Finding our God given purpose will come to mind as we begin to grow spiritually. For some of us we will become aware of this as a goal earlier, for others it will occur later in life. Some of us may stray off the proper path and decide later the things we are doing damaging to others are not really who we are, and we will seek to change.
The first impulse we have is to investigate religion as a source of improvement, because our need for change is deep, we automatically associate religion with spirituality. This is normal, and healthy because we are seeking guidance and enlightenment. However, there may be a wider look at the landscape of which we need to be aware. In just about everything in general, the first wider look at anything is beneficial. This applies to finding your God given purpose as well.
Since we are wanting to do what is right with God, that must at some point involve asking a religion for help. All religions claim to know God, but they do not know you. That is the problem. Looking at finding your God given purpose is best done with a wider view first. A narrower look is to only seek guidance in religion as the only way to find our purpose, which is what most people do. The reference to God shows seeking doing things correctly which shows we are on the right track.
However, religion and spirituality are not the same thing. Religion is any society’s view of spirituality, seen through the values that society embraces. Nomadic societies see spirituality through nature, and stationary societies see spirituality through authority. Both views are right for their society to understand, but there needs to be a more precise view when seeking to find the exact God’s purpose for us, an individual. There we must look at individual factors which are different, because we are all different. An automobile is made of thousands of parts, and none of those parts look alike or can do the other parts’ functions.
Looking at religion in general is helpful, but it may not be specific enough. Overall, religious organizations want to sell you on the idea that being right with God is in following them. If you are inclined to become a religious person, that is fine. However, most of us do not fit that mold. Spirituality applies to everyone, religious view through a specific religion applies to far less people. So, how do we find our God given purpose if we cannot necessarily look to any specific religion for this insight?
To find this answer we need to look at what exactly it is that is our goal. Do we wish to involve ourselves in the study and promotion of a religious philosophy, or do we want to find what it is that God has best equipped us to do in the service of Humankind. Those are two different goals, requiring different types of information. Moreover, we must look in a different spot than we may think. The correct spot is to look within ourselves very deeply.
To find out about any religion’s view of us, we need to study that religion. For most of us that will leave us with the dismal picture of, ‘we are a sinner and a mistake,’ and ‘we want to judge others and make them like us because everyone else is lost.’ That is no help. To find out about what is your God given purpose, we need to look first at ourselves, outside of religion. If we find that to be in a religion is what actually is deep inside of us, then we should pursue it as our career, our identity and our life. Do not do it because the religion makes you feel guilty if you do not, do it because you find that completes you as a person. Those are two entirely different reasons, one is solid, the other is false. One can feel called to serve God in a religion as either a pastor, leader or as a member if it comes from within.
You and God, and your relationship to God through finding your purpose in God, do not have to be through religion. When God made you, He made you in your own unique life path. Your parents were assigned to you. Your own way of looking at the world, and your relationship to the world are all part of who you are. To find our God given purpose you need to look at how you look at things, what you feel about things, what you think about things, and what kind of choices you want to make about things. These four spiritual actions are what makes us the unique individual that we each are. Seeing things through our own eyes, feeling our own feelings, thinking our own thoughts, and making our own choices will lead us to our God given purpose.
When we start doing these four things we will become aware of feelings we had in early childhood, of interests we had, of a dream of becoming something. It may also be dreaming of a setting we would like to experience. This happens when we do these first four things enough, This brings us deeper within ourselves of imagining our dream, then building on that dream, and lastly, celebrating by sharing our achievement joyously with all Humankind. Theology does not necessarily bring you closer to God or to yourself, the practice of being your honest authentic self does. The first four things; seeing, feeling, thinking, and choosing will bring out your inner child self of imagining, building, and then celebrating by sharing, that which you are. And that is how to find your God given purpose.
Just for the record, this is an emotional and spiritual encouragement ministry. We are selling nothing here and are not at the present time even set up to take donations, and probably never will. Your healed life is our reward enough, and we are very pleased with that. If you want to, please share your strength with others in your future so our nurturing can live on.