Why Are You Here?

Sometimes, I ask myself that question. Just why am I here, or what am I doing here? It’s a question that can have several underlying meanings:

1. I have lost my way, and I don’t know how I got here.
2. I know where I am, but I don’t know or understand my purpose or reason for being here. And I don’t know how to get back to where I should be.
3. I am wasting my time here. I ought be somewhere else where my skills, talents, and calling will be used more effectively and I will be appreciated.

I have asked myself these questions before, and I think everyone has at some point in their careers. As a Christ-follower, I believe that we have a divinely appointed purpose as ambassadors for Jesus Christ. In the biblical book of Ezekiel, God harshly punished His own people for turning their backs on their mission and purpose. Instead of blessing the nations around them, they became like them — even worse! (see Ezekiel 5:1-17).

There are three :

1. Know yourself. You are unique. You have been given a personality. You have acquired a certain body of knowledge and wisdom. You have life experiences that have caused you to learn and grow. You have certain natural talents. And you have been given certain gifts by God (if you know Him). Combine all these elements together and you discover just how unique you are.
2. Know your organization. Every organization has a mission and purpose. Each has its own distinctives, rituals, “personality,” and other characteristics that make it unique among all others. In my career, I have served on several church staffs, and I have worked with many others to know that every single one is quite different from the others. While they share many things in common, each one is quite unique from the others. So, whether you work in a large corporation or you are a solopreneur, you must discover the unique qualities that set your organization apart from all the others.
3. Know your community. That could be your area, your clients, your customers, your audience, your workforce. In order to serve them well, you must have a good knowledge of their needs, wants, and character.

Whenever I come to that place where I ask, “Why am I here?”, I return to these fundamental questions and review my assessments.