THE WEARY WAVES OF DESPAIR
Have you ever found yourself tired of life? Weary of the waves of despair and discouragement that seemingly write themselves into the story of your day?
The problem is, so often we fall victim to the life that is unfolding before us. We allow the blows of disappointment and fear to knock us down until it knocks us out. But, what if we held more power in our hands than we originally thought? What if it’s not God, not fate, and not the people in our lives that dictate the story of our lives? But, rather God handing you a pen and saying here is the page: if you are tired of life, begin to write a different story of what your tomorrow will look like. The beginning might have been unfair and full of grief, but the middle can be filled with redemption if you pursue meaning and purpose.
Often in life, finding our “purpose” can feel a lot like setting out on an adventure to travel mountains high and valleys deep until we stumble upon our destiny. Or it might feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders as you attempt to make one “right” decision after the next hoping you haven’t screwed everything up. It’s hard to gracefully transition from the pressures of picking a major in college to choosing the “right” career path to ultimately finding the “perfect” job. In the end, we’re often left spinning on our wheels and coming up empty-handed in a job or life that doesn’t align with our purpose.
The underlying message in these decisions is that finding our life purpose and mission is found within what we choose to do with our lives. The idea of discovering our calling isn’t bad, but the breakdown in truth happens when we define our success by what we do, not by who we are. I want to propose to you that living from your identity, in simply being a child of God, is a lot more powerful (and fulfilling) than trying to work your way into a happy life.
I recently had a profound conversation with my good friend, Donald Miller. Donald is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and business owner. His latest book is titled, “Hero on a Mission: A path to a meaningful life.” From an in-depth study on the findings of Viktor Frankl, Donald discovered and wrote his latest book on how living a life full of faith and meaning in action correlates to a decreased rate of depression and suicide; an inspiring read and conversation. Donald shared his victorious journey of living a life of deep lows as he navigated existing in a life dictated by the winds rather than taking the reins and how he started the journey towards what he knew he desired to do in his life.
FINDING POWERFUL PURPOSE
In this interview, Donald Miller and I talked about how to discover meaning and purpose in different seasons. My prayer as you listen to this conversation is that you are filled with hope for the future and faith to live a life full of meaning and purpose.
