For the past seven weeks, we’ve been walking through a series called Living A Life Of Purpose. Based on some of the emails and comments I’ve received after the services, this series has had an impact on many people. (If you haven’t been able to attend in person, you can view the videos here or here).
While it’s great to see such enthusiasm over the series, what happens when that desire to discover your purpose begins to wane? What do we do when the excitement turns to frustration or even discouragement? Especially when we look at the path ahead and realize that it isn’t always going to be easy to live out our purpose.
Discouragement will come. Frustration will happen. And many, many people will simply give up and go back to living life the same old way. The questions will come back, and some will simply assume that they are one of the few who just don’t have a purpose to live out.
As we wrap up the series this week, we’re going to talk about staying strong even when you want to quit. But, let me toss out a few thoughts that I wont be covering in the message.
There are times when I feel like quitting. Really. Those feels are normal. So, don’t beat yourself up when you experience them. Feeling like quitting is not the same as actually quitting. For me, there are usually specific factors that are at play in my life during those times when I feel like quitting. They include the following:
1. Fatigue
This is without a doubt the number one factor that causes me to want to give up on my purpose. I get tired. I’m not a big sleeper at the best of times, but when I’m tired, I get discouraged more easily. That means I need to take care of myself. I try not to make rash decisions when I’m lacking sleep. I remind myself that while I’m frustrated over the lack of purpose being lived out, maybe the best thing I could do is sleep on it.
2. Lonlieness
It’s easy to give up when you think you’re all alone in your purpose. When this happens, I pull others around me. I dream in teams. I share my heart with family, friends, and peers. It’s always amazing how others can get me excited again about my purpose.
3. Lack of results
Sometimes I wonder if I’m really making a difference. I put so much effort into something and then wonder if anyone appreciated it. Sound familiar? In those times, it’s important to remember that we are living out our purpose to please God, not others. We want God to say, “well done, good and faithful servant.” If others recognize it, great. But it’s not the reason we do what we do.
These are just three of the factors that get me discouraged from time to time. There are others — some of which we’ll talk about this week as we wrap up the series.
What about you? What are some of the things that cause you to get discouraged about living out your purpose? And, how do you respond to those factors? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
