Introducing this blog post, let’s just say right here and now: you were already made with purpose, so this does not mean you have to go out and “find” it.  There is no step-by-step procedure that you can go through in order to discover your purpose and meaning in life. However, tips to uncover your purpose and mission can be quite simple. This uncovering process does not have to get complicated to the point where you are overwhelmed about what your purpose is in life. It doesn’t matter what type of person you are, what you’ve done, or what has happened to you, you already have a mission which is driven by purpose in life. God has called you right where you are.

Lianna

So many people get anxiety and freak out over one question that is bounced around in life: what is my purpose? The difference here is that when people think of the word “purpose”, they think this is some mystical term for something they have to uncover on their own. 

Short Example of Trying to “Find” My Purpose

I know this is something that I personally struggled with in high school and even during college. To me, it seemed like everyone around me already knew what college they were attending, what they were going to major in, and what their purpose is in life. Before I graduated from high school, I was happy that I was about to go to college. However, going to college doesn’t mean you magically know what you want to do for the rest of your life. Here is a clear example: I changed my major THREE times in the course of four years. 

During all this time, I felt lost and directionless, afraid of the unknown future in front of me because I did not realize that I already had purpose from God.

To follow Him and serve Him. My mission from God is to live my life only for Him and where He tells me to go. How do I follow Him? Here is an example from someone questioning Jesus.

Your Mission is to Follow The Greatest Commandments 

Someone asked Jesus, “What is the greatest commandment?” God said to love Him and love others, simple as that. 

“And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Matthew 22:37-39

The people then and now may not have known exactly what this meant. This felt like an order, a demand, well, they were commandments. However, when someone is living for Jesus, knowing they are loved and were made for His purpose, they cannot help but to follow His commandments and to serve Him in their lives. 

The Difference Between Purpose & Mission

However, purpose doesn’t come from ourselves. Our purpose comes from God alone. He made us with purpose: to live out our MISSION for Him in our lives. Our lives are not our own. There is a difference between purpose and mission. Purpose and mission are not the same things, however, they both go hand-in-hand with each other. 

Purpose is what is already instilled in you by God when He created you. 

Mission is what you are called to do combined with:

“The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.” 

Proverbs 16:4 ESV

What Are You Passionate About?

Here’s another word to introduce you to: passion. What are your passions? Whatever is popping in your head without even thinking, I am quite sure those things are your passions.

Whether it’s cooking, baking, writing, drawing, creating, finances, media, singing, dancing, health and wellness, this list can go on and on. The reasons I am asking this is because God planted those passions inside you for a reason, for a purpose. For example, my main passions are writing and all kinds of media, like social media, branding, building websites, and creating new art. 

If you are scared to get out of your comfort zone, check out & read our previous post about this. Then, come on back here!

Starting The Simple Mission allowed me to combine both my purpose + mission. Even though David and I started The Simple Mission, this does not mean we have “found” our purpose or mission in life.

We already had purpose because God created us to follow and serve Him. Our mission was given to us by God to create something new and fresh for the world to see God’s light shining through both of us together.

However, I will say it is okay to have many passions. But, not all your passions will end up making you money. Allow yourself to follow through your passions to see where it will lead you to. Jordan Lee Dooley, a Christian entrepreneur, said that you do not have to pick one lane or passion to follow for the rest of your life. It is okay to grow and change and pick different things to pursue if you feel God calling you to.

For more encouragement + tips from Jordan Lee Dooley, I highly recommend you to check her out and follow her on Instagram. 

Uncover Your Purpose and Mission

David and I know this is “uncovering” process may be overwhelming to think about for some people. However, to uncover your purpose and mission does not have to get difficult because you were already created with purpose by God even before you were born. If you did not know this, we are here to tell you now:

Your mission is combined with God’s purpose + your passions in life.

Before you start, pray to God to help you navigate and uncover your purpose and mission in life by reading His Word. Here is an excerpt from Ephesians but I recommend reading all of Ephesians to start:

“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.”

Ephesians 1:11-12 ESV

David

The word mission, defined by Dictionary.com is an important goal or purpose that is accompanied by strong conviction; a calling or vocation. By defining mission allows us to dive a little deeper on how to uncover your mission. 

First things first…. No matter where you are or what stage of life you are in, uncovering your mission is possible. It will likely happen at the most inconvenient or convenient time, because it is God’s timing. 

The Disciples Were Normal People and Jesus Still Picked Them

So when Jesus was on this Earth, he hand picked 12 disciples that would carry on His mission on Earth. When Jesus was living His day-to-day earthy life, he would hand pick each of the disciples while they were living their day-to-day lives. They were fishermen, tax collectors, and carpenters, all worldly everyday folks before Jesus reached out and uncovered their mission. 

Their mission was to first follow Him, leaving their worldly lives behind and then spread the gospel to the ends of the Earth. This simple example can be related to anyone. The disciples thought they could uncover their mission on their own, until they met Jesus. Their worlds were flipped upside down when they dropped their worldly lives and followed him. 

When I Thought I Had It All

In my own life, there was a point in time when I could relate to the disciples before Jesus got a hold of them. I was out in the world and doing my own thing. Living my life for myself, on my own mission without the Lord and without His blessing. At one point in time, when I was about 24 years old, I could say that I “had it all” that the world had to offer. A career of a lifetime, lots of money, cars, real estate, employees and friends. At that moment in time, I had everything that the world had to offer. 

At the end of the day, I was “supposed” to be happy and blissful, right? Prancing around in all my worldly glory and fame. Here’s what really happened: I was internally sad, depressed and angry because the world told me one thing, but I felt something completely different on the inside, empty. This empty feeling lingered inside of me for quite some time. But, I got down on my knees, so sick and tired of this horrible feeling, and cried out to the Lord for His forgiveness, healing and wisdom. 

After I prayed, there was a total shift in my feelings. Like a heavy burden was lifted from my shoulders. A joy overcame me and I just started laughing to myself. To describe the amazing feeling, it felt like drinking a cold, crisp glass of water on a very hot day. I wanted so badly to have more of these amazing feelings: having purpose and a mission. This is what I did next…

I Went Back to Church

 That next Sunday, I decided to attend a church service, to learn more. The pastor’s sermon was on discovering your purpose with the Lord. The people I encountered on that day encouraged me to understand that uncovering your mission is very simple. The mission is to follow Jesus and spread the good news of the gospel to all the ends of the earth. 

Do You Want To Follow Jesus?

In case you do not know, let me tell you. God sent Jesus, His only Son, to earth to live and die for you. (Check out John 3:16 ESV) Yes, you. No matter what you have done. Why? Because He loves you so much. There is nothing you will do that will make Jesus not love you anymore. His love is more than you can understand. (Check out Romans 8:31-39 ESV) 

He came to die for the world’s sins, so that we can one day reunite with Him in heaven. But, you can rejoice because He rose again from the grave on the third day! To read more about this beautiful story, read all the Gospels in the Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Don’t be afraid of what your friends or your family might think. This is your decision. All you have to do to live for Jesus is to accept Him into your heart, right where you are at. 

Prayer

If you decided to follow Jesus right now, you can say this simple prayer: “Jesus, I want to accept You into my heart. I believe You died on the cross and rose again for me. I am sorry for all that I have done and I repent of my sins. I want to live out Your mission because I know that You love me and have made me with purpose. Help me to know You more by reading Your Word and praying to You. Thank You for all that You have done for me. Amen.”

Thank you for reading,

David & Lianna Bond

Co-founders of The Simple Mission