Purpose In Every Day

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” ‭‭ -Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭17, 23‬-‭24‬‭

Every day brings new challenges and new opportunities. We hope for the best, but any day can bring the worst! It's hard to keep track of all the blessings some days and other days seem to pile up difficulties faster than we can count them. Some days appear to have more good than bad and other days seem to have more bad than good, but every day we can realize true purpose!

How can you walk in that purpose consistently despite the up and down nature of the changing days and seasons of your life?

God‘s Word tells us to go about whatever we do for the Lord, and not to please human masters (v.23). There's a better purpose for your life than impressing people and gathering a collection of trophies. Refocus your life and work on pleasing the Lord and not impressing people, not pleasing ourselves, and not doing it for attention or a paycheck!

Whatever you do, put your whole heart into it (v.23). This is your act of worship to God!

Jesus gave everything for you on the cross so that you can be forgiven and made right with our Father through faith! How could we not give Him our everything every time?

Your filter is not how you feel about it, what others think about it, or even what results you see with your eyes at the time. Our filter is pleasing God and doing all things for His glory!

When you live in this way, we’re told that the Lord himself will reward you for your work (v.24)! God‘s rewards are so much more fulfilling and lasting than human awards or paychecks!

Whatever you do, do it with all your heart and do it for the Lord!

Right on?

Read/listen to Colossians chapters 2-4

Prayer focus: ask God to help you see a bigger purpose in every day and every project by living to please Him regardless of what kind of a day it feels like in the moment

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Defeat Anxiety

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” -Philippians 4:6-8

There are a lot of triggers for anxiety and many reasons why people struggle with it frequently. God instructed us to not be anxious about anything (v.6). He believes in your ability to overcome anxiety with His help, but God needs you to also believe! To overcome anxiety, you first have to believe that you can be free from it and that you’re not forever sentenced to a life of anxiety. You have to overcome the thinking that this is just the way you are and that this will always be your reality.

We’re told to come to God in every situation by prayer and petition (v.4). This dependence on God by trusting in Him and relying on His Church to come around you is a major step toward walking in freedom from the anxiousness that can arrest your peace. Fighting a battle like anxiety by yourself is signing up for failure. Bring it before God, transparently allow others to help, and don’t try to defeat anxiety alone.

If you’re struggling with being anxious, your mind is likely focused on the triggers of that anxiety or related fears. As long as your mind is set on all the bad things that bother you and that could go wrong, it will be hard to find peace! It’s important that you come to God with thanksgiving (v.4) as it trains your mind to focus on His goodness and the wonderful things He has done.

When you begin to remember who God is and the good things He has done, it’s hard to simultaneously dwell on all the triggers of your anxiety. Thanksgiving adjusts the posture of your heart and can build your faith as you reflect on the power of God to act in goodness as He has done before.

Finally, we’re instructed to bring our requests to God (v.4), trusting He is able to help us with our need. It’s difficult to ask for help if you don’t know where the problem originated. If all you can discern is general anxiety, then begin asking for help at that starting point, but don't stop searching. You may need to seek council and other believers with discernment, but digging down to the root issues under your anxiety can help you bring a more specific request before God!

These answers will also provide clarity of next steps.

Sometimes a root issue is visible with a little digging around and at other times it may require surgical exploration of past wounds, failures, or family history. With the assistance of others, reliance on God in dependent prayer, and developing a thankful mind you can defeat anxiety!

Believe that you can defeat anxiety with God's help because He believes in you!

Right on?

Read/listen to Philippians chapters 3-4 and Colossians chapter 1

Prayer focus: talk to God about anything in your life or past that triggers anxiety and both surrender it to Him while also asking for His wisdom to defeat the anxiety

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Your Growth Mindset

“…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ…” -Philippians 1:6, 9-10

Your mindset matters when it comes to spiritual growth! The battle for growth is won or lost in your mind. There are two especially dangerous mindsets you can carry that will severely limit your spiritual growth.

The discouraged mindset can happen when we dwell on our failures, believe we’ll never become the person God wanted us to be, and think that because we were defeated in the past we will not be able to experience victory in the future.

The apathetic mindset can happen when we settle into where we are in our spiritual development, get too comfortable, assume there’s nothing more for us to experience beyond what we’ve already seen, or believe we’re stuck beyond hope!

God’s Word tells us that we are a work in progress and that there will eventually be a day of completion (v.6). Until that day you must remain in a growth mindset. The day of completion is coming, so don’t give up in the middle of the construction project. Keep growing every day, every week, every month, and every year! God is working on a masterpiece!

Don’t get apathetic either! There is always more for you to experience in God and in your journey of spiritual growth! You may feel stuck, but you don’t have to sit down and stay there! Get up and get growing! Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to the wisdom you need to move forward!

Get into God’s Word every day, pray, serve, worship, and engage in His Church! Maintain a mindset of growth and over the years you will see God do more than you can imagine!

Keep growing every day and one day you will see God's full masterpiece for your life!

Right on?

Read/listen to Ephesians chapter 6 and Philippians chapters 1-2

Prayer focus: talk to God about where you feel discouraged or stuck and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you toward the wisdom and help you need to grow forward

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