The Foundation for a Life of Purpose
What will you set your heart to do? It's a question that echoes through every season of life, growing louder as we stand on the threshold of a new year. We live in a culture obsessed with self-discovery, constantly encouraged to look within for answers about our purpose and direction. But what if the path to true purpose begins not by looking inward, but by looking upward?
The Trap of Self-Directed Purpose
Consider a person who grows up determined to prove their worth. They identify what they're good at, develop a disciplined plan, and execute it with unwavering devotion. They climb higher, achieve more, and cultivate excellence through sheer force of will. Yet with each new level of achievement, satisfaction remains elusive. The purpose behind years of striving vanishes, leaving only emptiness.
This is the inevitable result of a self-directed mission. When you are both the author and the end of your own story, life will always feel insufficient. A mission you invent for yourself can never truly satisfy because it's built on an unstable foundation—the shifting sands of your own heart.
Scripture warns us plainly: "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. Who can understand it?" Every time we try to discern direction by consulting only our feelings, asking "What do I want?" or "What makes me happy?" we're trusting something the Bible calls deceitful and desperately sick. It's like navigating wilderness with a broken compass, wondering why we keep passing the same tree.
A Different Starting Point
The book of Ezra presents us with a radically different approach. Ezra, returning from Babylonian exile to help rebuild Jewish society, faced the monumental task of reconstructing everything—politics, social life, family structures, religious worship. Yet notice where he turned for guidance: "Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to do it, and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel."
Ezra didn't begin by looking within himself for answers. He didn't start with the questions our culture trains us to ask: What am I passionate about? What are my talents? Instead, he began first and foremost with the Word of God.
This reveals a foundational truth: you cannot truly know yourself without knowing God, and you cannot know God without His self-revelation. Both self-knowledge and God-knowledge are intertwined, and both require the Word of God.
The Sufficiency of Scripture
We've been sold a lie that the Bible is merely a religious book for religious things, not a guide for daily life or a source of real direction and purpose. Christians have bought this lie too, believing the Bible isn't enough for their whole life, that they need something more to find their place in the world.
But Scripture declares its own sufficiency: "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."
When you read Scripture, you discover your sin—what you truly are apart from grace. You discover your identity in Christ—who you can become through Him. You understand your gifts and God's calling on your life. Without the Word of God, introspection becomes distorted by pride, fear, past wounds, cultural expectations, and countless other factors. With the Word of God, introspection becomes sanctified, corrected, clarified, and directed in truth.
From Knowledge to Action
Yet studying God's Word is only half the foundation. James warns us: "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."
Here's a piercing truth: if you won't obey what you already know, God will not reveal what comes next. You cannot claim to be seeking God's will for your life while ignoring God's revealed will in His Word.
We're experts at selective obedience. We love when the Word is read and preached, yet we refuse to actually do what it says in our daily lives. The Bible tells us to make disciples, yet getting lifelong Christians to actually do this remains one of the greatest challenges. Scripture tells us to speak truth in love and pursue reconciliation, yet we stop talking to each other when offended, declaring it "their problem."
Character precedes calling. If you're not regularly in God's Word or sitting under it preached and taught, you lack the categories to understand yourself rightly or recognize God's calling. If you're not obeying what you already know, you're not ready to move forward because godly desire follows obedience.
Practical Steps Forward
Your mission field is where you are today, not tomorrow. You won't start fulfilling your mission in some future location simply because it's new. The mission starts where you are.
Character qualifies you for God's calling, not competency. Skills can be learned, but character determines sustainability. Your skills can take you where your character can never keep you. Before God reveals your special mission, He requires obedience in areas He's already made clear.
The call of a Christian is never self-focused. Ezra's mission wasn't simply to know and do God's law—those were requirements for the mission. The mission itself was teaching God's statutes to Israel. It was outward-focused.
Your mission is similar. Whether you're a parent discipling the next generation, a retiree mentoring younger believers, or a tradesman serving the body through practical helps, your calling will always be outward. Your mission doesn't have to be "religious" in the narrow sense, but it must be rooted in God's Word, proven through obedience, and directed toward others for God's glory.
