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Why are you here?

Purpose (noun): the reason for which something is done or created, or for which something exists.

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself “why am I here?” This question can feel pretty overwhelming, especially if you’ve never previously stopped to think about your purpose. Living in a culture that glorifies immediate gratification and fast-paced success, it’s easy to get caught up on the treadmill of life without stopping to think about the bigger picture. But living a purposeless existence eventually leads to emptiness and unfulfillment. You might be good at what you do, but if you don’t know your “why”, it’s easy to get lost along the way.

Calling + Passions + Gifts = Purpose

What is your purpose? Your purpose is found by outworking your calling in the context of your passions and gifts. In order to be confident in your purpose, you need to identify what your calling is, what you’re passionate about, and what you are naturally gifted at. When we are cultivating all three, we are living in our grace zone!

What is your calling?

The word calling can be interpreted in many ways, however the Bible tells us that our fundamental calling is clear. As Christians, we are all called to share the gospel and to tell the world about the good things God has done! Jesus makes this clear in Matthew 28 when he declares the great commission:

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit… (Matthew 28:19, NIV)

You are called to live out the great commission in your everyday life. There’s no greater calling in life than to bring hope to the lost! There are so many ways to outwork the great commission – it doesn’t have to be complicated.

What are your passions?

You were uniquely created by God with your own passions, interests, and desires. Not only does passion bring a sense of joy and reward, but when you’re passionate about something, it brings a deeper sense of meaning and conviction. If you’re unsure exactly what you’re passionate about, ask yourself these questions:

• What do you love?
• What do you value/ what matters most to you?
• Why are you passionate about Jesus?
• Why are you passionate about seeing your friends saved?

What are your gifts?

What are you naturally good at? It might be a sport or musical instrument, or perhaps you are gifted in hospitality or gathering people together. We all have natural giftings which can be used by God for His purpose.

Let’s get practical:

• Passions – Write a list of things that you’re passionate about.
• Gifting – Write a list of things you’re gifted at.
• Context – In what areas of your life do your passions and gifting align? How can you use this context as an opportunity to share your faith?
• Plan – Get creative and intentionally plan the ways you can share about Jesus through your passions and gifting!

When you discover the overlap between your passions (what you love) and your gifts (what you’re good at), this can be the perfect opportunity to step into your calling (sharing your faith)! Align these three areas and you’ll start living life with an unstoppable sense of purpose.

Harrison, a worship leader and an avid coffee drinker, enjoys his morning time with God at his local coffee shop. His frequency and intentionality of starting his day reading his Bible impacted the local barista and opened the door to conversations about God and faith. He shared his story with us.

We interact with others every day, not really even knowing who this other person is. They bag your groceries, they make your coffee… What changes when you see somebody on a regular basis, and you are intentional with the frequency? You have the opportunity to use that frequency to be able to open a door to share the gospel with them.

This happened with me; I get up early for my job, and I decided I would get up even earlier and spend more time with Jesus at my local coffee shop. Instead of just waiting for my coffee and going back to my table, I used the time connecting with the lady who made my coffee. And over the next few months, we became close friends because we had that frequency there.

It opened up a few conversations just casually. You know, nothing weird or forced, but it was questions like, “What’s faith look like for me?” And a few times it would be like, “Hey, do you go to church?” or, “Do you love Jesus? You know, is this something that you're interested in?” I think a few times I would get the answer of, “Yeah, I have questions about that. I'm not really sure, you know, where to go, what to think.” And so that opened up a chance for me. I was like, OK, they're not a die-hard atheist. So we already have a good advantage, right?

Over time, she started going to church herself and really got into her spiritual life. She sent me a text one day and said, “Hey, I just want to let you know, like, you've really been a big part of why I have pursued Jesus and why I have wanted to love the Lord.” And she said, “Seeing you in that coffee shop with your Bible, devotional, and journal or whatever, so consistently led me to desire this greater…”

I saw God work in my consistency, and it was this moment that I didn't even know the Spirit was working in. Time has moved on from that, and I've gotten so many more opportunities to talk to her about faith and to interact with her and be a part of her spiritual life.

You are put into a prime situation where you get to show the love of Jesus to people. And it's one that you don't have to try to get, it’s part of your everyday routine. That experience has opened my eyes to being aware of those situations and just realizing, God works through those small acts.

How do you know if the Holy Spirit is speaking to you?

There are almost as many answers to this question as there are Christians on planet earth. Is it an overwhelming sense to say or do something in a conversation? Should I hear an audible voice? The experience of the Holy Spirit is so subjective, how can you be confident to do the right thing when a prompting comes?

When it comes to talking to someone about Jesus, many Christians struggle with this question. The fear of “getting it wrong” can be so pervasive it has led many to stagnation, regret, and even to question their faith. It’s a common struggle, so you may have felt this too.

The truth is you don’t need to fear getting it wrong, and a slight change in perspective can help.

A key foundation to remember is that the Holy Spirit is your helper (John 14:16) and He partners with you to share Jesus with your friend. He’s not trying to test you or set you up for failure. So if He prompts you in a conversation, it’s not a command you must follow perfectly, He’s doing it because He wants to help you.

Here are 3 tips to help you to stop overthinking the Holy Spirit.

Reject Perfectionism

There’s nowhere in the Bible that says God expects you to follow the Holy Spirit’s prompting perfectly. The commands He wants you to follow are laid out in scripture; love God, love your neighbor, honor your parents, do good works etc. Misunderstanding the Holy Spirit’s prompting is not a sin and it doesn’t make God disappointed in you.

