I absolutely love hearing about other people's world views and opinions, especially those whose differ from mine. Since I grew up in the 'Bible belt' and go to a Christian school it seems like everyone around me has similar world views. So while browsing on Psychology Today's website, I came across this little blog in the spirituality section. It is about finding our life purpose within ourselves and that we have this innate sense of knowing what is right if we just listen to ourselves. The author of the post, Steve Sisgold, wrote
"Our bodies are rich with feelings and incredible wisdom, and our spiritual nature accesses higher wisdom."
I find it fascinating that even those who do not necessarily believe in God or Christianity believe that there is a higher being or greater power that exists. In the case of this article, the author believes that we (the self) are the higher being or power. It reminds me of the verse Romans 1:19 where Paul talks about how God is known through his invisible qualities. God is so powerful and so great he doesn't have to do big things to make himself known and to prove He is real. He can make himself known through the small things such as giving us (humans) wisdom and by putting a yearning in us to search for a higher power. We serve a great God who loves us and surrounds us with reminders of who He is and His love for us.
Another point in this article that is totally unrelated to my previous one but I still want to talk about, is the point in the article about trusting in yourself to make decisions and to find your purpose in life. I have to disagree with that point. As a Christian, I believe that I find my purpose in God and trust in Him to guide me with making decisions. If I focus on myself, I am only setting myself up for disappointment. I am not perfect and I am going to fail at times. But to know that my purpose is to serve God and that in turn He has a purpose for me, is enough to give me strength and direction when I feel lost.
The last sentence in the article is a question of, "What is my purpose right now?" and my first thought was "to find some chocolate somewhere in my house because I want some really bad right now." And that is why I do not trust in myself to make decisions.
I could use some chocolate too trying to finish all these posts before tomorrow :) No, really, I just had this conversation with my roommate earlier today and she asked me, "how do we know whether what we are doing today is what is making the best eternal investment of our time we have?" I too believe the Lord gives us wisdom and the yearning to seek Him to help us wrestle with these questions, and when we take time to be still and know that He is God, sometimes we can just know, feel, or even hear the answers to those questions. I Often wonder though, whether that small still voice inside me is the Holy Spirit speaking, or if is my sinful nature trying to deceive me? I found it encouraging to read the words you wrote, "my purpose is to serve God and that in turn He has a purpose for me, is enough to give me strength and direction when I feel lost." In trying to answer my roommates question earlier, I reminded her that the Lord would make it clear as she continued to spend time with HIm, but to keep enjoying the season of life the Lord had placed her in. In other words, yes I do believe we need to trust the Lord, instead of ourselves, but why is something that seems so obvious and simple still so difficult to do?
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