4 Keys to Discovering Your God Given​ “Why”

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The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.

Mark Twain

Have you discovered your “Why”? You know, the reason why you’re here. The reason you were sent to this earth?

Do you ever feel like you’ve been called to so much more in life but you’re just not sure how to get there… or even what it is that you’re trying to get to?

I think I know how you feel. A couple years ago I was at this place. I just knew I was meant to be doing so much more but  I wasn’t exactly sure what that looked like.

If I’m honest, I can’t say that my search for my purpose began on my own initiative. I had reached such a place of frustration in my life that I knew I couldn’t stay where I was and I definitively couldn’t go back. The only way to go was forward.

Around this time, Impact World came to Barbados and I attended one of their discipleship training sessions.

During the course of the session, the instructor made the point that there were some people who wanted Jesus but would never step foot in a church.

As I thought about this, I could think of so many people I knew that this might apply to and realized that it wasn’t my duty to convince them to come to church, it was my duty as a disciple of Jesus, to show them who Jesus was.

It was my duty to show them how much He loves them and to help them understand that they are not here by chance but have a God-given purpose. The scope of ministry in my life had just expanded infinitely.

The thought of this got me so excited. Imagine being able to reach the vagrant on the street, the school child that I passed on the road, the housewife that thought that all she was was “just” a housewife when she has one of the most important jobs in the world.

I realized that a big part of my purpose was helping others find THEIR purpose.

But how was I going to do this? As I mentioned, I wasn’t exactly sure.

So, I began by asking and listening to God more, reading more and getting out more to see what others were doing.

I attended the Caribbean Leadership summit and got a glimpse of the awesome things Christian leaders are doing all over the world were doing and then I joined a John Maxwell mastermind group.

All of these things helped me to see new possibilities in my life and gave me ideas on how to get there. 

So now, I want to help you do the same. Here are 5 keys to discovering YOUR God-given “why”.

WHAT DOES GOD SAY ABOUT YOU?

Did you know that your purpose existed before you did? Before you were even born God wrote down everything you were meant to do, everything you were meant to be (Psalm 139: 16).

He has plans for you, good plans (Jer 29:11) and he wants to help you fulfill them here on this earth. He hasn’t left you without a map to finding your purpose.  

I truly do believe the when you seek after the things that God has written down about you and walk them out in your life then you are doing your part to bring the Kingdom of God to earth as it is in heaven. 

Spend some time with the Lord and ask Him what it is He wants you to do with your time here on this earth. Just listen to Him, write down what He says and do it.

WHAT DO OTHERS SAY ABOUT YOU?

What do others say about you? Is there something that you do well that others often comment on? If you’re not sure, try asking them. Their answers may surprise you.

When I asked my daughter and her friends how they would describe me, they described me as a motivator and someone who explains the Bible to them in a way they can understand (I give the Holy Spirit all credit for that one).

I honestly would never have thought of myself as a motivator, I just like to encourage them and share my experiences so that maybe they could avoid making the same mistakes that I did.

If there is something that people often say about you, maybe it’s related to your calling. 

WHAT ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT?

Psalm 37:4 says “Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” There are two ways to interpret this. 

1. If we delight in the Lord, he, in turn, will give us the things that our hearts desire.
2. If we delight in the Lord, he will place desires in our heart that line up with his will (and our purpose)

I like to read it the second way. I believe that when we delight in the Lord, he places things in our heart that line up with what we’re called to do.

The things that you are passionate about, the things that would cause you to jump out of bed in the morning, things that you would do if time and money weren’t an issue…  those are the things related to your calling. 

Maybe it’s a gift, skill or talent that you haven’t been using. Or something that you consider “just a hobby”. Take another look at it and see if there is some way you can use it to serve others.

WHAT ARE OTHER’S DOING?

A great way to discover your calling is to get out of your comfort zone and try something different. 

Maybe you’re an introvert like me. I work from home and there’s a grocery store almost in my backyard and a mall 2 minutes drive away… I hardly ever have to leave my neighborhood. 

But I knew I had to make a deliberate choice to get out and do something I’d never done to go somewhere I’ve never gone before.

So in the space of about 18 months, I attended the Caribbean Leadership Summit, joined a John Maxwell mastermind group, volunteered with an organization called Impact World during their campaign to spread the Gospel on the island and subsequently started a small group with a group of 9-year-olds.

So, expose yourself to new experiences and take note of what others are doing. There may be something that’s already being done that you can improve upon or put your own unique spin on.

If there is someone you admire, someone who’s been where you’d like to go or doing what you’d like to do, find out more about them.

If you can’t meet them in person, read their books or articles about them, If you can see if they will mentor you.

Look up unique careers, read more books, attend more conferences and workshops. You might even consider trying something that wouldn’t normally interest you. You might surprise yourself. 

These steps are meant to help you in your journey to discovering your God-given why. It’s important that you spend time with God and rediscover yourself and the gifts that He has given you.

It will take time and effort and even some recalibrating every once in a while, but trust me, it’s worth it.

So what are you waiting on? It’s time to break out! Dream big! Don’t leave this earth with your purpose unfulfilled.