Discovering Your Purpose (Part 3)

One of the important clues to discovering your purpose is paying attention to the things you do with ease. What comes naturally to you? What do you accomplish with relatively little strain while others find it difficult?

Often, God has wired us with natural abilities that enable us to perform certain tasks with unusual ease. These abilities are not accidental; they are often indicators of the gifts He has placed within us, directing us to our purpose.

This does not mean that fulfilling your purpose will always be easy. Every worthwhile calling requires discipline, growth, and perseverance.

However, there is often a noticeable difference between working within your God-given gift and working outside of it. When you operate in an area God has gifted you for, or assigned you, there is a sense of natural flow.

What seems difficult to many people may come naturally to you, and yet produce remarkable results. This is what we mean by Discovering Your Purpose Through Easiness. It is one of the ways that can help us realize our purpose.

We can see this in the life of King David. Long before he became king, he displayed an unusual ability to play the harp. His music brought comfort and peace to King Saul whenever an evil spirit troubled him (1 Samuel 16:23).

What David considered an ordinary skill became the very gift that opened the door to the royal palace and prepared him for his future assignment. His ease in playing the harp was one of God's signposts directing him toward his destiny.

In the end, the same ability helped him fulfill one of God's purposes for his life. He became a psalmist, writing many songs and psalms.

The things that come easily to you are not ordinary. They may be clues to a special purpose God wants you to accomplish on earth.

They may not represent the entirety of your life's assignment, but they could point to one of the most significant purposes that will distinguish your life and make your greatest contribution to others.

Therefore, never take your abilities, gifts, or skills for granted, especially those that come naturally. Study them. Develop them. Explore them, and ask yourself why these things come so easily to you and how they can be used to serve others and glorify God.

Set aside time to sit quietly and ask yourself these questions: What do I do with ease? What comes naturally to me? What do I do with little effort or training that still produces excellent results?

The answers to these questions may reveal important clues about your purpose. Sometimes, you may not see your own strengths clearly. In those moments, listen to the people around you.

Pay attention to the sincere observations of trusted friends, mentors, family members, and colleagues. They may recognize gifts in you that you have overlooked.

Receive their feedback with humility, develop those strengths intentionally, and allow them to become instruments through which you fulfill your God-given purpose.

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart displayed extraordinary musical ability from a very young age. By the age of five, he was already composing music.

While other children were still learning basic musical principles, Mozart created masterpieces with remarkable ease.

His natural musical ability was a clear indication of the unique gift and assignment God had entrusted to him, and that gift continues to bless the world even centuries afterward.

5 WAYS TO DISCOVER YOUR PURPOSE THROUGH EASINESS

Let's see how we can discover purpose through this means.

There are five indicators to help us discover purpose through easiness. For easy memorization, each point begins with the letter "E". Afterwards, make time to think through each of them in your own life and work on them.

1. EXAMINE: What Comes Naturally to You?

One of the first clues to your purpose is identifying what comes naturally to you. These are the things you do almost instinctively, without having to force yourself or receive extensive training.

They seem to flow from who you are. While others may find them difficult or intimidating, you perform them with unusual ease.

As I reflected on my own life, I realized that one of the things that comes naturally to me is standing before a group of people to speak, teach, or communicate an idea. Today, I can do it with confidence and ease.

While I was not always this way, through years of reflection and experience I have come to recognize that communication is one of the strengths God has placed within me.

Let me share an experience with you.

This experience helped me recognize this speaking gift God had placed within me. While I was working at a hospital, we were scheduled to give a health talk to a group of people.

The person who had accepted the assignment suddenly had a family emergency about two hours before the program and could no longer attend. She asked me to find someone else to replace her.

I informed my director that there was no one available and suggested that I could deliver the talk instead. My director immediately replied, "No, you can't do it."

Since I was not a health personnel or the designated presenter, he believed I was not the right person for the assignment. That seemed to end the discussion.

But I realized that if I did not do something about it, the people would come and no one would be there to give the talk, and it would affect our reputation as a company.

I still tried to find someone else, but no one was available. So I decided to prepare myself. I studied the topic thoroughly and, when the time came, I stepped forward and delivered the health talk.

By God's grace, the presentation went exceptionally well. After the program, one of the doctors present approached me and said, "I believe this is something you should keep doing." His words stayed with me.

