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THE IMPORTANCE OFYOUR DASH G od has a specific task for you to accomplish between now and your funeral. Lets call it your life purpose. What special project has God assigned to you Finding your mission isnt easy. Assembling your life purpose can be as frustrating as putting together a jigsaw puzzle only to discover your dog has eaten some of the pieces. This frustration could make you think that finding and fulfilling a life purpose is a rare privilege. You know the names of people who have accomplished their life purpose. Their names grace the pages of history books. But you also per- sonally know people who have either accomplished their life purpose or are successfully living it today. You can name friends and family members who have raised godly children developed a God-honoring business started a faith-based min- istry developed an effective non- profit organization led an effective ministry or coordinated a successful international mission project. The book of Nehemiah tells the story of a man named Nehemiah building a wall around the city of Jerusalem. More importantly its the story of a man finding and fulfilling his life purpose. By reading his amaz- ing story you can learn how to find and fulfill your own life purpose. Where do you begin finding your life purpose You start where Nehemiah startsyou must first catch Gods vision. You must be able to answer these questions God what do you want me to accomplish for you before my funeral What project or task have you uniquely shaped me to complete STEP 1 DECIDE TO CARE O ne day Nehemiah receives a report from the inhabitants of Jerusalem Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and dis- grace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates have been burned with fire. For Nehemiah more than just a wall is broken. So is Nehemiahs heart. The news is devastating. What touches your heart stirs your emotions and moves you to tears Nehemiah cared about the Jewish exiles in distress in a city without walls. People dont all care about the same cause. What moves you to tears might move the next person to boredom and the causes that pas- sionately move others do nothing to call you to action. This doesnt mean people are uncaring it simply reflects an important truth about the way God created people. God has uniquely shaped each persons heart to fit a need. If every- one cared about the same issues many important needs would go unmet. This is Gods creative way of ensuring that the innumerable needs around the world are being met. There is a good reason why you are passionate about a certain causeGod wired you that way. He placed this passion within you as a motivator to inspire you to action. In fact this is often the first piece of the puzzle in identifying your life purpose. Take a look at the world around you and ask yourself what touches your heart stirs your emo- tions and moves you to tears. STEP 2 COMMITTO PRAYER O nce Nehemiah sees the need and decides to care he commits to prayer. A closer look at the content of his prayer can help you learn how to pray about your life purpose. Nehemiah doesnt move an inch without first acknowledging his source of strength. He knows build- ing a wall around Jerusalem is out of his league but not Gods. The logis- tics of successfully accomplishing a project of this scope and magnitude are mind-boggling. Its nothing short of a miracle that Nehemiah doesnt quit before he starts but he knows he serves a great and awesome God. With God all things are possible. This great truth runs like a golden thread from Genesis to Revelation. Successful people discover this prom- ise and live by it failures disdain it and are defeated without it. Jesus reminds his followers I am the vine you are the branches. If a 38 WWW.AGRM.ORG MARCHAPRIL 2016