Spiritual Development: Living Your Created Purpose

Are you feeling disconnected or distant from God? Unmotivated to pursue Him? Unworthy to receive Him? Feeling stuck in life circumstances? Do you ask, “Who am I? What is my role in this world?” To discover the answer to these questions, you must understand your purpose. As a Christian, your purpose aligns with God’s Word. Pursuing to become Christlike and aligning with God’s will for your life.

Galatians 5:22-23 describes the qualities we should strive for: “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” (NLT).

These are the qualities our Lord and Savior modeled for us. Jesus was fully human and demonstrated all these characteristics. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we, too, can develop these qualities and become more like Him.

How do we use these qualities to become the person God created us to be? By being mindful and responsible for our actions, for how we live, and for how we treat others. Take your eyes off yourself and focus on others’ needs. Consider other perspectives by practicing humility and empathy.

You learn your purpose through growth and spiritual development by remaining mindful of the fruit of the Spirit. This happens through a process called sanctification, a lifelong commitment to obeying God, acknowledging sin, and being willing to change.

Through sanctification, you are transformed as you put off your old self and put on the new, being filled with the Holy Spirit. Spiritual development brings you closer to God through prayer, fellowship, learning God’s Word, and applying faith to daily life. This leads you to a deeper understanding of God and His ways, resulting in spiritual maturity and clarity of purpose.

Prayer

Prayer is communing with God. He wants your heart and time. He desires us to communicate with Him, not because He needs us, but because He loves us and desires to be in relationship with us.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Never stop praying.” There is no right or wrong way to commune with God. Your goal should be to pray throughout your day, whether on your commute to work, in a quiet moment during your workday, at a designated time you have set aside for daily prayer, or before you rise in the morning or before you go to bed at night.

Praying draws you closer to God and helps reduce stress and anxiety by focusing your mind and limiting distractions.

Fellowship

We are created for relationship just as God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are in relationship. In the creation story, God says it is not good only once: when Adam was alone. Adam needed someone to share life with. He needed another person, someone for hopes, dreams, struggles, sorrows, and comfort. Fellowship means living life together by being vulnerable and involved in each other’s lives. This allows you to learn from others and impact one another.

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. – Proverbs 27:17, CSB

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. – Hebrews 10:25, NLT

Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. – Galatians 6:2, NLT

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. – Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, NLT

God’s Word

Dig deep into the Word and let the Holy Spirit move. Be still, soften your heart, open your mind to receive, and follow in obedience. Delve into God’s Word by reading daily or joining a Bible study for insight from others. Stay in His Word daily to maintain focus and grow in understanding His ways.

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16-17, NLT

Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.

But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash. – Matthew 7:24-27, NLT

Action

It is not enough to just learn about God’s ways; you need to apply what you have learned to your daily walk. Sharing with others, being an example, and being a light of Christ. Live your life with a kingdom perspective- living like Christ and seeing others as He does. Being in the world but not of the world.

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. – Matthew 6:33, NLT

Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. – 1 John 2:6, NLT

For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. – 1 Peter 2:21, NLT

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. – Ephesians 5:1, NLT

Depend on the Holy Spirit through prayer, God’s Word, fellowship, and living out your faith. Seek and surrender to Him, becoming subordinate by not relying on your own knowledge, whether logic or feelings, but by acknowledging who He is and what He has done. Move away from always needing control or managing the narrative. Trust God: He sees the big picture.

Understanding who Christ is helps us understand ourselves. We see our identity in Him, God’s Son, our Savior, and Redeemer, and One who learned obedience through suffering. Jesus came into this world fully human and as God’s Son. He experienced every emotion yet did not sin. He exemplified how we are to live. Through His ultimate sacrifice, He poured out His life for us, perfectly displaying unmatched love and compassion.

In Christ, you are…

Adopted

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. – Ephesians 1:5, NLT

Chosen

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. – Ephesians 1:4, NLT

Forgiven

But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. – 1 John 1:9, NLT

Loved

This is real love – not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. – 1 John 4:10, NLT

Redeemed

God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. – 1 Corinthians 1:30, NLT

Wonderfully Made

For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. – Psalm 139:13, CSB

We are works in progress; flawed but forgiven. We are influenced by sin but not controlled by it. Christ set us free on the cross. He came to show us how loved we are and to teach us to love. He is God’s child, and we are God’s children. That is your core purpose- child of God.

Contact a Christian counselor or your pastor if you need assistance in spiritual development. Someone to guide and walk alongside you, assisting you in discovering who you were created to be.