Identify Your Life’s Message
You have a purpose. God designed you with a specific plan in mind.
We are all called, collectively, to fulfill the great commission. We each have crucial roles to play. We have destinies to fulfill. I believe that each of us contains a God-embedded life message that has been divinely placed into our souls
Your life message is the unique, God-ordained spark, providing the catalyst for action in your life. Your life message will inspire, provoke, challenge, and even condemn you.
Your life message inspires you to stretch to accomplish goals that seem unachievable. It provokes you to action when sitting back would be easier. It challenges your thinking to expand. Your life message will condemn you when your life does not align with the declaration God has placed within you!
A few months ago, I discovered my life message. This message can be seen in everything I do. It is woven through the tapestry of my daily thoughts. It is heard in the vocabulary I use and the attitudes I adopt. I was so moved by the revelation that I immediately called Kristy, my wife of almost nineteen years, to tell her about it. When I shared this amazing news, she responded with a short, “Of course.”
I asked, “What do you mean, ‘of course’?”
She said, “Anyone who knows you would know that is the message of your life. You talk about it all the time!”
Well…here I go again. The message of my life is “God did, so you can.” This is the all-encompassing revelation that empowers, convicts, and directs my life. Sharing that truth is the focus of my existence.
God created the earth so you can exist
God saved Noah so you can be here today
God called Abraham so you can claim the promise of Abraham
God sent His Son so you can be saved
God gave you a life plan [scripture] so you can live a great life
God sent His Spirit so you can be empowered to effect change in the world
Everything about scripture reveals that God did, so you can! Philippians 4:13 says it this way, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” It can’t get any clearer than that!
Some may say, “The focus of life should be Christ…not you!” I agree. Because God revealed Himself in Christ, you and I have the ability to know Him and worship Him. If God had not revealed Himself, we would not know who or what to worship. Again, God did, so you can!
Anytime I talk about what God did to empower you to live out His will, I get excited. I am passionate about what is possible! This is the message that God is consistently speaking from my life.
That is my life message. What is yours?
When you know your life’s message you can answer the question, “What message is God declaring through your life?”
When you know your life’s message you can answer the question, “What message is God declaring through your life?”
Here are four questions you can use to identify your life message.
1. What is the consistent dialog coming from your life?
There is a train of thought that is consistently coming from your life. It is an unintentional mantra that flows from you. It will often be found in the “go to” statements you use to encourage others.
You may have a friend who is passionate about changing lives through exercise and healthy eating. Every conversation with them will include a wondrous revelation of some new idea regarding exercise. This is their life message!
What do those closest to you always hear from you?
2. What statements provoke a response from your life?
I break out in hives when I hear too much about what can’t be done. It causes me to cringe inside. Immediately I ask, “Why not?” When the difficulty is revealed, we may be forced to say, “It can’t be done…now.” It may not be possible now, but it is not impossible!
I may not speak or have an immediate plan, but this statement provokes a response from me.
What statement always gets a response from your life?
3. What kind of ideas get you up in the morning?
Some things wake me up completely. Once one of these thoughts enters my thinking I just can’t shut it down easily. Most of these thoughts include the concept of “what could be”.
What ideas effect you so powerfully that you can’t shut them down? Your life message will be found in those thoughts.
4. What do you find unacceptable?
What make you clench your fist in defiance? There are some realities that I simply can’t accept. I would rather risk all comforts than live in some situations. Patrick Henry famously said, “Give me liberty or give me death.” Bondage was not an acceptable outcome even if resisting that bondage meant death.
What ideas are you willing to risk everything for?
Is it important to discover your life message? I believe it is important. You will be most effective in Next Level Leadership when you are leading into areas that declare your life’s message.