God: You often mistake project for purpose.
You can have great purpose, and no clear project. And a clear project, but no great purpose.
But a project is often measurable. And purpose is not. It can be hard to measure purpose. There is no objective measure you can use for it. Is a little progress on great purpose well worth it? Is a lot of progress on a lesser purpose better?
I can tell you “this is worth it”, and that means it is. You often won’t know if it was by your own measuring, even in your own lifespan.
You don’t need a project. You have multiple. You need clear purpose. Project doesn’t replace purpose, it gives guardrails and strategy to it.
Purpose is important. And I give it. Until you recognize the purpose I have for you in this time, you will settle for more work. More work is an addiction fed by lack of purpose. But work is a poor substitute for actual mission. You’ve been told “be effective in work”. “Do good work”. But without a clear purpose, you are Martha, complaining that people are not joining you in what doesn’t matter.
Have purpose. Projects will come naturally out of that. My way is not the way of projects, but of purpose. Projects are meant to guide action toward purpose, but without a clear purpose, you are merely trying to feed purpose with the wrong nourishment.
When you get bored, you pursue projects. Instead, ask me for my purpose. That will give purpose to your rest, or else clarify a valuable project, in a way you can stick to.
Joshua: Abba, what’s my purpose?
God: In this season? Or in general? You are asking in a manner I want to address.
Joshua: But I asked the right question!
God: (shakes his head) You are asking the wrong one. I did not tell you to ask “what is my purpose?”
Joshua: …Yeah, I guess technically. You told me to ask for my purpose. What’s the difference? Isn’t purpose something you know?
Isn’t the whole point to know my purpose? “God, what’s your purpose for my life?” I was always told to ask that.
God: When I walked with people, I told them the purpose I had for them. Did Moses ask for a purpose? What about Elijah? I told the disciples the purpose I had for them. In fact, in the cases of the most influential people, they asked for guidance, but their purposes were clear. They asked what were the right projects, in effect, but their purposes were clear. Asking for purpose sounds very good, but that’s not what you see throughout scripture.
Why is this such an issue?
Joshua: …Well, I think it’s because I don’t like the bits of purpose I got. You’ve told me my role is to “Help Christians create great stories, in ways that honor the Creator.” Which sounds really nice. Except that… I don’t want to work with crappy Christians on crappy Christian projects. Which I’m not! I’m working on really cool projects with Christians. Um…
God: (I see him leaning towards me)
Joshua: I’m putting my foot in my mouth, and I wanna stop. I’m gonna stop talking! I’m stopping now.
God: (smiling. Long pause)
Joshua: …Could you start talking so I don’t have to fill in the space?
God: (another pause) Joshua, you don’t have to fill in the space. Projects are a way to fill in the space.
You hate the silence. You think the silence is bad. Why? Do you think “be still and know that I am God” is simply an ideal that cannot be attained? Stillness isn’t evil.
Joshua: “Idleness is the devil’s workshop”—which I know is wrong, I just wanna say it cause it’s a popular saying and I want an excuse to pursue WORKAHOLISM!!!! Woot woot!!!!
God: Joshua, you’re overreacting because you are uncomfortable.
Joshua: …You’re right. I am uncomfortable. I… I’m scared I’ll miss it. If I’m busy, I can’t miss you.
God: Hmm. So honor me with your hands… hoping that keeps your heart close to me?
Joshua: …I guess that is kinda dumb. I mean, you’re kinda mirroring the “honor me with your lips, but your hearts are far from me” concern, but in different phrasing.
God: Do you know what your purpose is? I have to give it to you. You don’t find it. That sounds nice. It’s wrong.
I told Peter what he was. He didn’t read a really inspirational story, and then go, “wow! Maybe I’ll try becoming the rock on which Christ builds his church!” That would’ve been arrogant. Here’s the problem: my calling on my children sounds like arrogance to those who don’t know it’s from ME.
Thinking you’re great in a realm that you’re not is arrogant. Receiving the call to a high position is humility.
You know what I’ve called you to. The problem is, you keep thinking that isn’t right. And you’re upset, because I gave you two slightly different position statements: you’ve been told you should only have one. But the reality is, you have two adjacent, slightly different calls. That isn’t wrong. When I came to earth as a baby, I both came for the Jews, and as a sacrifice so that all nations could come to me. Adjacent calls, not in contradiction. I could handle it, and you can handle your adjacent callings.