The Question Before Us
As a new year approaches, we'll hear endless questions about resolutions and changes. Here's a better alternative: Set your heart to study the Word of God and to do it, so you can benefit the kingdom and serve others—all to His glory.
What will you set your heart to do starting today?
The Trap of Self-Directed Purpose
Consider a person who grows up determined to prove their worth. They identify what they're good at, develop a disciplined plan, and execute it with unwavering devotion. They climb higher, achieve more, and cultivate excellence through sheer force of will. Yet with each new level of achievement, satisfaction remains elusive. The purpose behind years of striving vanishes, leaving only emptiness.
This is the inevitable result of a self-directed mission. When you are both the author and the end of your own story, life will always feel insufficient. A mission you invent for yourself can never truly satisfy because it's built on an unstable foundation—the shifting sands of your own heart.
Scripture warns us plainly: "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. Who can understand it?" Every time we try to discern direction by consulting only our feelings, asking "What do I want?" or "What makes me happy?" we're trusting something the Bible calls deceitful and desperately sick. It's like navigating wilderness with a broken compass, wondering why we keep passing the same tree.
A Different Starting Point
The book of Ezra presents us with a radically different approach. Ezra, returning from Babylonian exile to help rebuild Jewish society, faced the monumental task of reconstructing everything—politics, social life, family structures, religious worship. Yet notice where he turned for guidance: "Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to do it, and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel."
Ezra didn't begin by looking within himself for answers. He didn't start with the questions our culture trains us to ask: What am I passionate about? What are my talents? Instead, he began first and foremost with the Word of God.
This reveals a foundational truth: you cannot truly know yourself without knowing God, and you cannot know God without His self-revelation. Both self-knowledge and God-knowledge are intertwined, and both require the Word of God.
The Sufficiency of Scripture
We've been sold a lie that the Bible is merely a religious book for religious things, not a guide for daily life or a source of real direction and purpose. Christians have bought this lie too, believing the Bible isn't enough for their whole life, that they need something more to find their place in the world.
But Scripture declares its own sufficiency: "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."
When you read Scripture, you discover your sin—what you truly are apart from grace. You discover your identity in Christ—who you can become through Him. You understand your gifts and God's calling on your life. Without the Word of God, introspection becomes distorted by pride, fear, past wounds, cultural expectations, and countless other factors. With the Word of God, introspection becomes sanctified, corrected, clarified, and directed in truth.
From Knowledge to Action
Yet studying God's Word is only half the foundation. James warns us: "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."
Here's a piercing truth: if you won't obey what you already know, God will not reveal what comes next. You cannot claim to be seeking God's will for your life while ignoring God's revealed will in His Word.
We're experts at selective obedience. We love when the Word is read and preached, yet we refuse to actually do what it says in our daily lives. The Bible tells us to make disciples, yet getting lifelong Christians to actually do this remains one of the greatest challenges. Scripture tells us to speak truth in love and pursue reconciliation, yet we stop talking to each other when offended, declaring it "their problem."
Character precedes calling. If you're not regularly in God's Word or sitting under it preached and taught, you lack the categories to understand yourself rightly or recognize God's calling. If you're not obeying what you already know, you're not ready to move forward because godly desire follows obedience.
Practical Steps Forward
Your mission field is where you are today, not tomorrow. You won't start fulfilling your mission in some future location simply because it's new. The mission starts where you are.
Character qualifies you for God's calling, not competency. Skills can be learned, but character determines sustainability. Your skills can take you where your character can never keep you. Before God reveals your special mission, He requires obedience in areas He's already made clear.
The call of a Christian is never self-focused. Ezra's mission wasn't simply to know and do God's law—those were requirements for the mission. The mission itself was teaching God's statutes to Israel. It was outward-focused.
Your mission is similar. Whether you're a parent discipling the next generation, a retiree mentoring younger believers, or a tradesman serving the body through practical helps, your calling will always be outward. Your mission doesn't have to be "religious" in the narrow sense, but it must be rooted in God's Word, proven through obedience, and directed toward others for God's glory.
The Question Before Us
As a new year approaches, we'll hear endless questions about resolutions and changes. Here's a better alternative: Set your heart to study the Word of God and to do it, so you can benefit the kingdom and serve others—all to His glory.
What will you set your heart to do starting today?
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