That experience confirmed what I had gradually been discovering about myself: that communicating ideas to people is one of the strengths God has given me.

Sometimes, it takes an unexpected opportunity and the courage to step forward for you to recognize a gift that has been within you all along. So keep searching and discovering more about yourself.

The things that come naturally to you are often clues to your purpose. Pay attention to the activities that you perform with unusual ease, effectiveness, and joy.

They may not represent your entire life's assignment, but they often point to the areas where God has uniquely gifted you to serve others.

Discover those strengths, develop them, and use them faithfully, for they may become some of the clearest signposts to your God-given purpose.

2. EXCEL: What Do You Do Best?

Not everything you excel at comes naturally. Sometimes you discover your strengths only when you are given a responsibility or confronted with a challenge.

Once the opportunity comes, however, you perform remarkably well with relatively little struggle. These are the assignments that seem to bringout the best in you.

While others may feel overwhelmed, you quickly understand what needs to be done and accomplish it with excellence. For example, you may never dream of becoming an event coordinator.

Yet when asked to organize a church programme, everything falls into place. The schedules are clear, volunteers are coordinated, problems are solved, and the event succeeds. That is a clue right there.

The challenge brought out a gift you never knew you had something you never knew you could do so well. Let me share another personal experience with you on this point.

One day, I received a phone call from one of my spiritual fathers. He said, "John, I want to write a book, but I don't want to write it myself. I want you to come to my house, interview me, transcribe everything we discuss, and turn it into a book."

It was a challenge I had never faced before. I knew I could write books, but I had never interviewed someone, transcribed their thoughts, and transformed them into a manuscript. It was completely new to me.

I had two choices: I could decline because I lacked experience, or I could accept the challenge and learn as I went. I chose to accept it.

I interviewed him, carefully transcribed the conversations, organized the material, and developed it into a book. By God's grace, the project was a great success, and he was delighted with the final manuscript.

That experience opened my eyes to another gift God had placed within me. It showed me that I was not only capable of writing my own books but also of helping others tell their stories and turn their ideas into books.

Had I refused the opportunity because it was unfamiliar, I might never have discovered that dimension of my purpose.

Sometimes your next gift is hidden inside a challenge you have never attempted before. Purpose is often discovered when you are willing to accept opportunities that stretch your abilities and trust God to help you grow through them.

Don't run away from the challenges or demands that life places on you. They may be hidden opportunities that God is using to reveal another dimension of your purpose.

Many of the gifts we discover are not those we naturally set out to develop. They emerge because a need arises, a responsibility is given to us, or a challenge demands that we step beyond our comfort zone.

What first appears to be an inconvenience may actually be an invitation to discover a new ability God has placed within you or a new purpose He is calling you to fulfill.

So ask yourself: What tasks do I perform surprisingly well when I am challenged to do them?

Not necessarily the things that come naturally to me, but the things I quickly excel at when a need arises or a responsibility is placed on my shoulders. Those abilities may be important clues to your purpose.

God often reveals our potential, not only through what we naturally enjoy doing, but also through what we become capable of doing naturally when life calls upon us.

3. EXPERIENCE FLOW: Where Do You Experience Unusual Wisdom and Ability?

Another clue to your purpose is identifying the activities in which you experience a unique sense of flow. These are moments when ideas come naturally, solutions appear unexpectedly, and you operate with unusual clarity and confidence.

As you work, fresh insights seem to come to you without struggle. When obstacles arise, you often know what to do, even if you have never encountered the problem before.

At times, you surprise yourself with the wisdom, creativity, or understanding that flows through you. This is more than natural intelligence. It is often the grace of God working through the gifts He has placed within you.

For example: If you are a counsellor, you may find that the right words come to you at exactly the right moment while helping someone through a crisis.

If you are a teacher, you may explain a difficult lesson in a way that suddenly makes everything clear to students. These are not coincidences; they are indicators of a larger purpose upon your life.

I have experienced this many times in my own writing journey. There are moments when I am writing and I reach a point where I encounter a challenge.

I may be developing a concept, trying to solve a problem, or wondering how to explain an idea clearly, and suddenly I receive a fresh insight that helps me move forward.

For example, while writing on topics such as "Why Some Best Friends Become Worst Enemies" or "How Introverts Can Keep Friends for Long," there have been moments when I did not immediately know how to approach a particular issue.

