“What Do You Want to Do When You Grow Up?”

What is your purpose? Where do you want to go with your life, your career, your future? So many of us grow up constantly hearing the question, “what do you want to do when you grow up?” from parents, teachers, friends, family, etc. And so many of us still haven’t found out.

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Honestly, I believe most of us don’t really have trouble understanding what we want to do. We want to do many good things but struggle to understand what we really need to do.

Dirty Jobs show host Mike Rowe has spoken about this, how in America especially we have been told to “dream big,” “shoot for the stars,” and how this has led to a general lack of direction as we all try to find some elusive purpose.

What if I suggested that instead of focusing so much on what you want from moment to moment, you focused on what the best future requires from you today?

A Work to Do

The truth is, we have a purpose here on earth far beyond living a comfortable or exciting life. We have a loving Heavenly Father, and he sent us here for a reason. We are sons of an all-powerful, loving God, and He has a work for us to do! He is counting on us, and will not leave us alone as we seek for what we need to do! We can reach through the veil and discover and fulfill this purpose through diligent, patient, daily seeking and reflection through prayer, reading inspired literature, and recording our impressions.

Three Ways to Connect with Heavenly Guidance

Though there are many ways to receive divine inspiration for your life, I would like to focus in on three daily habits you can incorporate to better accept heavenly illumination day by day: reading, prayer, and writing. As you find ways to incorporate these powerful tools and apply what you learn every day, you will grow into your calling line by line until your confidence cannot be shaken.

#1 - Reading Inspired Literature

We can seek heavenly guidance through reading scriptures and other inspired words. The voice of God has been recorded in holy books, telling us very clearly our purpose on earth. Additionally, by studying scriptures and other wholesome content, you begin to fill your mind with pieces of light, pieces that God can rearrange and use to communicate with you.

If you wonder what to read, canonized works of scripture are always a good choice. Other good options could include uplifting books or insightful podcasts. I highly recommend books like Atomic Habits by James Clear, Like Dragons Did They Fight by Maurice Harker, The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, Grit by Angela Duckworth, and Failing Forward by John C. Maxwell. Personally, I have made it a habit to listen to one sermon or chapter of scripture every morning while making breakfast.

As with the rest of these goals, I encourage you to determine a specific time and location along with the action itself. Ideally, this should be something achievable consistently every day. Here are some examples to get started with:

# 2 - Intentional Prayer

We can communicate directly with God, the creator of the world, and ask Him for direction and strength in finding and fulfilling our callings here on this earth. What an incredible blessing! Through the “fruits of the spirit,” (Galatians 5:22) our heavenly Father can give us strength and show His approval.

I encourage you to set aside at least 5 minutes once or twice a day to kneel in meditative prayer and contemplation. Like other habits, prayer gets easier the more you do it. Make it a consistent, daily habit, and over time it will help tremendously along with these other practices to reveal God’s will for your life day to day.

Another note for prayer goals- while praying with other family members, at church, or elsewhere can offer good experiences, I strongly suggest dedicating some time solely to yourself for this practice. When praying, many find it useful to choose a quiet place and time where they will not be disturbed every day. Here are some potential times and locations for a solid daily prayer goal:

#3 - Writing Impressions

In the quest to uncover our earthly callings, we cannot skip over the crucial step of writing our impressions. As we read worthwhile content and commune with God in prayer, we will begin to discover thoughts, connections, and impressions we didn’t notice before. Oftentimes, these will come in the form of phrases you have read emphasized or a thought from a prayer. Here it becomes imperative to record these ideas in as concrete a way we can.

This means instead of just writing- “I felt a strong impression to be a better person the other day,” go on to add how you think you might do that. What could God approve of? What could you try? Then when you act out these thoughts, you will discover more clearly how to refine your approach. Thus you can draw nearer and nearer to your purpose in life by using the tool of writing in connection with prayer and reading.

Craft a daily writing goal using the same principles of the previous tools: find a specific time and place where you can write undisturbed consistently every day. While you should record inspiration you receive on the fly, I have also found it incredibly helpful to schedule time to prepare my mind to focus and my fingers to write my thoughts. Also note that you can use many different tools to record your writings every day. Here are some examples to get you started:

A Grand Plan For Your Life

I hope you know already that you really are a beloved son of a loving Father in Heaven, and He really does have a grand plan for your life! These habits offer a powerful way to connect with Him. To clarify, I do not intend to prescribe how revelation from heaven works for you personally in your life. This is something deeply personal that only you can discover. I can, however, say with confidence that God waits for us on the other side of the veil, awaiting the chance to guide us to our purpose, to a greater calling in life.

Fight For a Life of Righteous Intention!

I challenge you to explore the tools of reading inspired literature, connecting to God through prayer, and writing your inspired thoughts and feelings. Find manageable ways to take action every day. Seek out your incredible purpose and calling from God! Understanding this purpose in life and the day-to-day intention God calls for each of us will unlock your ability to fight back against th​e adversary, obtain self-mastery, and live a life of joy as a warrior for Christ!