For many years I lived in darkness, not believing God could use my life to draw others to Him. But He created us to live in the light of His purpose for us. His Word speaks purpose for each of us. A relationship with Him guides us into living out our purpose with meaning.
Now I see that as I take the first step, even when it’s hard, my obedience intersects with His ability. This is where we find purpose. And this inspires me to trust Him more.
For me, one of those steps was attending a, Women Doing Well workshop, On-Purpose Living & Giving. Through a series of questions and observations, we discovered our two-word purpose statement. Mine is Inspiring Trust.
Saying yes to God
In the story of Exodus, the people cried out for relief and God responded with a big promise: victory. The land He commanded them to go in and take was already theirs; they simply had to trust and obey. Time and time again, they witnessed God’s powerful hand working on their behalf and yet they still struggled with believing His ability to care for them.
Reflecting back on my life I can see that I was living like the Israelites, wandering aimlessly and lost in the wilderness for many years. I allowed the values of the world to influence me. My path wasn’t inspiring trust in God, in myself, or anyone else. I thought I was happy, yet in the quiet space I was terribly sad. Self doubt and condemnation kept me in darkness. When God began to shine light on what He had for me, a big promise, He gave me strength to say yes to Him. And as I said yes to God, His grace began to move in my life.
My confidence began to shift. This confidence, now attached to God, began to change my entire perspective. It opened me up to live out Inspiring Trust.
What Inspiring Trust means to me
Many times, God will use our past, even what we think was loss or failure, to bring purpose to our lives. I see how God is using my past and reshaping me to look more and more like Him through those two words, Inspiring Trust. As God inspires trust in me, I inspire trust in others. I point the way for others to God by saying, “He is trustworthy. He will be there for you, as He has been for me!”
I’m discovering that God doesn’t always lead us along the shortest path to our goal. He sees the end of our journey so I can trust Him to lead me around unseen obstacles, even if that obstacle is me!
Living in the light of God-given purpose
As I reflect on Inspiring Trust, I’ve found I’ve grown from just being a ‘hearer’ of God’s word to a ‘doer’ of His word! Confidence in Him, rather than in my own capabilities gives me the energy to do all things through God who gives me strength.
I’ve learned that I will never fulfill my destiny on my own. Unpleasant obstacles in life are often God-ordained opportunities to change, to make a difference, to show people what trusting God can look like.
God is performing miracles in me. As I step forward to do what God wants me to do, He is working through me because finally, praise God, I am willing to trust Him enough to step forward for Him. Living out my purpose has brought me true happiness. I found joy! I pray that the light and love of Jesus Christ shines through my life like a bright light in a dark room.
By God’s grace, I am living out my purpose!
