What am I Supposed to Do with My Life?
I thought about calling this post, “What is the purpose of life?” but that seemed a bit overused. Also, this is much shorter than our last post, Is Jesus God? Why? Because the topic of what to do with your life is relatively simple.
Why are you laughing? Is it hard to know what you’re supposed to do with your life?
Maybe you’re overthinking it.
What Did Jesus Say?
Jesus told us exactly what we’re supposed to do with our lives. He gave us three simple (but not necessarily easy) instructions. I know I keep coming back to these, but why mess with the direct commands of the Savior?
Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30).
Love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31).
Go to all nations and make disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and teach them to obey everything Jesus commanded the disciples (Matthew 28:16-20).
But What Am I Supposed to Really Do??
Oh, you mean every day? Like stay at home, or get a job, or where should you live, etc.?
I have no idea. Don’t you know that God gave you free will? Let’s make this really simple. Do you feel like you have a calling from God? Then give that a shot. Do you instead feel like you have absolutely no clue from the Lord? Then try some different things. Beloved, if it’s not sinful and the Lord hasn’t laid anything specific on your heart, then use the gifts, talents, interests, and desires He has given you to find a path that is in alignment with His will.
We seem to think we are going to get some road to Damascus moment when the Lord tells us exactly what to do. Except that’s not what happened.
“Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.”
-Acts 9:3-8 ESV
What did Jesus tell Saul (who later became Paul)? “But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” You see, even in a direct encounter with the Lord, He doesn’t always give us every detail.
Here’s the point. Sometimes God will give relatively clear instructions on what to do. But most of the time He lets you make decisions. However, there is a method that will help.
The Key to Godly Decisions
There is a specific way to make decisions that align with the will of God, even when you don’t have the details as to His plans for you. Would you like to know it? It’s clear from one of my most treasured passages of Old Testament scripture.
“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
-Joshua 1:8-9 NIV
The key is this, stay close to God. Invest a lot of time reading His word. Take time to not only pray for your requests, but also to listen to the Holy Spirit. Grow by reading books by other Jesus followers. When you do all these things on a consistent basis, you will become more spiritually mature. And a spiritually mature person moves forward in wisdom and the confidence of her or his relationship with the Lord.
What are you supposed to do with your life? Obey the Lord by loving him, loving others, spreading the Good News, and making disciples. Beyond those, just stay close to Him and go where the Holy Spirit gives opportunities to use the gifts, talents, and desires He has placed in you.
If you have follow-up thoughts, feel free to reach out to me directly via our contact form. Also, if you’d like to learn more about me and why I create all this content about following Jesus, check out my About page. If you love the content and would like to support this work, please visit Troy Stoneking (buymeacoffee.com). Finally, would you like to see a list of ALL our blog posts? Here it is!
Love you Jesus follower!