You put on an incredible Change Purse event using your many different gifts and talents. You donating purses and raised over $1500 for Mamma’s Hands!I am a “Purpose Pusher”. I can’t deny it. My passion is to help people find what makes them feel alive and then help them reach their greatest potential through the power of Christ.
But so often there is great confusion about living out ones purpose. I commonly hear people say, “I love to serve but I am so burnt out. I have to cut back.” Or, “I really want to help. My heart aches to fill that need, but I have too much on my plate. I am just so tired. I can’t do anymore.”
I have met and known many well meaning Christians (and have even been one myself) who filled their lives with “good activity” that were not “God activity”. How do you know if this person is you? If you are pursuing “good activity” and you are still filled with worry, anxiety, fear, impatience, and stress, you are not doing a “God activity”. Nor are you doing God any favors by helping. You are only damaging His Kingdom by showing the world a stressed-out, over-worked, Christian doer. I don’t see a line of people ready to sign-up at that ticket counter, do you?
The interesting thing is, I would define myself as a person who is always busy doing and I love to encourage others to use their God-given gifts to serve others. I believe it is what we were created for, and it is my understanding of how the world will be transformed into a better place and God’s Kingdom will be built. Knowing why what we were made for and living that out is what brings the ultimate joy and peace to humanity. But how do we go from “good activity” to “God activity”?
I want to use the word, conundrum here because this is an intricate problem to solve. It is almost like solving a riddle. I think if you are going to get it, you must listen closely. We are being pulled in two directions. In one direction, you are pulled by a world that says: “We will only recognize you if you achieve. How will you prove it to us?” In the other direction, we are pulled by God, whom says: “You are fully accepted and loved by me. Come walk with me and I will tell you how to have a life that is abundant.”
The conundrum is this: Will you be an achiever or a disciple? An achiever reminds me of the person who goes to church, signs up for every team and volunteer position they know they will be good at but after a few months, quits because they feel abused and burnt out. This would be the same as if I went to the gym without the consultation of an expert, started running five miles on the treadmill, took a spin class the same day, threw some weights around, and cut my calorie intake to 1000 a day. Not only would I injure myself; I would end up a defeated, hungry mess after about a week.
The disciple is a person who realizes that the only way to know the difference between “good activity” and “God activity” is to know the “Activity Director” (A.K.A…God). And if you have ever gotten to know someone, you realize it involves a time commitment. In Psalm 46:10 (NIV), “He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” In the Hebrew, be still means: “Let go of your grip.”
To know God, means to give up your control. That may be literal for you (re-mote control) or it may be figurative. It may be that you need to give up seeking the approval of others as an achiever in a world on over-drive and seek only Jesus. Whatever it is for you, I believe God is speaking to you and you should probably listen. As you spend time with God, you will be so encouraged and inspired by what He is pouring into you. The fear, anxiety, and stress of the world will be peeled away and replaced with His patience, kindness, joy, and peace. Then you will be a magnate to people and “God activity” that fills you and does not drain you!
Then the “Purpose Pusher” will say to you, “You go girl, you GO!”