What’s that feeling, a kind of gnawing dread, that we’ve somehow missed our purpose?
It’s not depression.
Not grief. Not boredom.
This is different.
The Bible calls it futility, and when it finds us in the dull quiet of idle time, it can really mess with us.
For the creation was subjected to futility…
~ Paul of Tarsus
Under frustrating tension, our thoughts beg, “What’s my purpose? What am I supposed to be doing?”
But what if searching for our purpose is the very reason we feel haunted by pointlessness? Because until we find it–whatever “it” is–our sense of defeat and boredom magnify.
What if the search for purpose is just another ill-fitting yoke Jesus warned us about, just another religion?
I’ve been driven before by the whip of purpose cracking overhead as I barrelled forward in search of “what I’m supposed to be doing.”
I think it’s a soul-trap. We can even give up under its enormous weight.
All the while, the Bible offers the answer: Just walk with God’s Spirit.
The way to aim at our “purpose” and never miss is written in Micah 6:8: What’s required of us is to do the right thing, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God. It’s a simple formula given to us by the Prince of Peace.
Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.
~ Jesus (MSG)
The way to spend our talents is not by grandly arriving at a revelation of who we are, but by revelation of who God is and the ways He loves. It’s what compelled the very first Christians.
We all have purpose–don’t get me wrong, good works that God created for us before time began–but we might be going about it backward. Rather than searching our whole lives for “it” and then doing whatever it is forever after, instead, we walk with Him, following Him, trusting that whatever opportunities come our way as we go, is our purpose.
Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is pleasant and my burden is light.
~ Jesus (Matthew 11:28-30)
The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.
~ Ecclesiastes 12:13