Are you living your purpose? When I ask this question, your mind immediately goes to your work, or your dreams, but does it go to your soul? Is who you are right now, the person God has called you to be? Your purpose is so much more than a job title, or a dream being fulfilled, it also incorporates the person God has called you to be. It is so important that we are constantly growing and molding ourselves to look more like Jesus, it is necessary when fulfilling our purpose. Society puts a lot of pressure on us no matter what age we are, to figure out what we want to do, and to execute that. We carry this pressure on us, so we make our list of accomplishments and achievements, and we neglect our souls.

I didn’t really understand this in my first year of college. I struggled a lot with the idea of my purpose. I thought that my purpose was tied to my future job, or school choice, or even future spouse. These things all contribute to our purpose, but we are neglecting our souls when we are so fixated on the outside circumstances, and goals. This isn’t who we are. Who we are cannot be summed up in a job, or even a relationship with another person. Who we are in founded in our relationship with Jesus and we have to make sure that we are constantly pursuing Jesus above everything else.

We have to examine the state of our souls, and make sure that who we are lines up with who God wants us to be. I think we can get overwhelmingly stuck on a job, or relationship, or even education and we can forget about the part of us that no one else sees and that is our soul. I am reading a book called “How’s Your Soul?” by Judah Smith (I highly recommend checking it out) and it talks about the importance of our souls and how our purpose is tied to them. It also talks about what our souls require in order for them to be healthy, here’s a quote directly from the book. Judah says, “We have a guide to healthy souls. And as we intentionally and regularly follow God’s plan, our souls will be free to thrive.” We know that God desires the best for us, and that includes our souls. He wants us to be fully rooted in Him. I find that when we are constantly molding ourselves to be more like Jesus, and our souls are becoming firmly anchored in Him, our desires, and even “our purpose” changes. Our desires begin to be shaped by what God wants for us, than what we had previously wanted for ourselves.

How do we examine our souls? First, I would encourage you to take a break from your school work, your job, and even your family. Take some time for yourself and Jesus and just ask the real question, “How is my soul?” Allow time for God to really reveal some things to you, and jot those things down. Take a look at your life and check what it is your are honestly anchored in. I have done this many times in my life and I have found that my anchor was in things other than Jesus, and that is why my heart, and mind were in the state that they were. God had a purpose for my life, but I couldn’t see it because I was so fixated on my relationships with other people. When I realized my anchor was not in Jesus, it was the beginning to fixing my problem. When you don’t have the right anchor, your soul cannot withstand the circumstances of life. There is a reason why the bible speaks about the soul so many times, because Jesus knows how important it is for our inside to be fulfilling God’s purpose, by reflecting who Jesus is, and being fully anchored in Him. Your purpose isn’t just what you were called to do, but WHO you were called to be. Growth is necessary in fulfilling God’s purpose for your life.

Job 33:29-30 “This is the way God works. Over and over again He pulls our souls back from certain destruction so we’ll see the light—and live in the light! “

Psalm 37:37-38The Message (MSG) 37-38 Keep your eye on the healthy soul, scrutinize the straight life; There’s a future in strenuous wholeness. But the willful will soon be discarded; insolent souls are on a dead-end street.

The Message (MSG)

Becoming Who God Created You To Be