Everyone should have a mission statement, my husband says. So one evening I talked him into helping me come up with mine. He had just spent the week helping the church staff with theirs, so I thought he could surely help his wife! After much discussion and processing, we came up with it - Smoothing Paths to Allow Peace to Flourish.
I absolutely love helping others achieve peace! (That’s what this blog is about.) One of my favorite verses regarding the Lord is Psalm 18:36, “You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn.” The broad path is such a great picture of safety and peace. And to me, smoothness is a picture of peace.
A definite feeling of peace entered my life when I realized my personal mission statement. For years I had struggled with the never-ending questions, “What should I do with my life?” “What am I going to be when I grow up?” “What is God’s purpose for me?” Over and over, year after year, my journal’s pages are filled with these questions, but never any concrete answers. Then I realized I was asking the wrong question. It’s not what I do, it’s who I am! “How did God create me?” Go through the following steps and sort through these questions. Pray over them. And see if they won’t liberate you, give you direction, and give you peace as you discover your own personal mission statement.
1) Read and Meditate on These Scriptures:
- Jeremiah 1:5
- Psalm 138:8
- Psalm 57:2
- Philippians 1:6
- Acts 13:36
2) Look into Your Giftedness/Personality Mix
- Spiritual Gift Test
- Personality Profile Test
- After your Profile Test, click your 4-Letter Personality Profile
3) Passion – What has God implanted on your heart through your experiences and circumstances? Think about these questions.
- What makes me cry?
- What makes me so excited that I have to tell people about it?
- What makes me so angry that I need to do something about it?
- If I could fix something in the world, what would it be?
- Where do I tend to volunteer? What is the something I could do all day and not get paid for?
- What do people seem to always compliment me about, but it seems super simple to me?
- Do people come to me for help in a specific area? (advice, fixing things, financial help, mentoring)
- What is my favorite life experience when I felt the most fulfilled?
4) Your Personal Mission Statement is not about you. Well, it is, but it’s not for your glory. It’s for God’s glory. A Kingdom Outcome – it must involve others.
- Remember Rick Warren’s book, Purpose Driven Life, and the very first line? – “It’s not about you.”
- M. Robert Mulholland, Jr.’s book, Invitation to a Journey states that spiritual formation is “the process of being conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others.” (italics mine)
Let me know if you have any questions – I’d be glad to help you discover what God has designed for you!
