Christian Living

Ignite Your Purpose

By Bridgett Banks

As a child born under a generational curse, I didn’t know my purpose. I was raised in church, but didn’t yet have my own relationship with God. My dad, though he loved me in the way he knew how, he was addicted to drugs, my mom was a single mom and raised me until the age of 7, but then sent me to live with my dad and stepmom because she needed help to care for me. Entering a world that was chaotic and confusing, there was a darkness over my life that I could never seem to break through. Becoming promiscuous, searching for a deep longing of satisfaction for life, for love that I couldn’t seem to grasp, and seeking out for my life’s purpose, that became my only place of escape, therefore became an addiction. The one thing that I thought would make life worth living with all the roller coasters of life’s experiences, which was becoming pregnant at age 15, resulted in me having an abortion.

Another tragedy that I felt God would punish me the rest of my life for. Though, I made some great decisions in life, it was the bad decisions that I made in life that seemed to take my life on a downward spiral never to be returned. It became a very lonely, discouraging, and depressing place, even though I functioned well at school, later in the military, was married, had kids, and working for the government, but nothing seemed to give me the answer I was looking for in life…which was my purpose. It felt like I was born to be tortured with the things I had faced and endured. Outwardly, I appeared very successful, but inwardly I was spiritually dying. It was when I answered the call of God on my life and developed a relationship with Him, that He began to reveal to me the purpose, in which He created me.

The love that He had for me from before I was even born. It was how He won me over daily, beckoning for me to surrender in my life, sometimes in the form of tragedy, that I finally surrendered, and He introduced to me a journey of my life called purpose. Yes! I wouldn’t take back anything I’ve been through because it was those things I lacked, the cravings, and desires, are the very things I am called to speak to for every person I can have the opportunity to share my story. It was worth the pain I’ve been through, totally worth it! It makes me to be able to identify with the longings and sufferings of mankind, and to let them know, the answer is in Jesus Christ and you answering the call to your purpose in which you were created, not settling for anything less, and live the dream God has placed inside of you! Now, that I’ve provided you a very brief introduction of my story, “It’s time to Ignite Your Purpose!”

Each person, family, ministry, and/or business has a brand identity. There is something that you are known for in life. I like to call it your walking billboard. Whether you intentionally plan it or not. There is a predominant message you hear at funerals when a person is laid to rest. What is your message? Your purpose is stemmed from who you are as an individual. We must always stop to ask ourselves, are we in sync with the purpose God created for you in life? What is your “one-liner” or tag line in life? You have the date you were born and the date that you die, it is the dash in between that you live out your purpose (   –   ).

Do you have a dream or vision that won’t let you rest? It nags at you on your job, in your home, in ministry, and/or in the sleepless midnight hours. You find yourself doing multiple things, but you never received the inner peace of knowing you are truly operating in sync with the heartbeat of God for your life. Busyness and productivity are two different things. We could refer to it as the Mary-Martha syndrome. Martha was the worrier, busy with all the concerns, but Mary was at the feet of Jesus. It is at the feet of Jesus that you continually stay in sync with the purposes of God for your life. This keeps the lines of communication open to hear His plans for your life. I often quote “Every person born is liken a potent seed of potential to be cultivated for the purposes of God.”

We are the clay in the potter’s hand being molded for His purposes. You remember, Romans 8:28, along with so many other scriptures that speaks life to the purpose of God: “All things work together for the good of those who are called according to His purpose.” You may have endured many heartaches, sufferings, disappointments, triumphs, victories, accomplishments, mountain highs and valley lows, along with many plans, but it is the purpose of God that prevails in your life. What is His prevailing message for your life? It is the continual message that resides in your soul. What is your purpose/mission statement? What you do may and will evolve over time, but it will always resort back to the purpose in which God created you. And just remember in moments of discouragement or despair that if, and when you have made it this far in your life, you are indeed an overcomer!

Nevertheless, you must let go of the past failures and accomplishments, keep the lessons, build memorials for your accomplishments to remember what God has done, but stay present in momentum of what God is doing now. So many times, we as a people, can find ourselves where God was, instead of where He is. We find this many times in biblical references. This is often discovered in traditions. It is frequently quoted that tradition is simply frozen success. Our purpose is not frozen, but alive, fervent, and moving forward in the Will of God for the advancement of the Kingdom of God! It is the unfailing, undying crucified passion and strikingly zeal to live out your life’s purpose, representing Christ in the earth! It’s the thing that wakes you up every day! Even when you want to put the fire out, you can’t…because it burns in every fiber of your being! Have you found it? If not, are you ready to Ignite Your Purpose?!?! Always remember, “It’s time to Ignite Your Purpose!”.

 

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