What Should I Do?
Third in a 4-part series about finding and living out your life’s purpose
In that search for meaningful lives, one of the first questions people ask is, “Why am I here?” But not too far behind comes a second one: “What should I do?”
Tasks, assignments, purpose – name it what you like, but each of us has a specific calling on our lives. What does yours look like? Find the answer to that question and you will know what to do.
God doesn’t leave us to flounder nor struggle in the search. Instead, He has graciously provided guidance in His Word about your assignment .
1. You are to work
We were not created to sit around eating proverbial bonbons all day long. Ephesians 2:10 reminds us we are “created in Christ Jesus for good works.”
God designed a world that operates by work. Adam was placed in the garden to work the soil and care for it. Yet even more significantly, work reflects the attributes of God … the creative, productive side of His nature. We were wired with a spiritual hard drive, like His, that yearns for an assignment and looks for ways to complete it. We are made to work. And it’s a good thing, given to us by God.
2. You are to value work
In God’s economy, each person’s calling has intrinsic value and consequence. Yours included.
Ephesians 4:16 tells us that the world can grow and be built up only “as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:16, NIV). In other words, God’s divine plan can unfold only when “each part is working properly” (NRSV) or when “each part does its share” (NKJV). Each person’s work contributes to the whole.
While we may see certain assignments to be more important or valuable than others, that sliding scale of significance is of human design, not God’s. Danger lies there. A self-designed evaluation system grows out of pride and proclaims, “I know better than God what ‘good’ is.”
That the almighty God of the universe would choose us to participate in His work, as part of His team, is amazing in itself. But He leads us further into significance. Every task (no matter its size or scope) is part of His incredible plan to redeem the empty places in the world. We are to value work – all kinds of it.
3. You are to find your work
Your assignment may be intertwined with your vocation, your ministry, your neighbors, your family – or play some role in all of them. Regardless, God yearns for you to find and fulfill your calling. In fact, He’s counting on it: “The whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Ephesians 3:16, NIV).
God uses our work to accomplish a couple of things: the outcome of our assignments enables others to grow. Along the way, the process we undertake in finding and carrying out those assignments enable us to grow, too.
If you are searching for your calling, rest assured God will reveal it to you in the passions, special abilities, and opportunities He has customized for your makeup and your circumstances. Every day God presents you with opportunities in your vocation, your ministry, your neighbors, and your family – opportunities to do good works that help those around you grow and be built up. You may not see the end game. You may not understand how it all fits together. But you don’t need to. God calls you to take just one step at a time.
Along the way, you’ll discover an exciting truth: as you embrace the assignment God has before you, you change and grow, too. When you change, the lives you touch change. You impact the culture around you.
“What should I do?” The answer to that question is clear. You’re to do good works that help grow and build up others. Is your radar up so you can find those opportunities … and then take them?
Your Place in God’s Story: read the rest of the series
Your Place in God’s Story, Part 1: Is this as good as it gets?
Your Place in God’s Story, Part 2: Why am I here?
Your Place in God’s Story, Part 4: What Difference Will It Make?