Are you living your purpose?
I have been a musician nearly my entire life. I began taking piano lessons when I was five years old. As most children do, I despised having to practice and gave up the piano for a brief time in my early teens. Once I hit high school I began playing again on my own. It was different playing under my own rules. I could practice or not practice. However, once I joined a rock band in high school, I discovered that what I really wanted to do was to play the guitar.
I eventually picked up an off-brand guitar and began teaching myself to play. In my 20′s I was able to purchase a Fender Strat and began trying to learn some lead licks off the radio. I never became proficient on guitar until about 3 or 4 years ago. After a lot of years of just playing around with the guitar I began really trying to play. I purchased a book and DVD that gave me some lessons, and then two years ago I realized my dream of owning a Gibson Les Paul guitar. It’s a beautiful Silverburst, has a great tone and feels wonderful. I’m still not a professional guitar player, but I have come to know the joy of playing guitar.
A couple of years ago, my wife and I had the opportunity to tour Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley. I’ll admit that I am not a huge Elvis fan, but I do like history, and touring Graceland was a pretty cool thing to be able to do. We toured the main house and grounds, the racquetball court, which is now full of trophies, and Elvis’ trophy room, which is a separate building. As we viewed the many displays of Elvis’ costumes and memorabilia, something caught my attention. It was a beautiful 1964 Gretsch Country Gentleman guitar. As a guitar player, I thought the guitar was beautiful. In fact, my first thought was “What a beautiful guitar!” Then I realized where it was: behind glass. My first thought was quickly replaced by “What a shame!”
I envisioned a Disney-esque scenario where the guitar could speak and could express emotion. I imagined that this guitar was created in a factory that made similar guitars. After its creation, it had dreams of being played by someone great; on a stage before thousands of people. When it was purchased by Elvis, it had its dreams realized as Elvis played it in his concerts. It felt a sense of well-being and accomplishment. It felt pride at being played skillfully and also at how well it sounded.
After the death of Elvis, the guitar was eventually put on display. At first, I imagined that the guitar said to itself “Look at all of these people coming to see me!” This went beyond that guitars dreams of being seen by thousands of people. Now it had millions of people coming to view it behind the glass. Eventually, however, I imagine that the guitar began to get a little frustrated. No one was playing it. It was created to make music, not to just be viewed from a distance and be kept behind a glass enclosure. Did the guitar pride itself in its appearance? Sure it did. It was a great looking guitar. But it was not created with the intention of only looking good. Its appearance was secondary to its purpose. Now I imagined the guitar becoming angry, dejected, suffering from depression, and eventually dying behind that glass enclosure. Why? Because it was not doing what it was created to do. It no longer made music.
I’m sure that it’s not difficult for most of you to figure out what I’m getting at here. You were created for a purpose. For some of you, it was also to make music. Some of you were created to talk to others about the Gospel. Talking comes easy for you. For others, it may be hosting those who are comfortable talking. Hospitality comes easy for you. You’re comfortable putting together events and gatherings. Some of you were called to preach or teach. And yet you’re stuck behind glass. You may even have a title or position at a church. At first, it was nice. You received recognition. People knew your name. But now, you’re realizing that you were created for a purpose. And this isn’t it.
At some point, nearly all of us will come to the realization that life isn’t what we imagined it to be. Like Jimmy Stewart in It’s A Wonderful Life, we had plans. We had dreams. We had a purpose. And unless you are one of the few fortunate people who grew up to make a living doing what you enjoy doing, you have experienced some level of disappointment at how your life turned out. You’re stuck behind glass.
I had a dream of entering full-time ministry. But even after realizing that dream, I came to the stunning realization that being in the ministry was not what I had envisioned all those years. Even though I had the position I had chased for years, I was stuck behind glass.
After many years of internal struggle between what I thought I wanted and what my purpose is, I made an important discovery: my purpose. What my position taught me is that there are people in churches all over the country every week who are stuck. They struggle with their identity. With trust. With changes in life, family, work, and sometimes just the sheer weight of their responsibility. They know they need to do something but are unsure exactly what that something may be. They’re living behind glass. My purpose is to help those people figure it out. To coach them from just living, to living their purpose. I particularly have a passion for pastors and church leaders. To help them separate the ministry from their purpose. Now that I know my purpose, I have come out from behind the glass. I’m content. Not always happy, often frustrated, but content nonetheless.
What is your purpose? Are you stuck behind glass watching the world pass in front of you and knowing that this is not what you were created to do? Few of us will hear God call us like He did Samuel. How do you discover your purpose? First of all,
How do you discover your purpose? First of all, pray. It seems simple, but ask God what His plan for you is. Then listen for an answer. It may come through reading the Bible, or through a friend who notices something you do well, or even through watching a movie or TV show. God is not limited in how He communicates with us.
Second, take a spiritual gifts test. Something to remember is that your spiritual gifts will probably not surprise you. If you are stingy with your money and time and your spiritual gifts inventory says that you have the gift of giving, something is wrong. Retake the test and answer the questions honestly this time. On the other hand, you may not recognize that a spiritual gift is a gift. It will be something that comes naturally to you. My wife, Penny, is an organizer and has the gift of hospitality. It’s easy for her to put together a party for 200 people without giving it too much thought or effort. It comes naturally. Her gift of hospitality was not recognizable to her because she assumed that everyone could do what she does, given enough time and training. The fact is, if I attempted to do what she does, people would leave the party early and hungry. It’s a gift, not a talent.
Third, ask others. Your gift may not be easily recognizable to you, but may be to others. Especially those who are closest to you. Ask friends and family what they think you do well. Remember that these are opinions and should only be used to reinforce what the first two steps already support. Again – don’t rely heavily on the opinions of others, but use them as a resource on your journey to discover your purpose.
One of the greatest resources in discovering and living your purpose is to employ the services of a coach. I would be happy to discuss the possibility of working with you. Just contact me and we can see if coaching may be right for you.
My hope is that each of you who find yourself behind glass will find the courage to break the glass and step out into your purpose. If that guitar could, I’m sure that it would choose to be played rather than be displayed. Step into your purpose and begin to make the music that God intended for you when He created you with a purpose.
