CHAPTER 16

Purpose in the Ordinary

“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;” Colossians 3:23 (KJV)

Most of life is lived in ordinary days. If purpose only exists in moments that feel significant, we will spend most of our lives believing we are somewhere outside of it.

Ordinary Does Not Mean Meaningless

Ordinary days build marriages, families, trust, character, work, and lives.

You Do Not Need a Ministry Title to Serve God

Teachers, farmers, mechanics, nurses, business owners, construction workers, stay at home parents, daycare providers, accountants, drivers, artists, servers, managers, students, and retired people can all belong to God where they are.

Your Work Can Become a Place Where Character Is Visible

People see whether we tell the truth, gossip, take credit, treat others with dignity, admit mistakes, and keep our word. The fruit of the Spirit can show up before anyone knows how much Scripture we know.

Do Not Turn Every Conversation Into a Ministry Project

People can feel when they are being treated like projects. Sometimes purpose looks like listening, kindness, consistency, quiet prayer, and honest relationship.

Sometimes Purpose Is Making Dinner

Jesus washed feet. “After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet...” John 13:5 (KJV). There is no task beneath us simply because it is not impressive.

Parenting Is Purpose Too

Children learn what adulthood, faith, apology, love, boundaries, conflict, and walking with God look like by watching us.

Your Children Are Not Your Entire Identity

Parenting can be a profound assignment without becoming our entire identity. Children grow and make their own choices. We belong to God first. So do our children.

Purpose Can Look Different in Different Seasons of Parenting

An infant needs one kind of presence, a toddler another, a teenager another, an adult child another. Healthy parenting changes as children develop.

Sometimes Purpose Is Providing and Sometimes Receiving Provision

There is dignity in paying bills, going to work, keeping lights on, buying groceries, and maintaining a home. There is also humility in receiving help when needed.

Purpose Exists in Relationships

“Let all your things be done with charity.” 1 Corinthians 16:14 (KJV). How we treat people is not separate from calling.

The Person in Front of You May Be the Assignment for This Moment

Do not become so focused on people you hope to reach someday that you overlook the person directly in front of you.

Purpose Does Not Require Constant Availability

Seeing purpose in ordinary relationships does not mean everyone gets access to us all the time. Sleep, privacy, family time, rest, work time, and boundaries matter.

Purpose Can Look Like Keeping Your Word

Trust is built through ordinary faithfulness.

Purpose Can Look Like Doing the Right Thing When Nobody Knows

Character is formed in places without an audience.

Purpose Can Look Like Resting

Rest does not have to earn its existence by improving tomorrow's productivity.

Purpose Can Look Like Enjoying God's Gifts

“...there is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour...” Ecclesiastes 2:24 (KJV). We are allowed to enjoy life with God.

Not Everything Needs to Become a Platform

You can enjoy something without monetizing it, teaching it, posting it, or building a program around it. Some things can remain private.

The Hidden Life Matters

Prayer nobody hears. Scripture read without posting. Repentance nobody applauds. A boundary nobody understands. A temptation resisted privately. The hidden life supports the visible one.

Do Not Let the Calling Consume the Person

You are a person before you are a role. Purpose should flow through a life. It should not consume the entire life.

There Is Purpose in Being Human

We sleep, eat, laugh, cry, need people, get tired, learn, make mistakes, celebrate, grieve, play, and rest. Purpose is lived through being human with God.

The Ordinary Is Where Much of Becoming Becomes Visible

Patience shows up when someone interrupts us. Gentleness when a child makes another mistake. Self control when frustrated. Faithfulness when nobody is checking. Love when serving is inconvenient. Peace when the day does not go as planned.

The Books Keep Building on Each Other

Peace Before Promise taught us that we can trust God before we know the outcome.

Abide taught us to remain with Him.

Restored invited Him into what needed healing.

Becoming asked what kind of person was being formed as we walked with Him.

And now Purpose Led asks: What does that person do with the life God has given them?

Sometimes the answer is simply: Live it. Right here.

Purpose Is Not Waiting Somewhere Else

Purpose is not hiding in another city, job, relationship, ministry, season, or version of you. God is here. Today.

Do the Next Ordinary Thing With God

Go to work. Make dinner. Call someone back. Read with your child. Finish the paperwork. Take a walk. Keep a promise. Apologize. Rest. Pray. Laugh. Go to bed.

Purpose led living is not a constant search for extraordinary assignments. It is a life continually led by God.

Sometimes He leads us into something enormous. And sometimes He leads us right back into the ordinary life already in front of us and says: Be faithful here.