Also, keep in mind that understanding the Holy Spirit takes time, a lifetime in fact. Dr. Charles Stanley suggests that if you feel convicted by how you’ve responded to the Holy Spirit “let that motivate you to begin a lifelong pursuit of the Lord and His ways.” Let it drive you to understand Him more, not bury you with feelings of regret and failure.

Recognise God’s In Control

You can’t control how a conversation about Jesus is going to go. Regardless of the outcome and what promptings you follow or not, God is in control. A simple misunderstanding won’t stop God from doing what He wants. Just like it says in Proverbs “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” (Proverbs 19:21).

Respond Like Jesus Would

Focus on what you can control; your words and character. A great way to think about this is to ‘Be like Jesus as you’re sharing Jesus.’ Let your words be seasoned with grace. Ask questions as Jesus did. It helps move the conversation forward, you get a clearer understanding of your friend’s point of view, and you come across as less preachy.

Stop overthinking the Holy Spirit. Don’t stress about getting it perfect, God’s in control so focus on being Jesus as you share Jesus. Now go, have that conversation with your friend today.

Іноді ти можеш губитися і не знати, які слова підібрати у благовісті. Не хочеться «повчати» нікого, псувати атмосферу чи просто здатися дивним. Що ж робити?

Але не забувай, що в тебе є Помічник, який веде тебе Святий Дух! ( Іоанна 14:26). Секрет правильно підібраного моменту полягає в тому, щоб зʼєднатися зі Святим Духом і працювати в тандемі з Ним.

Спершу здається, що почути Духа Святого неможливо. Ти можеш думати: «Звідки мені знати, що це Він, а не мої думки?»

Навчитися відрізняти голос Святого Духа від навколишнього шуму є ключем до того, щоб впевнено розповідати про Ісуса.

Отже, прояснімо кілька моментів:

1. Святий Дух — це Бог. Щоб розпізнати та зрозуміти голос Святого Духа, нам потрібно знати, хто Він. Біблія каже, що Він є частиною Божества разом з Отцем та Ісусом. Він є активною силою і хоче вести нас, так само, як Він вів багатьох людей у Біблії (Луки 2:27-32 , 2 Петра 1:21 , Дії 8:29-31). Як частина Божества, Святий Дух має той самий характер, що і Бог-Отець і Ісус, тому те, що ти чуєш від Нього, завжди буде відповідати природі Бога: любові, радості, світу, терпіння, доброті і т. д. ( Галатам 5:22).
2. Святий Дух хоче, щоб Його шукали Біблія каже, що якщо ми шукатимемо Бога, ми знайдемо Його (Єремія 29:13), і те саме стосується Духа Святого. Проводячи час за читанням Євангелія або вивченням Його характеру, ти навчишся відрізняти Його голос (Римлян 10:17). Біблія каже, що Слово Боже дає спокій (Ісая 32:17, Івана 14:27, Римлянам 15:13, Солунянам 4:7). Тому, якщо ти чуєш щось, що не супроводжується спокоєм, слід поставити це під сумнів. Ти також можеш молитися, щоб голос Святого Духа став для тебе ясним (Іван 10:27).
3. Святий Дух хоче наповнити тебе Біблія каже нам «наповнюватися» Святим Духом (Ефесян 5:18). Це може вимагати зміни нашого мислення, наприклад, треба навчитися бути вдячним Богові (Псалом 100:4), каятися за неправильні вчинки (Псалом 65:18) або контролювати негативні думки, які диявол підкидає нам (Якова 4:7). Подолання цих розумових та емоційних бар'єрів може зробити нас більш сприйнятливими та готовими до того, про що Він просить. Якщо ти також вчишся наповнюватися Святим Духом, пам'ятай — Бог допомагає тобі.
4. Святий Дух хоче, щоб ти відповідав Біблія закликає нас мати відкриті серця, коли ми чуємо Його голос (Євреїв 3:15); бути «виконавцями слова», а не просто слухачами (Якова 1:22). Це вимагає дій — ми маємо навчитися відгукуватися на голос Святого Духа. Зазвичай Святий Дух виявляється як «спонукання» — наприклад, раптово згадуєш біблійний вірш, свідчення чи слова, які колись сказав пастор. Іноді це спонукання поговорити з кимось чи порушити певну тему. Бог хоче, щоб ти дотримувався цих вказівок, щоб Він міг проявитися у твоїм житті та в житті інших людей.

Якщо ти все ще не впевнений у тому, чи ти чуєш голос Святого Духа, вір, що Він навчить тебе цього. К.С. Льюїс, цитуючи свого улюбленого письменника Джорджа Макдональда, сказав такі слова про природу Бога: «Йому легко догодити, але важко задовольнити». Це означає, що Святому Духу приємно, коли ти приходиш до Нього — з умінням слухати Його чи ні. Але Він задоволений не чим іншим, як твоєю досконалою здатністю чути Його і йти за Ним.

Усвідомлюєш ти це чи ні, але Він вів тебе все твоє життя, і Він насамперед є причиною того, що ти прийняв Ісуса.

Ділитися про Ісуса з позиції ведення Святого Духа знімає тиск. Це так само просто, як усвідомлювати, що Святий Дух промовляє до вас під час ваших розмов і взаємодії з іншими. Слухайте і слідкуйте за Його голосом якнайкраще. Ви можете бути впевнені, знаючи, що спасіння — це Його робота, а ваша робота полягає в тому, щоб бути чуйними на Його голос і слідувати Його керівництву.