“We have become his poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny he has given each of us, for we are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. Even before we were born, God planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it!”  Ephesians 2:10 TPT

This week I was reminded that we will be most satisfied and fulfilled when we operate out of our identity, not our need. This was a revealing moment for me as I had been looking to the near future with some uncertainty and a few disappointments that brought on low levels of anxiety… How am I going to pay the bills this summer if that plan doesn’t come through… what can I do to plan for that…

We all have needs. The enemy of our heart constantly hovers nearby telling us we had better find a way to provide… God helps those who help themselves you know…. He encourages us to make our own plans. God cares about the big things, but you have to figure out how to pay the bills, and get through your day-to-day.

Sadly, though this SOUNDS responsible, it distracts us from walking in our created purpose. Of course we are to work, plan, and do our best to make responsible choices- however if we swing this too far it can preclude engaging in the things God is setting before us. 

Your purpose is not your job. Your purpose is not your hobby. You don’t get your purpose from where you decide to live or if you get married or have a family or not. Your purpose is not (as Lisa Van Den Berg says) what you do, but it is who you be. 

God created each one of us as a totally unique masterpiece. There is not one other person with exactly the same temperament, personality, giftings, talents, sense of humor, color of hair, energy level, strengths, weaknesses, and passions. There is a groove in this world that only you can fill. It is in who you are, your true identity. For many years of my life I tried to follow the world’s advice to define myself, I only put on false layers of make up and facades. It was only in returning to the one who made me that he began to walk with me to uncover who I was created and designed to be- gently removing all those outer masks that were wearing me out in truth. 

When I learn who I am to be, then I can truly operated from purpose and allow God to provide the provision and the opportunities and the life I was created for. And that creates a life that reverberates into eternity.

In the book Undistracted, Bob Goff writes:

• Most people don’t want better careers they really want more purpose. People who are focused on their purpose don’t want to rule the hive- they want to put their quarter inch of honey on top of everyone else’s to participate in making something lasting. Even the honey buried with the pharaohs is still sweet- that’s the kind of shelf life I want to see.

No wonder the enemy wants to distract you with all the “needs” you think you have to get addressed. Because if you begin to rest in the one who made you and make decisions out of who you be instead of what you think you need, you walk in a power and an authority that brings life, love and a new hope to the world. 

Bonus- it’s also more fun!

Father in heaven, thank you for your steadfast love for us! Your workmanship, your poetry and your masterpieces! Thank you that you have given unique and special vision, dreams and assignments to each of us- so that we never have to dwell in the unhappiness of comparison with one another! There is a special place for each person reading this in your kingdom, a special place only we can fill, no one else is equipped to walk out the dreams you have for me, to engage the places you have set before me with a unique key to unlock the doors and dreams you planned before the foundation of the earth for me. Father, speak into our lives today and remind us that it isn’t only a future and a hope you have given us, but that even right now today our destinies unfold. Give us your eyes to see the world around us and uncover the treasures you have for us in those around us right now. Teach us to love like you when it’s hard, and when it’s easy and full of joy. Thank you that you say the boundary lines are in pleasant places- that we have a beautiful inheritance; one that is totally singular to each of us, and all our own! Amen