Have you ever wondered what on earth are you supposed to be doing? What is God’s plan for your life?
I have! Even now that I’m clued in on some of God’s plans for my life, I still ask, “But How?”
Today, I am sure I’m supposed to be writing. I am sure that God has called me to the elderly. I am also positive that I have no idea how I am supposed to get from point A to point B. When I think about the path that God wants me to walk, all I see is a haze. I feel ill-equipped and underprepared, and at times lost.
The good news is I don’t need to know the details of how I’ll reach my destination! I know that God has a plan and I can rest in the peace that comes from that. All I have to do is what He calls me to at this moment. I can walk out each day with Him in the driver’s seat.
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What is God calling me to do?
If you are struggling with figuring out what God is calling you to, I have a secret for you!
You and I share a common purpose! In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gives us the great commission. He commands us to go out and make disciples of all nations. We’re instructed to baptize and teach those we come in contact with the good news. God promises that He would stand with us in this endeavor to the end of time.
This great commission doesn’t mean that we should all go out and open a church. It does mean that we can use our version of God’s miraculous creation to BE the church. Romans 12:4-8 says just that! We are multiple parts of the same body. We were given different gifts according to the grace God gave us. Each of our parts plays a vital role in the kingdom of God.
What if I don’t know what part of the body I am?
If you are unsure of what role you play, then you aren’t in the boat alone. We all want to know what it is God has called us to. He says in His word He has already prepared good works for us and He has plans to prosper us. He wants us to succeed and draw others to Him. He wants to reveal His plans for you to you! Here are some questions you can answer in your faith journal.
- What am I passionate about?
- What am I good at?
- What injustice breaks my heart?
- What do I enjoy doing?
- What scares me?
If these questions do not spark the Holy Spirit in your life towards a particular calling, try to serve or volunteer in your community. God will often reveal His plan for your life through the things you do for others. Try out one of these small acts of service and see if they light a fire to serve the Lord more fully!
God’s plan for your life will be as unique as you are
We serve a God who has many names, and that is all based on how he presented himself to the person in the bible encountering him. To the orphan, he was a father, to the sick, he was a healer, to the lonely he was the one who saves.
He didn’t present himself as everything, he presented himself as the immediate need. As the person who encountered God god to know him more, they began knowing him as more than just a singular purpose. When we consider god’s plan for our lives and his purpose we have to understand that there are many things he has to be for this world and our purpose will be an extension of that.
We have to trust that he has a plan for us. We have to trust that his plans are good. We have to trust that his will and his plan for our lives is immeasurably better than anything that we could create or dream up.
Bible verses about trusting God’s plan for your life
Letting go of control and trusting God’s plan for your life is one of the best ways to walk out your purpose! Here are four bible verses about control and letting go of it to encourage you to let go and let god’s will be done in your life.
When we let go of our plans, our hands are open to receive what God has for us.
No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Philippians 3:13-14 NLT
When we let go of the things that we believe are the best of our life, it opens our hearts and minds up to the truth that everything here on Earth is subject to god’s ultimate will and plan. Giving up our perceived control and allowing God plan to be done and to take over sets us up to participate in this life based on God’s plans verses our own.
Letting go is saying, I trust the fact the God has a plan.
Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT
When the things in our lives feel out of control, we can find hope and encouragement in the fact that God knows the whole story. He wrote our story. He wrote our story into the veins of existence before we were born. This bible verse about letting go and letting God write our story reminds us not to worry because God knows us completely and because he knows us and our story completely, we can rest in the knowledge that he is in control. What a blessing to know we do not have to know it all!
Although anxieties about our purpose may come, God is always present.
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7 NLT
In this life there will be moments of anxiety. We can feel this most when we are faced with decisions. We will feel the sting of anxiety as we navigate the sometimes-uncertain days that are a part of our human existence. The beauty in this is in the midst of the uncertainty, we can find steadfast the concern of our Father in heaven for us. God has a plan. He cares and he desires to hear our concerns!
In all things, God wants good for us
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28 NLT
In the midst of understanding our purpose things can feel chaotic. We may wonder what we are doing, where we are going and what is the point of it all, we must remember above all else, one simple truth. All things work for the good. God is able to do abundantly and exceedingly above anything we may ever think. His plans, while unknown to us, make beautiful things. We simply must believe this!
How do I know God’s purpose for my life?
If you don’t think God has been speaking to you, think again! He has been telling you exactly what He wants you to do. God is near us. He isn’t a silent presence. He is a communicating God. His desire is closeness with us. His silence is usually a result of our ears being tuned to a different frequency. Luckily there are some things we can start doing today to tune into His voice and start hearing His will for our lives.
Get to know His voice by reading His word
This goes without saying. Our living God gave us a guidebook to His heart. As we dive into it, He reveals His desires. When we read it with the expectation of receiving something from Him, He reveals truths hidden in common bible stories. When we study it, He illuminates scriptures about our purpose at just the right time to direct our every step and help us in understanding His will for our lives.
Commit to quiet time in His presence
Prayer is another way that God reveals His heart for our lives. To hear Him, we do have to rethink prayer in our lives. For years my prayer life consisted of a laundry list of my desires sprinkled with some biblical afterthoughts. When I committed to deliberate quiet time during prayer I realized I had been doing it all wrong. God has a plan and I have to seek his voice to learn it.
There is a component to prayer where I bring my concerns to God. The larger portion of that time should be me getting direction from Him, whether its ways I can help those around me or guidance on purpose. Quiet time during prayer helps me check my frequency, and like a favorite TV program, once I got a taste of His presence, it became binge-worthy!
Find an accountability partner to gain insight on God’s plan for your life
One absolute must to reset your frequency and hear God’s plan for you is to get an accountability partner. Are there Christian women you admire, or someone who is where you want to be and attributes her success to God’s faithfulness? Ask her if she would be an accountability partner for you! Tell her your dreams and see if she sees any giftings in you that have yet to discover!
Obey the commands He has already given
Has God already commanded you to do something and you have been dragging your feet? Perhaps it’s a relationship that has run its course, or a job that is draining you. Maybe it’s a sin that you have yet to repent from. Whatever it is, if He has commanded you to do something, His plans for your life may be in holding until that step is met. We serve a God of order and patience. He gives us direction but not too much so that we do not run ahead of Him. Do the step in front of you so that He can give you your next step.
Surrender your will to Him
Is there some dream that you are holding on to? Things that we clasp too tightly too can become idols. Personal dreams and goals are great, but when we cling to them tighter than we cling to Jesus we can’t hear God’s plan for our life.
Trusting God’s plan for my life
Once you tune into the voice of God the questions about your calling and purpose begin to disappear. As you see God’s hand in your life more often you will trust His leading. You will lean more fully on where He is taking you and readily participate on the journey!
God wants to share his plans for you. Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Let today be the last day that you are unsure of your purpose! Believe that God is going to reveal to you those great and mighty things.
Check out our resource library for access to printables to help you on your journey to discovering your purpose?