You haven’t sat down and asked “what do I do with my position?” The reality is, you just keep thinking it’ll make sense someday. You think “someday, I’ll look back, and think, ‘wow, God was right!’” Here’s the problem: I want you to believe today. It doesn’t take faith to say “someday I’ll believe it”. That is delayed faith, or in other words, not actually faith.
Joshua: (long pause) …I guess. Yeah, I mean… yeah… I’m uncomfortable. Because you’re calling me out.
So, um… I keep thinking title means nothing. Like… I think about people in corporations, going “that’s not my job!” I hate that thought process. You came to serve! If I’m like “Sorry bro, God called me to this, there’s no way I could possibly do this other thing!” Like… that’s just—I don’t wanna tout anything you’ve told me! That seems manipulative, and demanding, and weird, and like…
God: Did I ever tell you to demand anything to anyone? Is that what I did when I came to earth?
Joshua: No; you came not to be served, but to serve. So like… I guess given your high calling—could I call it that? I mean, you just are God—
God: (nodding) That’s right—my actions came out of my identity. If I were not God, I couldn’t have done anything. My identity, my Godhood, enabled me to be a sacrifice. So it started with knowing my identity. If I hadn’t—if Satan had persuaded me otherwise—I couldn’t have been a sacrifice. Identity is where it started. Which is why Satan tried to attack it.
Joshua: So, like… what do I even do with identity? I’ve heard the cringe, “Hey, God’s called me to this, bow before me, you less-so-called peasants!”
God: (shakes his head) If I don’t do it, you have no business doing it. Anyone who claims their “title” gives them free reign to cause abuse, will quickly be replaced. I will give them chances—but a millstone would be better than what they are promoting. I want to have mercy—but they must turn, or things will go very very badly.
You keep thinking I’ve given you a title. I don’t give you a title—I give you an identity. A title is meaningless. An identity is where everything begins. You are my son. That means that any identity can actually be UPHELD. A peasant claiming “I am a king!” isn’t. But a king receiving that they are king over a certain area, has little contesting.
Ask me to clarify my identity for you. You’ve seen it as a title. That wouldn’t be useful. It’s not a way to introduce yourself—it’s a way to influence. No need to introduce yourself when you can influence. People will see how you influence, and make things better in my way. You keep seeing my identity for you as being “okay, I’ve given you a sword, now run along and figure out how to use it!” Your sword is my word. So you better keep listening!
I gave you clear identity 9 years ago, but you have yet to fully walk in it. It’s not something for you to tout—you don’t wield an identity. It is meant to tell you where to focus. You’ve seen that when you get close, it just makes sense. And it is ridiculously easy for you!
Do you realize that when I first started talking to you I immediately targeted identity?
Joshua: …No, I’d never realized that. But now I do. Holy crap. I’ve missed it pretty badly, huh?
God: (shaking his head) You never missed it, but I told you identity and you said “cool cool, but what do I do?” It’s simple, in these 5 ways:
- Ask me for places to serve in your call. Don’t put people under you—put yourself under other people. When it lines up with your call, it’ll bless them, and you’ll also be able to move forward in my full purpose.
- Ask me for the types of opportunity that grow you. If you are called to entertainment, you’ll have a very different path than someone called to other areas of focus. That is okay. Let me give you relevant opportunity.
- Ask me for little ways you can exercise your position. When I give you an identity, I am also telling you this is the kind of position that will open up for you. For David, it took awhile. But he still prepared for that position, in areas that were not exactly that position. Showing you are faithful in the little arena will prepare you for the big one. Be the little fish in the little pond, and I will grow you and move you into the big pond. The little pond is a safety net for growth; do not despise it.
- Ask me what to do to walk in that position today. It’s not tomorrow. Your identity didn’t start at a point, you had it. You still do. Which means opportunity is already open. Doesn’t mean it’s the same as you will have; but it is still an expression of the position.
- Ask me to open the impossible door. What is the impossible door? It probably looks like a wall. If there is no door, it’s an impossible one. Do I care? I care about you, not about YOUR DEFINITION OF IMPOSSIBLE. You already have had multiple impossible doors open, to the point that you’re scared to pray about places to work now, because you know you’ll switch jobs to go there.
Joshua: Yeah, I kinda wanna cancel my old prayers for some of those now. I have this weird legalistic idea that you won’t respect those prayers though, like I ordered something from Amazon and I can’t return it.
God: Do those 5 things, and you’ll see how clear your path is. Move forward. Accept my position. This will be easy, but more importantly, this will bless other people.