“What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s a question that parents and other adults ask children time and again. We all feel like we are supposed to have a resoundingly clear answer to this question, but in reality many of us still feel like we are trying to hone in on a satisfying answer.

This question can be a good way to “break the ice” with children, and a way to learn something about them. It may be useful to surface desires and maybe even abilities, but it isn’t the highest way to consider purpose or direction for our lives. It’s possible that this is not even a great question to ask anyone

“The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’” (Jeremiah 1:5) This message highlights some very interesting ideas. It emphasizes that God is the One who created Jeremiah (and all of us). We were specifically and intentionally designed by God. This word from the Lord also indicates that God not only created us, but also created us for specific purposes. Do you imagine that He only has purpose for prophets, or that He actually has designed each one of us with purposes and a destiny in mind?

If God has specifically and intentionally created you with purpose and destiny, doesn’t it seem that the question of what you want to be when you grow up is pretty trite and possibly even off track? We might better focus on God’s purposes for our lives, rather than fixating on our own
desires or ambitions. Many times God’s intent and our desires do align because the God who designed us also implanted our desires within us. Focusing on ourselves and our wishes, however, may not lead us closer to God. Yet, when we focus our attention on God and following Him, we can stand assured that He will direct us in paths that satisfy and fulfill us. David wrote, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of our heart.” (Psalm 37:4)

Do you have any sense of God’s purposes for you? How has He SHAPEd you? How has He enabled you spiritually; are there any particular Spiritual gifts with which He seems to have graced you? What aspects of life and the Kingdom of God excite your Heart with passion? What specific Abilities do you have? How does your Personality work? What kinds of Experiences (positive and negative) has He used to mold your life? When we consider how God has SHAPEd us, we can often get a sense of the general direction and purposes He might have for us.

We will do well to consider and ask each other, “What do you think God might want you to do/be as you continue growing in Him?”

With you on purpose,

Pastor Tom
tgriffith@rolcboston.org