10 Questions that will help you see God’s unique purpose for you.

On the wall opposite my bed is one of my favorite decorations.  It holds a simple scripture with powerful meaning. I love it because each time I read it I KNOW it is true. It gives me hope and determination.

“Before you were born I set you apart.” 

Jeremiah 1:5

It is a simplified version of what it reads in the King James version of the Holy Bible.  

“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”

Jeremiah 1:5 KJV

Our Father in Heaven knew you and me before we ever came into this world.  He created each of us for a unique purpose and sent us here to fulfill it. He sent His son who learned and fulfilled His mission. We must do the same, and we can because of Him.

 The greater our love is for the Savior, the greater desire we will have to find out what we were “set apart” to do and do it. 

This quote drives the point home even further.

“Remember, in the world before we came here, faithful women were given certain assignments while faithful men were foreordained to certain priesthood tasks. While we do not now remember the particulars, this does not alter the glorious reality of what we once agreed to. You are accountable for those things which long ago were expected of you.” 

President Spencer W. Kimball

You may be thinking. “Wait, we are supposed to do something, but we can’t remember what, and we don’t even remember agreeing to it? Doesn’t seem very fair.”

Don’t worry, just look at it from a parent child perspective. My children pretty much forget what I ask them to do in the moment I tell them.  Yours too?  What do you do then?  Well, depending how badly you want it done you remind them over, and over, AND OVER again until they do it. If they do it wrong you teach them how to do it right. All this with a sugary sweet voice and smile on your face of course;). 

Just like any parent to a child the Lord isn’t going to let us wander in the dark.  Our joy and progress are the only things that matter to Him. He will help us to remember and accomplish what we were created to do.

How do we discover our purpose? 

Just like Hansel and Gretel left breadcrumbs so they could find their way back home the Lord has left breadcrumbs for us everywhere.  We could go through life without seeing a single breadcrumb and assume they all got eaten up, but they ARE there. We’ve just got to know where to look. 

Some crumbs are bigger than others.  Some we want, some we don’t. He left them nonetheless. Are there breadcrumbs you are choosing to ignore? Are there crumbs right at your feet and if you would take one step back you could see them?

Finding the breadcrumbs is a life long journey and the path can detour or even come to what seems like a dead end. Miraculously though, all the random brush stokes end with a perfect picture, or rather all the breadcrumbs come together to make the perfect loaf of warm homemade bread. Yumm, I’m getting hungry. 

How do we answer, “What is my purpose?”

Our purpose.

Our potential.

The measure of our creation.

Our mission.

What ever you want to call it. Let’s do it!

There are two kinds of answers to the question, “What is my purpose in life?”  One is more general and one is more specific.  The general one could sound something like this, “The purpose of life is to learn, grow, find joy and return to live with Christ.” The general answer is a great start but it is our job to find out the specific. There are as many purposes as there are people. Where do we start to find the answer that is specific to us? Well to find the answer to this particular question we’ve got to ask more questions.

Just like anything worth knowing, it is going to take a little work. Are you willing to get out a pen and paper, take some quiet time to yourself, pray, ponder, brainstorm, ask?  If you are feeling especially lost right now you may even want to make it a matter of fasting and prayer. 

Here are some questions I recommend asking yourself and the Lord. If you aren’t sure where to go, this will help you find direction. If you think you are already on the the right path this will help you know if you are right. 

10 Questions to ask in discovering your purpose.

You can print a copy of these questions at the bottom of the post.

1.What are some defining experiences in your life that have shaped who you are now? Every experience is for a reason. Often the things we go through are just preparing us to fulfill our purpose. It is important to look closely at these experiences and ask how we can bless others because of them.

2. What opportunities or unique circumstances have been placed in your life? Ask why.

3. What are your gifts/talents? What can you do with them? Don’t leave out the gifts of the Spirit. The Lord wouldn’t ask us to do something then leave no way to do it. He has given us specific gifts to help us achieve our purpose. Gifts are HUGE clues.

4. Who are people that have influenced your life and why?  The Lord often puts people in our lives to help direct us towards our purpose. 

5. Where are you right now? Why might the Lord have put you there? How can you bless the people around you with your gifts?

6. What are some of your weaknesses you feel especially inclined to strengthen? Some of the greatest gifts people have given to this world started out of a weakness they decided to overcome.

7. What do you feel passionately about?

8. What worthy desires/dreams have always been a part of you?

9. What have you always been drawn to?

10. What have you found the most fear or opposition in doing?  Satan is right there when we are close to figuring out our purpose so don’t write something off as “not meant to be” just because it is hard. It may be exactly what you are supposed to do. 

As you answer these questions if you find yourself thinking things like,  “Thats just a coincidence, it doesn’t mean anything.”  Or  “I don’t really have any gifts.”  Or  “Not every one has something special to do.”  Or “Mediocre isn’t so bad, I’d rather just live a comfy life without all that work.”  Then you’ll need to ask yourself one more question. 

Where or who are those thoughts are coming from? 

It doesn’t take long to figure out those thoughts come from someone who doesn’t want you to see your potential; someone who wants you to fail.  So just tell him to shut up!

Interests, inclinations, experiences, personality, strengths, weakness, talents, gifts, desires all have been given as ways to lead us directly to our purpose.  None of these are merely coincidence.  Believe that.

You have amazing power, purpose and potential, believe that too.

One final note on finding those clues. Don’t be disappointed if you don’t get the full picture all at once. As you ACT on the pieces you get, more and more will come to light. Also, sometimes going in the “wrong direction” is exactly what you need to get to the right spot so don’t question what seems like “failed” attempts.

PRINT OUT THE LIST OF QUESTIONS HERE AS YOU PREPARE TO BRAINSTORM.

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