Since I was a child I always thought of what I wanted to be when I grew up. When you’re little it seems to be a main topic of conversation. Parents always brag about how quickly their little ones hit their milestones as a way to determine how smart, mature or just plain cute they are, right? And then once you are about 3 or 4 years old you begin saying what you want to become. I distinctly remember saying I wanted to be a variety of occupations that I’m sure many young girls dream of being, such as: a princess, an actress, a pop star.. and the list goes on. As I grew, however, the question of what I wanted to be became a lot more important and based a whole lot more on realistic occupations that can make money. Unfortunately for me, I was not born into the royalty of this world, nor did I have the natural talent to be an actress or a pop star. But even as I went through my high school years, I wracked my brain about what it was that I wanted to do for the rest of my life, and came to a dead end. There were a few things I knew though: 1. I loved Jesus 2. I had a heart for helping people and 3. I wanted to share the love of Jesus with people. What I didn’t know then, is that those few things that I knew that I loved to do summed up the gifts and talents He had blessed me with from a young age, also known as my potential. The question no longer was what I wanted to become, the question was who God wanted me to become. And then it clicked. My potential would remain as only “my potential” if I continued to live my life according to what I wanted my life to be as opposed to allowing God’s purpose to flourish.Once my mindset changed it was easier to list off the dreams that I could accomplish because I was no longer thinking of what my own potential was, but more so of what I am capable of with God walking alongside me. My dreams no longer have anything to do with me being famous or having the wealth this world has to offer. It has everything to do with the fulfillment I will receive in my life knowing that I am living out the purpose of making God famous and being the vessel he uses to give people the opportunity to inherit the infinite wealth the kingdom of God has to offer.
Walk through this very well known verse with me, ok?
Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Now, according to this verse, who can do all things? You! Me! Everyone! But can we do all things on our own? No. How can we do all things, then? Through Christ. Who does what? Strengthens us.
God will withhold no good thing from those who do right (Psalm 84:11) It is up to us to trust that His ways will always be better than our own. I challenge you this week, if you are struggling with what God’s purpose is for your life, that you will seek His word and spend time with Him so that He may reveal to you in HIS time what amazing plan He has for your life.
“It is only through the persistent pursuit of Jesus that we transform from living a life of potential to living a life of purpose.”
I’m not really sure what my “title” will be once I graduate from college, nor do I have a game plan of what my life is going to look like in five years, but I do know one thing: No matter where I am, or what I am doing I will be growing, maturing, trusting and falling more and more in love God every day. That is my goal to live out each and everyday. What is yours?
–Andrea Statler
andrea statler 