Seize Your Life’s Purpose – Discovering Your Spiritual Gifts in a Changing World
Living the word of God each day by using your spiritual gifts and passion for your faith is a challenging but remarkable way of life. Letting God truly take charge of his life is a process that ultimately enriches the well-being of those whose lives he touches and brings joy to his soul and life. Learning to trust God is ultimately liberating.
To begin the growth of the spirit of God within you, you must first come to understand the passions and spiritual gifts that God has given you. Thus begins a period of reflection and interior search through prayer, trust in God’s mercy and love for you, and the desire to follow God’s direction.
God wants to have an intimate relationship with you. God is fully aware of your inner passion, your spiritual gifts, and the challenges you face in opening your heart to God’s guidance. When you pray, understand that God wants you to know him on a more intimate level. As you begin to open your heart to this experience, praying and hoping that God’s will be present in your actions, you must also spend time listening to God’s voice within you. Many events throughout the Bible point to the fact that God reveals himself in a secret and quiet place. To understand God’s plan for our lives, we must open our hearts to listen quietly and then follow what our hearts are telling us.
Every day we must place ourselves in God’s hands, letting God guide us in our actions with others in our jobs, as well as in our relationships with friends and family and in colleges and universities with their classmates.
Learning to put our complete trust in God is sometimes hard to do. As we learn in the book of Job, the how and why of God’s actions are beyond our understanding, but it is by following God’s will that we receive all blessings. It is by following God’s will through our emotional pain that we experience spiritual growth and redemption. Following God’s will is discovered deep in your heart by listening to your life and trying to understand what your life is really about.
Letting go of the pieces of our life that we don’t want God to be in control of can be confusing and uncomfortable. However, as you depend more and more on God for strength and guidance, your passions and purpose in life will be released. His confidence in his decisions about life’s journey will grow and he will experience a deep sense of peace. Don’t ask, “What should I do with my life?” but, “Who am I? or What is my true nature?” are the essential questions that lead to answering the vocational questions. If we walk this earth to be the gifts God created, then what will bring us deeper peace and joy? Frederick Buechner says that a true vocation is “the place where your deep joy meets the deep need of the world.”
As we learn in James 2:17, faith without works is dead. We can say we believe, but if we don’t trust God’s desires for us, even when we have doubts, our faith will not grow. Acting on God’s desires for us requires a combination of prayerful silent listening and putting our faith into action. God will even provide opportunities for you to make a significant impact in people’s lives as Jesus continually leads you into a deeper personal relationship with God.
Fear of the unknown is a major factor in hesitating to surrender your life to God’s call. Losing your comfort level and not really knowing what God is going to do with you is hard to take. God has revealed through the Word (John 3:16) that we are to surrender our gifts so that God can refine them and return them to us wholly and completely within our hearts to share with others and the world. God will certainly set your soul free. Opening your heart to God can lead to wonderful surprises you could never have dreamed of.
Pray and listen for God’s guidance in finding and using your passions and spiritual gifts. Trust that God will use them and follow God’s call when you hear it. Enjoy a faith-filled life rich in love and human kindness. Best of all, enjoy an intimate and inspiring walk of faith with God as your constant companion!