Why Am I on Earth? Purpose, Calling & the Problems That Move You

Welcome to Lesson 2 of 4 in Discovering You. It takes about 15 minutes.

In Lesson 1 we saw who we are and what we have been given. Now we ask what it is for: the difference between purpose, career and calling, where God has already placed us, and which problems move us. You will finish with a purpose statement: the second piece of your Discovery Profile.

Scripture comes from the King James Version. This is a course for learning and reflection, not counselling, and it cannot promise particular results.

Since last time

Last time you chose a small action: writing down events and verdicts, asking two people what you do that helps them, or protecting one of your values.

Look back at the week. What did you try, and what did you notice? If you did not manage it, say so honestly and carry it into this week.

In this lesson you will

• Tell purpose (why), career (what) and calling (where and whom) apart.
• Explain from Scripture why our calling begins where we already are, among the people of our own generation.
• Name a problem that moves you and what connects you to it, and write a purpose statement.

Before you start

How true is each of these for you today, from 1 (not true) to 5 (very true)?

• I can explain the difference between my purpose and my job.
• I notice the people my daily life puts in front of me.
• I can name a problem that moves me and one small thing I could do about it.

1. Purpose, career and calling

Three words are often mixed up, and they answer three different questions:

• Purpose answers why. Why do I do anything at all?
• Career answers what. What work do I do, and how has it moved from one job to the next?
• Calling answers where and whom. Where has God placed me, and whom am I there to serve?

For us who are in Christ, the why is already given.

1 Corinthians 10:31 (KJV) 31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Paul is writing about something as ordinary as eating and drinking. If even a meal can be to the glory of God, so can a spreadsheet, a repair, a lesson taught or a child cared for.

This is why purpose is bigger than any job. A career can change, pause or end; a person can lose a job in a morning. Imagine a woman who has just been made redundant. Her career has stopped for now. Her purpose has not moved at all.

In Scripture our first calling is to belong to Christ. Out of that comes the everyday question: where am I placed, and who is in front of me?

Think about it: When someone asks what you do, which of the three do you usually answer with: purpose, career or calling?

Try this week: This week, when someone asks “What do you do?”, answer with whom your work helps as well as your job title. Notice how it feels.

2. Called where you already are

It is easy to think calling only begins after a big change: a new job, a ministry title, our own business. Paul gave believers in very different situations the same starting point.

1 Corinthians 7:17 (KJV) 17 But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches.

“So let him walk.” Start where you have been placed. In the same chapter Paul tells a servant who can become free to take the chance, so this is not a command never to change. We simply do not need a different life before we can serve God in this one.

Imagine a newly qualified nurse on night duty who dreams of running a clinic one day. That dream may be good. But tonight she is placed on this ward, with these patients. Her calling has already begun.

Paul once summed up King David's whole life in a single line.

Acts 13:36 (KJV) 36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:

David was a shepherd, musician, soldier and king. What is remembered is that he served his own generation. Dr. Myles Munroe taught that we should spend our gifts fully in our lifetime instead of carrying them unused to the grave.

Think about it: Where are you tempted to think, “My real life will start when…”? Who is in front of you now?

Try this week: Write down three people your daily routine puts in front of you. Do one helpful thing for one of them this week.

3. The problems that move you

Two people walk down the same street. One is troubled by the children who are not in school; the other by the old man who sits alone every day. We are moved by different things, and what troubles us can be a clue.

Nehemiah had a good post in a palace, far from his home city, when visitors brought news.

Nehemiah 1:3–4 (KJV) 3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. 4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,

Many heard that the wall was broken. Nehemiah sat down and wept, and then he prayed. Dr. Paul Enenche teaches that one of the ways we discover ourselves is by looking at the needs around us. Test what you see with three questions: Does it keep coming back? Does it move me towards people, not only towards complaining? Have I prayed about it?

Then ask what connects you to it: your story (you have lived it), your skill, your position (you are in the room where it can be raised) or your relationships (the people affected trust you).

You cannot carry every need. Like the Samaritan in Jesus' story (Luke 10:33–37), start with the one person in front of you, using what you already have.

Think about it: What news, sight or story has stayed with you for weeks when others seemed to move on?

Try this week: Choose one person whose need you have noticed. This week, do one practical thing for them with what you already have.

Activities

Reflection

• If one line were written about how you served your generation this year, what would you want it to say?

Key takeaways

• Purpose answers why, career answers what, calling answers where and whom.
• For us who are in Christ, the why is the glory of God, and it does not end with a job.
• Calling begins where you already are, with the people of your own generation.
• A problem that keeps moving you, joined to something in your hand, deserves your attention. Start with one person.

Your next step

You have finished Lesson 2. You are on the path of growth: you have written why you are here and the problem that moves you.

Growth is easier with someone walking alongside you. KMA offers two ways to keep going:

Mentorship. Grow with a KMA mentor who helps you put what you discover into practice and follows up with you on it. See KMA's mentorship packages. See the mentorship packages

Or: the monthly Learning membership. Prefer to learn on your own first? KMA's monthly Learning membership takes you deeper in Communication, Leadership, Financial Intelligence, Enterprise Building, and AI and Automation. See the Learning membership