Personal Mission Statement- Refined Character

Personal Mission Statement

I started this 6-week series on “Personal Mission Statement” because 1- God put it on my heart to write on this theme and 2- because I see so many people walking around with defeatist attitudes. If people realize with their hearts and minds that they are (or can be) powerful people of God, then they walk forward with their dreams and desires with more boldness. If you seek His truths about who you could be then you will come to know who you are in God- that He can use you to do more than you could ever hope for image. If you let God renew your mind and refine your character then your personal mission statement of impacting the world will be greater than defeatist thinking. I do realize for some that coming this realization can take time if you have go through some really challenging moments in life, but having an empowering personal mission statement and acting on it can lead you to a more fulfilled life.

But getting on this track of renewed thinking and moving boldly in your destiny requires some time of establishing and evaluating your personal mission statement. I find in the waiting seasons of life, where God has slowed my pace, that I use the time to renew my mind, let God make my path straight, and fine-tune what He wants me to do next. Writing down who I am gives me clear direction about my mission in life and helps me stay on track. What is your personal mission statement? Have you written it down?

A Refined Character & Job

Speaking of waiting seasons I find that in waiting and challenging times in life that my character gets refined. It’s in the unexplainable circumstances, challenges with people and waiting on God to give me clarity that I learn a lot about myself.

In bringing up Job again this week, I find Job’s story to be so comforting in waiting and challenging seasons, and I am amazed at how God refined Job’s life. Job too had to wait on God while he was hit with physical loss. For 37 chapters Job suffered alone without God speaking to him about his plight. But Job was being mentally and spiritually tested, and even though God was silent for37 chapters, He was there watching over Job. Sometimes we wonder where God is in trials, but we have to remember that a teacher is silent during exams (tests). In all that he went through Job stayed faithful to God and satan ended up losing his challenge to God (see Job 1). But in this big test that Job faced, he was making his personal mission statement. But perhaps Job had a personal mission statement before his big test and had resolved to stick to it should a test come. Job clearly loved God and served Him in both good times and in bad times. By resolving to stay faithful to God his character was being tried, but his mission all along was to trust God even when the dissenting voices chimed in with misleading advice. When you’re faced with waiting and challenge what kind of personal mission statement are you creating? Or if you’ve already created a personal mission statement, and you’re in a waiting season or are in a challenge, do you resolve to stick with your statement? Are you allowing waiting seasons and challenges to refine your character, increase your faith and stick to the mission? 

To have a refined character requires humility- a daily humbling of yourself before God to allow the Holy Spirit to adjust your character to make you more like Christ.

Takeaway

So, a good takeaway is, with Job as our model: when we find ourselves in waiting and challenging seasons, are we going to stick to our personal mission statement and allow the Holy Spirit to refine our characters? So that we can live out that personal mission statement in the world and do what God has called us to do while shining His light?

Happy Friday