Last week I wrote about our common Purpose “the Great Co-mission” and how each of us are to execute that purpose, in a unique way – our mission. This week I want to talk about why, if we are people of purpose, do we settle for for a life of ‘just enough’.
Are you excited about your work?
We live in a time where the popularity of resources on purpose and passion is widespread. Yet in my work I see more people than ever who seem lost. I know what that’s like. There was a point in my life when the Career I had struggled so hard to achieve as a Barrister was no-longer making me excited to get out of bed in the morning. It was a sharp contrast to my start. I remember my first hearing in the Crown Court. Hurrying into Court I was barely noticed as doors were swinging back in my face. I got changed into my wig and gown (that’s the outfit Rumpole of the Bailey wore…a U.K. fictional Barrister).
I stepped out of the robing room and as I got to the door it was like the parting of the Red Sea. When I came in I was invisible, now doors were being opening by themselves. People were literally parting to let me pass. I am 5ft 2 and I experienced what it must be like to have physical presence. Presenting in Court was equally thrilling. I felt like I’d arrived. Finally, I was going to achieve justice for vulnerable people. However, 18 months later I saw things differently. Perhaps the profession was not about justice after-all. It was a 4 year struggle for me to become a Barrister . Here I was ‘all grown up’ and I didn’t know what I wanted to be. All I knew was the Bar wasn’t it and to stay would be settling for ‘just enough’.
God is not a God of ‘just enough’
All to often we settle for just enough. Perhaps we end up doing so because we studied the subject at college, have a family history, or feel compelled to enter the family business. We can easily let the expectations of others be the driving force for our choices, rather than God’s destiny. If we continue in situations where we feel we are without purpose this is not energising. It likely results in mediocrity and then we do ‘just enough’. Nothing about our Lord is ‘just enough’:
- “He came to give us life and life more abundantly” (John 10:10)
- “No height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8: 39)
- “The earth and its fullness thereof belongs to God” (Psalm 24:1)
God is a God of Purpose and NOT a God of ‘just enough’. So why do we settle? It may be financial reasons, habit, or fear. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but none of these reasons are good reasons. I know I’ve used some of them too.
Conversely, you may be in a job or situation you love – that’s great. Are you ‘showing up’ as a person of purpose? Are you frightened to step up to the leadership calling God has for you in the sphere of influence in which he’s placed you. Either way, there is no good reason for settling. Remember the story of the talents. The servant who buried the talent in the ground and gave it back to the Master ‘as is’ when he returned. No multiplication – no transformation. I encourage you not to bury the talents God has given you in the ground. He gave them to you to execute your purpose.
Take a time out
If this sounds like you, whatever the reason you have settled for just enough press pause. I encourage you to ask God and to trust Him. As we take that leap of faith we discover a life we never thought possible on the other side. A life of energy and meaning not ‘just enough’. After-all, what do we have to lose we serve a God who knows the beginning from the end. Nothing will catch him off guard, He’s got us.
The bigger fear is that if we don’t step out how, will this broken creation hear of and experience Jesus.
Take time this weekend to ask yourself:
- Do I have a sense of purpose and how am I executing on that? If I don’t what am I doing about it?
- Is my job or career fulfilling? Am I executing my purpose in my work?
- How am I ‘showing up’ in the sphere of influence God has placed me in?
Recent Comments