Putting Your Threads Together
The question of our purpose on this earth comes up at some point in our lives. You may have wondered over the years, or even more recently,
“What is my calling?”
And we often want a highly specific answer with a well-curated purpose for our lives. But God has given us too many important assignments to narrow down to a single calling.
God has put things in our lives to help us make Him known. He has given us several purposes and assignments to carry out at different times. You'll have a thrust of passion for raising your kids, perhaps a career, or something else you're good at. Years later, it will be a different thing compelling your heart, and you'll move toward it.
Growing up, I thought there would be only one thing at which I’d be great. And the reality is, that's a lie whose exact origin I still can’t pinpoint. It probably comes from a very success-driven culture that makes you think you should be the next Tiger Woods of your field.
We live in a culture that makes you pick your major when you're just 16. However, life is never that clean and simple. There will be many things you are great at in your life.
And there will be many different seasons where you explore those gifts.
My husband often says that the best thing you can do in your 20s is gain life experiences. Try lots of different things because you'll get to know yourself and what you're good at. I do believe that God calls people to specific things; that happened to me.
I was 17 when I felt called by God to ministry. I didn't know what that meant at the time because there were no women in ministry. There were missionaries like Elizabeth Elliot and Amy Carmichael. So, I told my parents that God had called me to be a missionary.
It was just 20 years ago when it became clear what that would look like. I never imagined that I'd be doing what I’m doing today because this didn't even exist then. Christian books written by women barely existed, and this was before Beth Moore. I remember being so encouraged when Beth came on the scene.
I heard Beth speak one time, and I related to her passion for God and communicating the Bible. But it still never crossed my mind that I could do what she does. What she was doing was so unique, and there didn't seem to be a way for anyone else to do it. So, I imagined using my gifts by only teaching Bible Studies in my living room. That was as much as I ever dreamed.
The different characters in the Bible spent most of their lives just doing the thing they were good at or that God told them to do. As time went by, God moved them into different seasons with those gifts.
So, lay out your passions and threads to see what God will do with them.
When God put on my heart to disciple a generation, I was a stay-at-home mom. I had three young kids, no blog, and no social media. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do with that vision. It wasn't until years later that things were made clear. Even when God gave me a vision for IF: Gathering, the technology didn't exist for it to happen.
Don’t ignore those little dreams and sparks God puts in you.
Write them down or tell somebody about them.
It might be 10 years before it takes fruition, but you'll look at these threads and see God’s greatness. Get your most godly friend and have them look at those threads with you. They'll see things that you could never see by yourself.
Then the Holy Spirit will move, speak, and lead, and you'll experience ideas and thoughts you've never had. Those ideas will feel risky because that's how God usually moves. He calls us to take risks and do things that make us uncomfortable.
God is calling you to risk and do things you’re not capable of doing without Him. So, we're not looking for a perfect career or purpose. We're looking for opportunities and unique threads that God has given us to show people God. Ideas will be born from those opportunities.
Lay out what you’re good at, your experiences, the people and places God has put in your life, and the passions you have. I sincerely believe, especially as you begin to show these threads to other people, that you’ll find your gifts.
At the end of the day, the Spirit of God wrote and prepared good works for you to do before you even came onto the scene. God's goal for our lives is that we would live in complete and utter surrender, dependent on Him. It is always His mercy to show us that we need Him.
Living the life God has called you to do is a race and an adventure. It takes unexpected turns, which may be bad or good depending on the season. But all these turns typically bring you back to God. It's usually when I feel tangled up because of sin or fear that I need God the most. And so many of you are there. You’re in the pit, and you don't know what to do. The best thing you can do today is to ask God, “What do I do? What do you want me to know? And what do you want me to do?”
Now, God may not show you today. It might be weeks, months, or even years from now. You may have to keep putting yourself out there and asking godly people for input. But He loves for us to need Him and ask Him to show us exactly where we're supposed to be and what we're supposed to do.
Empowered.
Convicted.
Encouraged.
Peaceful.
– these are the normative patterns of the Spirit. This is how the Spirit of God moves. He empowers, convicts, and encourages you. He issues you peace. If you haven't felt empowered, convicted, or peaceful in a long time, then the Spirit of God may be wanting to move in your life.
The Spirit of God wants to lead, encourage, and convict you. He wants to show you things, but you have to be open to that. We have to tell God that we want Him to move in our lives. We must tell Him we want to feel and not miss the things He has for us. That is what He's waiting for.
God is waiting to go crazy in the lives of people who ask Him to move.
Life is just too short. And what a waste it would be if we missed the movement and power of God in our lives because we're scared to ask, bored, apathetic, fearful, numb, or busy.
At this moment, ask God to go wild through you. Ask Him to use you because it all begins with surrender. As long as you are trying to make your life work out a certain way, you'll miss God's movement. I promise you, His stories and adventures for you are beyond human imagination.
Surrender puts us in a posture to hear from God.
It puts us in a position for God to lead us and use the difficult parts of our lives, our gifts, and the places He's set us in for His glory and His story. Those are the best stories because they go on forever, and they're fun and exciting. But they're not easy.
I don't recommend following God if you want an easy life. However, you do not want to miss the stories He has for you. Today, I want you to think about what you're afraid of. Pray and ask God, “What do you want me to know, and what do you want me to do?” Tell Him that you don't want to miss it. I pray that He shows you things, but I know He will. It may not be right now, but I promise you, He is delighting over that posture.
Jennie’s book ‘Restless: Because You Were Made for More’ is available here and everywhere books are sold. You can also download the FREE PDF book club kit right here to help you put your threads together.