But as I continued to think, reflect, and write, a new idea or perspective would come to me. When I applied it, I discovered that it provided the solution I was looking for and helped the message come together effectively.

Sometimes purpose is revealed in the places where wisdom flows through you naturally; where solutions emerge, ideas connect, and you are able to create value in a way that feels beyond ordinary effort.

The question we must ask ourselves is: Where do I consistently experience this kind of flow? Where do ideas, solutions, and insights seem to come to me with unusual clarity? Those places may reveal important aspects of the gifts and purposes God has placed within us.

4. ENRICH: What Do You Feel the Urge to Develop?

Natural ability is only the beginning. Every gift God gives must be developed. The fact that something comes easily does not mean you should leave it undeveloped.

Instead, it should motivate you to become even better. Interestingly, people often feel a strong desire to grow in the very areas where God has gifted them.

You may find yourself wanting to read more, practise more, attend seminars, seek mentors, or gain deeper knowledge in a particular field. That inner desire to improve may itself be a clue to your purpose.

For example, a naturally gifted teacher may enjoy learning better teaching methods. I have a friend called Sir Noah Dadzie. If you meet that man, you will understand this point better.

He is a teacher, but I have not seen a teacher who learns like him. Not only does he teach Mathematics, his strongest area, but he has learned so much that there is no subject in the GES curriculum that he cannot teach.

Whatever the subject, name it. Sir Noah will teach you with ease. That is how you discover purpose.

There is another friend of mine called Dr. Enoch Amoah. He loves learning. Sometimes I wonder why he enjoys learning and reading so much.

You would think that, as a doctor, he would only read health books. No. Not Dr. Amoah. He reads extensively on finance, wealth creation, relationships, and many other subjects. Sometimes I ask myself, "Are you a doctor or a business tycoon?"

There is another friend of mine, Mr. Emmanuel Kofi Asante. That man loves reading. I have not met anyone else with such a passion for knowledge.

Apart from the things he already does, he has read so much about public speaking that he has even developed courses in that area to train others.

When you are called to do something, you will naturally have the urge to learn more about it.

Even if right now, you do not know what you are naturally good at, just search deep in your heart and focus on the subjects, topics, areas, that ignite your interest to read more about them.

So, if you have the urge to develop a gift, do not suppress it. Go for it. Do not neglect the gifts that come easily to you or the desire to develop them. Develop them through discipline, learning, and practice. God gives the gift, but it is your responsibility to cultivate it.

5. EMPLOY: What Do You Feel the Urge to Do to Glorify God?

Discovering your purpose is not complete until you begin to employ your gifts for the glory of God and the benefit of others. God does not give abilities merely for personal achievement, recognition, or success.

He gives gifts so that they can become channels through which His purpose is fulfilled on earth. After identifying what comes naturally, where you excel, where you experience unusual flow, and what you desire to develop, the next question is: "How does God want me to use this area of my life to serve His purposes?"

Purpose is found when your abilities meet God's assignment. A gift that remains unused cannot fulfill its intended purpose. A talent that is used only for personal gain may never reach its highest potential.

But when a gift is surrendered to God, it becomes a tool for transformation. For example, David did not use his musical ability only for personal enjoyment.

The gift of music that he developed became a means of ministering to King Saul and later contributed to the worship life of Israel. His ability was employed for God's purpose.

Similarly, Bezalel was gifted with wisdom, creativity, and craftsmanship. He could have used those abilities simply as personal skills, but God employed his gift in building the Tabernacle (Exodus 31:1–5). His craftsmanship became an act of worship.

Ask yourself:

• What problem do I feel compelled to solve?

• What contribution do I desire to make in God's kingdom?

• How can my abilities bring glory to God and add value to people's lives?

Your purpose is not merely discovered by asking, "What am I good at?" but also by asking, "What does God want me to do with what I am good at?"

Kind regards,

JOHN ARTHUR.

Author & President.

Check the following links to buy copies of my books.

1. The Friendship Of Samson And Delilah: Why You Should Avoid Bad Friends

2. The Friendship Of David And Jonathan: Why You Should Have True Friends

3. BE YOUR OWN BEST FRIEND: How To Love Yourself And Fulfill Your Purpose