolve around the earth, God doesn’t revolve around us, in fact, it’s quite the opposite. It’s not surprising that we live as if the world revolves around us. That’s as natural and normal as breathing for human beings. After all, we hear it over and over, including in the church. You are the apple of God’s eye. God loves you and died for you. God created you for a purpose.
That’s because we are influenced by our culture. Think about it: Us Magazine. People Magazine. There’s even one called SELF Magazine.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying God doesn’t love you. He absolutely does, but an unhealthy emphasis on self is part of our sinful nature. A healthy view of self has God at the center and out of the love He has for us, we are able to love Him, ourselves, and others in return.
Let’s switch the script. Here’s what it looks like when you take yourself out of the center and put God where He belongs:
You are the apple of God’s eye. God loves you and died for you. God created you for His purpose.
While God created you and loves you beyond what you can fathom, He never meant you and me to be in the center. We can’t handle that. God wants to be the center of your heart, your home, your job, your church, your life, and whatever else you can think of as “yours.” Brace yourself. This can be a hard truth.
You are not the center of God’s plan Jesus is. You are not the center of God’s glory, God is.
When you take yourself out of the center, God gets the glory, and you get to display who He is to the world.
God is a “God-worshiper”
If humanity was the center of God’s plan, that means God would worship man. God cannot worship man. He can only worship Himself. God is not an idolater. God is a God-worshiper. He is the only one worthy of worship and adoration, including His own!
That may sound counter-intuitive, but God can’t worship anything or anyone but Himself. Who else is there to worship? Who else is worthy? Who else can handle worship and adoration? Certainly not you and me. But that doesn’t mean God is selfish either. His love is perfect, and we are the recipients of His overflowing love:
“God so loved the world He gave His one and only Son…” (John 3:16)
That’s because true love gives.
As the source of love, God is always giving it out. As for you and me, we are not the source; we are the recipients. We must first receive His love, then we are able to give it away. We are only able to love – the way He loves – because He loved us first.³
MACRO Purpose Question #2
Why was I created? (read Isaiah 43:7, Revelation 4:11, Colossians 1:16, John 17:3, John 4:23 and answer)
Read the scriptures and write down your answers. Don’t censor yourself, just do a brain dump.
After you’ve done that, write your answer in a clear and concise statement. Now put your statements from Purpose Questions 1 and 2 together.
You are one step closer to finding clarity about your purpose!
Next time, I will give you MACRO Purpose Question #3.
Endnotes
¹ Isaiah 43:7 NKJV
² Mark 12:31 NKJV
³ 1 John 4:19
* Photo by Jukan Tateisi on Unsplash
