Coffee for Your Heart
Holley Gerth
"Where We Can Really Find Our Life Purpose"
Sarah anxiously stares at the college application as her Advisor asks, "What would you like to do with your life?" She thinks of her friends who are already certain they should be teachers, doctors or artists. But nothing comes to mind for her.
Amanda juggles twins in her arms and looks at the clock on the wall declaring she should be sleeping right now. Ever since becoming a mom her days have been a blur. She feels exhausted and invisible.
Rachel steps onto her back deck and looks over the beautiful scene before her. She relished the idea of retirement after a long, fulfilling career. But she's also feeling restless in ways she didn't expect.
The question, "What is my purpose?" comes to our hearts in unexpected moments all our lives. We long to believe our time here on earth is significant. And we often look to people or positions to help us fill the void. But still the question in our souls remains.
This morning two verses caught my attention: "The Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves" (Luke 7:30). In contrast, "David had served God's purpose in his own generation" (Acts 13:36).
What's the difference? The Pharisees and teachers of the law insisted on living their way. Their rules. Their standards. Their righteousness. But David was a man who chose to live God's way. The Pharisees were focused on doing big things for God. David was intent on spending every little moment of life with God.
In other words, it turns out our purpose is actually a Person. Our reason for being is God Himself. The answer we seek is the same one Jesus gave when someone asked what matters most. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37).
As Brother Lawrence said in Practicing the Presence of God, "We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed."
Here's the secret that Sarah, Amanda and Rachel can rest in (and that our own hearts can too): Living with purpose simply means living with God. We don't have to find our purpose someday, somewhere. Instead we can simply love the One who loves us right now, right here.
XOXO
Holley Gerth
Holley Gerth
"Where We Can Really Find Our Life Purpose"
Sarah anxiously stares at the college application as her Advisor asks, "What would you like to do with your life?" She thinks of her friends who are already certain they should be teachers, doctors or artists. But nothing comes to mind for her.
Amanda juggles twins in her arms and looks at the clock on the wall declaring she should be sleeping right now. Ever since becoming a mom her days have been a blur. She feels exhausted and invisible.
Rachel steps onto her back deck and looks over the beautiful scene before her. She relished the idea of retirement after a long, fulfilling career. But she's also feeling restless in ways she didn't expect.
The question, "What is my purpose?" comes to our hearts in unexpected moments all our lives. We long to believe our time here on earth is significant. And we often look to people or positions to help us fill the void. But still the question in our souls remains.
This morning two verses caught my attention: "The Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves" (Luke 7:30). In contrast, "David had served God's purpose in his own generation" (Acts 13:36).
What's the difference? The Pharisees and teachers of the law insisted on living their way. Their rules. Their standards. Their righteousness. But David was a man who chose to live God's way. The Pharisees were focused on doing big things for God. David was intent on spending every little moment of life with God.
In other words, it turns out our purpose is actually a Person. Our reason for being is God Himself. The answer we seek is the same one Jesus gave when someone asked what matters most. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37).
As Brother Lawrence said in Practicing the Presence of God, "We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed."
Here's the secret that Sarah, Amanda and Rachel can rest in (and that our own hearts can too): Living with purpose simply means living with God. We don't have to find our purpose someday, somewhere. Instead we can simply love the One who loves us right now, right here.
XOXO
Holley Gerth
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