From my novel: The Power is Yours

 

Chapter 3 Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honourable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

You can’t have a successful future if you don’t know why you are here. Remember: you are amazing. You are also unique. What you have to offer the world is rare, and that adds value to who you are.

You weren’t born by accident. It doesn’t matter who your parents are or what the reason is that led to your birth. If your birth was not meant to be, you would not be here now. Surviving nine months of pregnancy, birth and life up to this point is purposeful. Yes! Knowing that you are here, alive, and able to do something means that you are living a life of purpose.

Everyone on earth has the purpose to survive the onslaught of life’s experiences and continue living. Everyone on earth has the purpose to share their experiences and act as an example for others who may be experiencing similar things. Everyone on earth has the purpose to contribute to and enhance society.

Your purpose here on earth is to survive, continue living, and contribute to society to make it better.

You may ask: “How can I survive each day and remain worthy so that I can continue living and contribute to society to make it better?” You cannot do it on your own. That’s why so many people fall apart. They’re trying to exist independently.

God created you for His glory. To glorify Him means that you have to acknowledge Him as your Creator, and praise and worship Him every day. He’s not your Sunday-God. He’s your Every-Day-God. The further you are from Him, the smaller He measures in your life. The closer you are to Him, you will realize that He is big, and strong, and mighty.

You fulfil your purpose of glorifying God by living your life in a relationship and faithful service to Him every day. Since God created you and endowed you with a measure of His qualities, your purpose on earth cannot be fulfilled apart from Him. Knowing God and making Him an important part of your life will benefit you. 2 Peter 1:2 (NLT) says: “May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.” Include Him in your daily life. Build a solid relationship with Him so that all your relationships here on earth will be built on that foundation.

It takes faith to find your purpose.

People who walk in faith believe they have a purpose in life. You, too, have a purpose in life. God has amazing plans for you. In Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NIV), it reads: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.’” Seek Him and acknowledge that He is in control. He is the One who has plans for you. Why, then, do you worry?

Those people who are inclined to believe that their purpose on earth is to pursue fortune and fame are the ones who focus on social power and lead a life of materialism. Your life should be based on spirituality. Focus your attention on God and His purpose for you. If you can believe in things you cannot see, you have faith, and faith can move mountains. The amount of faith you put out there in the world is the amount of energy that will be returned to you. In Matthew 17:20 (NLT), Jesus explains it so beautifully: “You don’t have enough faith … I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’, and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”

You are a source of abundant energy.

Because you are a source of abundant energy, your quest to survive, continue living and contribute to society is energy-driven. Your passion in life is linked to all your energy. If you are passionate in life, you will have an abundance of healthy energy and you will be able to contribute your energy and passion to society. By focusing on all your strengths, you will have a positive attitude, and your contribution will enhance the society in which you live. Of course, you cannot ignore your weaknesses. You have to recognize and address them so that you can continue to grow as a healthy and energetic person.

Many people become obsessed with looking for their purpose in life. Many feel their life is worthless because they haven’t found their purpose. The truth is that there is no perfect well-defined purpose, so don’t waste your time looking for one. In Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV), we read:  “Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” These two commandments are purposeful. Just being here now, loving God, loving yourself, and loving your neighbour is purposeful. And who is your neighbour? Everyone you interact with.

Even if you don’t understand why you are here or what you are supposed to do, remember one important thing: your whole life is a big picture. Living in the moment means you can only see part of your life’s picture. By living in the moment and living to your full potential, you can contribute purposefully to the bigger picture. God is in control of your life picture. So, you can let go of the reigns. Focus all your energy on the here and now rather than the past or the future. This will ensure happiness.

Happiness is made up of small fractions of seconds.

You live now! Everything you do and experience now should make you happy. If you can focus on making the present moment worthwhile, you’ll be creating beautiful memories and you’ll be securing a better future for yourself and for the people who are a part of your life.

How can you make the present moment worthwhile? Focus on breathing when there’s chaos. Take a literal step back and observe what is happening around you. Focus on others rather than yourself. God didn’t add another day in your life because you alone need it. He added it because someone else also needs you in their life. Yes! Somebody needs you to be there for them. Look around you. The world is full of self-obsessed people who are egocentric and selfish. Step out of that crowd. Be different.

Purpose can be seen in the ability to reach out and contribute to others, helping them and trying to make a positive difference in their lives. While it may not seem as if you’re making a difference, in the future, you will have played a significant part for something or someone else. All the choices you make now will impact not only your future, but also the future of others. Fred Rogers said, “If only you could sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.” Your value is raised when the impression you make or leave with others is good.

You rub off on others just as much as they rub off on you.

The more time you spend with specific people, the more opportunity you get to accept their habits and ways of thinking. Through observation and listening, you become them. The same can be said about them: they become you. The lesson here is given in 1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV): “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character’”. Choose the people you spend time with wisely.

Every day, while you focus on other people, helping and motivating them, it’s important to take responsibility for your actions. For example, if you work hard and earn a lot of money, your purpose is not to give your money to people who are suffering financially. These people are suffering for a purpose that has nothing to do with your purpose. You can listen to them compassionately and motivate or encourage them, but it is not your responsibility to support them financially. You need to help them realize that they need to set goals in life like you did. They need to work hard to achieve their goals, and change their attitude and become positive, like you did. It is also not your responsibility to help others on their happiness journey – especially not when it is at the cost of your own happiness.

How then can you help others? Dave Willis said, “Show respect even to people who don’t deserve it; not as a reflection of their character, but as a reflection of yours.” Do good deeds! Listen to people and show an interest in them. By doing this, you are already doing something profound. People don’t really listen anymore, do they? They don’t show an interest in others, do they? You can! Be the one who comforts, advises, motivates, encourages and sets an example of optimism. Keep the balance, though.

Don’t ever sacrifice your time and energy to such an extent that you are left feeling drained. Try and be there for specific people. You can’t be there for everyone. Those who have a tendency to drain you are the pessimistic ones who will never change, simply because they do not desire to change. They are the people who enjoy being victims of their own circumstances and will only bring you down. So, it’s best to walk away from them rather than exert yourself over and over again. There are many people out there who are more deserving and will appreciate your help. If you let people walk all over you, you teach them (as well as yourself) that you approve. So, don’t allow people to walk all over you!

No-one and nothing in life stays the same.

As you continue to move forward on a daily basis, your perspectives and relationships in life will change and so too your purpose. The same can be said about other people. Learn to be prepared for change. Yes! You will continue contributing, but when change occurs, you must be flexible in your thoughts and actions. When people leave, or circumstances change, be prepared for it. New paths and new opportunities emerge every day, not just for you but also for other people. When relationships like friendships become strained because change has occurred, you should rely on your inner strength to let go. There’s no use in holding on to something that simply doesn’t work.

While you are here, live your unique and amazing life to the best of your ability. Work on being healthy. Work on being positive. Work on being energetic, passionate, happy and satisfied. Everything you need in life is within you, so spend some ‘alone’ time with yourself and get to know yourself. This is important because your feelings and desires drive you. Learn to understand your feelings and desires. Spend time with God every day so that your purpose is always aligned with His purpose for you. In doing so, you will learn the value of love, His greatest gift to you. 1 Corinthians 13: 2-3 (HCSB) says: “If I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I donate all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body in order to boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.”

If you take action on what you feel or desire, without analyzing or criticizing it to death, you can easily identify your purpose (what you want to do every day and how you want to contribute to society). When your feelings and desires are negative, it is important to avoid reacting to them. A negative attitude and negative thoughts attract negative things. A positive attitude and positive thoughts attract positive things. So, focus on positive thoughts and things.