Fulfilling your life’s purpose begins with a dislocated heart for God’s agenda.
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10 Practices Great Christians Have in Common
Read through Church history and you might notice a common theme:
In the Christian life, a lot of people start well. Unfortunately, very few finish well.
What do I mean by finishing well? I mean identifying our God-given direction and life’s purpose, looking to God to equip us to fulfill that purpose, and then enjoying the fruits that come as a result.
Doesn’t that sound amazing? What stops us from making this happen?
RISK AVERSION DERAILS OUR PURPOSE
When we were young in our faith and desperate to live life according to God’s ways, we’d read the Bible and do what it says! And as a result, God showed up.
When believers start experiencing a comfortable life with more at stake, it’s easy to become risk-averse. Times of blessing and ease can actually squash zeal and derail intimacy with Him because true obedience and following might get uncomfortable.
Have you ever convinced yourself that you are still following Him closely but in reality you’re living off the fumes of the old days?
In an attempt to improve the situation, we sometimes take matters into our own hands. When we start scrambling to make things work out better and beckon God to “show up” again, we’re entering the territory of rules and religion. This might (temporarily) bring us the comfortable life we think we’re looking for, but it greatly lacks purpose, passion, and influence.
Weighed down in fear, you and I are both at risk of becoming nice, moral, religious people who miss what God called us to do in this life.
Do you want more? When you study the Scriptures, you can spot people who’ve embraced holy ambition and resolved to make a difference with their lives until the very end. Each of us has a call from God to make a significant impact at this pivotal moment in history. We all have a purpose in this life. Will you answer yours?
Weighed down in fear, you and I are both at risk of becoming nice, moral, religious people who miss what God called us to do in this life. Do you want more? Ask God for a heart that’s broken for His agenda. Share on XBelow, we’ll uncover the action steps to start fulfilling your life’s purpose. To navigate quickly to those points, use the links below.
- Take an honest evaluation.
- Experience genuine repentance.
- Take careful consideration.
- Ask God for a dislocated heart.
To fulfill your life’s purpose as a disciple of Christ, look to this verse:
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart;
These, O God, You will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17)
In other words, we need a dislocated heart. This is a God-given concern for others that propels us out of our comfort zone. It is a passionate concern for God’s agenda that supersedes our own desires for personal peace and prosperity.
Is your God-given concern for others so powerful that it can propel you out of your comfort zone? Share on X
EXAMPLES OF DISLOCATED HEARTS
- Jesus
“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5-8)
- Paul
“I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit— I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race…” (Romans 9:1-3)
Both of these men had a passionate concern for God’s agenda that superseded their own agenda and comfort.
Consider the last time you hosted someone outside of your faith in your home — has it been a long time since it’s occurred? Do you have a habit of making assumptions about people who walk into the church but clearly live differently than you do?
I’m not trying to make you feel guilty; rather, I’m highlighting areas where our hearts are not broken to the things of God.
Fulfilling the purpose He has for us starts with seeing the world through His eyes and asking for a heart that breaks for the things that break His. Let’s start with these steps.
Want to hear more? Find this Holy Ambition series on Chip’s YouTube channel.
Ready to Fulfill Your Life’s Purpose? Start With These 4 Action Steps
1. Take an honest evaluation.
Our hearts can deceive us. For many of us, we WANT to put God’s agenda ahead of our own, but we simply fail to make it happen.
Avoid this common trip-up by regularly taking an honest evaluation of your actions:
- Have you made commitments to get uncomfortable and show love to others?
- Did you follow up on those commitments with action?
- Do you recognize sincere intentions in your life but also see a lack of follow-through?
Something strange happens in our minds: once we PLAN to take those steps and do those uncomfortable things, our brains mentally check off the task and we consider it done. This is why regular evaluations will help us take an honest look at the plans versus the follow-through.
2. Experience genuine repentance.
Simply said, repentance just means a change of mind that leads to a change of action. It’s just like being on the freeway, and realizing that you’re going in the wrong direction. What would you do? You find the very next exit ramp and start going back in the right direction.
Similarly, repentance is saying, “God, will You forgive me? If I’m honest, I don’t really care about others. I’m consumed with my life, world, stuff, and comfort. I’m sorry.”
It’s God’s will and desire for you to have a dislocated heart, so this prayer will lift off the burden of self you’ve been carrying.
3. Take careful consideration.
When it comes to fulfilling God’s purpose for your life, the direction can be general or specific. For instance, it is always God’s will for you to treat others kindly. If that’s an area of your life where you are not obedient to God, then you need to fulfill your purpose as a child of the Creator and live with kindness.
Other times, God’s agenda for your life might include something more specific and unique, like a job or location change. If you are sensing God’s leading to make a big decision in your life, be warned against knee-jerk reactions. Take careful consideration by thinking through, praying, and getting wise counsel.
God wants to use you: What’s Your Unique Purpose in God’s Big Story?
4. Ask God for a dislocated heart.
Your heart is His, so go to the Creator of your heart, knowing every temptation and obstacle you live with, and ask Him to give you a dislocated heart and broken spirit for His agenda.
He wants to see you doing exciting work for the Kingdom and living free of the burdens you’ve been carrying.
FULFILL LIFE’S AGENDA STARTING IN YOUR HEART
Instead of focusing on our checklist, what if we went about our days asking God to give us a dislocated heart for His agenda?
I hope you’ll ask God to show you what a broken spirit and dislocated heart look like in your world, in your social and professional networks, at work, in your home, and among others.
Are you ready to start making a difference for God in your sphere of influence and fulfill your life’s purpose for the sake of Christ?
Learn more about uncovering your life’s unique purpose in Chip Ingram’s book, Holy Ambition, found in the Living on the Edge bookstore.
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What’s Your Unique Purpose in God’s Big Story?
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RELATED RESOURCES
Holy Ambition book by Chip Ingram
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Written By
Chip Ingram
Founder & Teaching Pastor, Living on the Edge
Chip Ingram is the CEO and teaching pastor of Living on the Edge, an international teaching and discipleship ministry. A pastor for over thirty years, Chip has a unique ability to communicate truth and challenge people to live out their faith. He is the author of many books, including The Real God, Culture Shock and The Real Heaven. Chip and his wife, Theresa, have four grown children and twelve grandchildren and live in California.
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