Melody Yarborough

June 6, 2019

3 Helpful Considerations To Engage Life With Purpose

We all have purpose in life. Every single one of us!

Some of you reading may exclaim with a resounding, “YES!”

Others may say, “Yeah, I've felt it, but I’m not really feeling it anymore.”

Some of you may even be thinking, “I've never felt my life had purpose.”

Whatever thoughts may be running through your head, I believe that each of you has been created with a purpose and for a purpose! In fact, purpose is central to our joy and sense of personal thriving! You are here, in this historical moment, “for such a time as this.”

Purpose is powerful, but it can be difficult. In fact, engaging purpose is like embarking on a long, difficult journey. It’s hard, but it’s worth it!

Joseph’s life, that fellow from the Old Testament, is a great example of the relationship between journey and purpose. Joseph was one of the youngest of SEVERAL brothers. Joseph had dreams of purpose early on in life, but his family couldn’t handle it. They got jealous. Possibly the way he told them may have lacked humility thus fueling their jealousy or bitterness. And with a little push from their father’s favoritism (i.e., that coat of many colors Joseph’s dad gave him) and Joseph’s dream of everyone bowing down to him, his brothers sold him into slavery and told his dad that an animal killed him. From slavery, he becomes a servant. From a servant, he moves into a position of power. And you would think that he had arrived, as he was running Potiphar’s (the captain of the palace guard) household. But NOPE! Potiphar’s wife seduced him, and when Joseph did not give in, that woman LIED ON HIM! So from a position of power, Joseph goes to prison. For years. For years y’all!!! He was forgotten in prison...or was he?! The Bible says that God was WITH him. Wait...what?! Yes...God was with him the whole time. And in time, Joseph goes before the king of Egypt, interprets some dreams, and becomes second in command of all Egypt. He was responsible for saving an entire nation (including his very family...the ones who betrayed him) thus fulfilling ALL his dreams and his PURPOSE!

So what’s the point? The point is not that you and I are necessarily called to be second in command of a nation. Rather, we are called to represent the greatest King of all kings and to be personal outposts of His kingdom. So we must know and understand our purpose within the context of our own life journey.

Let me give you three considerations to engage purpose in the journey of your life.

  1. The PRISON may be a LONG way from the PROMISE. It may even feel like you are going backwards. Nevertheless, we must keep in mind that we are not alone! The Bible says, "and the Lord was with him" the whole time. It's interesting that the Bible highlights God’s presence during Joseph’s prison stay. We often feel forgotten in "valley" seasons. This story is a great reminder that God never forgets us nor forsakes us and that He is WITH US in ALL seasons and through ALL things.
  2. We must move THROUGH the PAIN for the PURPOSE. The Bible doesn’t say Joseph felt like he was in prison. No. He WAS in prison! We don't have to deny reality. You get nowhere fast when you deny painful, difficult experiences. Sometimes a little refinement (or a whole lot of refinement) happens in the valley seasons of life. I believe that Joseph walked through his own process of acknowledging the pain of betrayal; choosing to forgive; then finding his identity in God. It's when we humble ourselves, or are humbled, turn to God, and ask Him to bring us THROUGH the valley not just deliver us FROM the valley that we are transformed in the pursuit. A true refinement happens when we journey THROUGH the pain with PURPOSE; we WILL come out stronger on the other side!
  3. Finally, the HEIGHT of our GROWTH depends on the DEPTH of the ROOTS. Don’t deny yourself the growth process that can be experienced in the trials of life. Dig deep, get to the root, pluck out the roots of unforgiveness, bitterness, greed, [fill in the blank] so that you can experience HEALTHY growth in your journey of purpose.

So what is a good next step? Take this blog and process it with a mentor, counselor, pastor, etc. Often, the people who speak into our lives have insight for how we implement understanding. Also, The Well Clinic has a growing resource list of blogs, our Rhythms video series, our Facebook Live posts, etc., that can help you implement change and engage purpose. We would love to walk with you wherever you find yourself on the journey of purpose! Visit mywellclinic.com for more information.