The Importance of Understanding Our Personal Mission

The measure of our success as leaders cannot be determined by the size of our church, the number of people that have become Christians through our ministry, or by the miracles that we have performed. Though these manifestations of God"s grace may be dramatic and compelling, we must ensure that these outward signs do not deceive us. An effective leader is one that fulfils all that God has in his heart for the leader. To be effective we need to become all that God wants us to be and to do all that God wants us to do.

Effective leadership does not just happen, but is the result of a focused, disciplined lifestyle. The apostles discovered this quite soon whilst establishing the early church in Jerusalem. Food was being collected and distributed amongst those with needs, so that everyone was catered for. However, during the process, the Greek-speaking Jewish widows were being neglected. The apostles" response shows that they had a growing sense of their personal mission, which helped them to see that some areas were outside the scope of their ministry.

"So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word."" (Acts 6:2-4)

Each one of us has specific purposes to which God has called us, and for which he has designed us. However, it is possible to fail to fulfil those purposes by living distracted, undisciplined lives or through a lack of diligence, or disobedience. The apostles could have met the need of the Greek-speaking widows, but in doing so they would have neglected an important part of God"s calling for them: prayer and the ministry of the word. The same challenge faces us, as it is possible to dissipate our energy in many areas, but to fail to achieve what God desires for us. By discovering the purposes that God has for us, we can ensure that we invest our energies in the areas that God has ordained for us.

"For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work." (1 Corinthians 3:11-13)

By understanding our personal mission, we will be able to live fruitful, fulfilled lives. Take the example of the Apostle Paul. He was skilled as a tentmaker and he used this trade at various times in his life in order to finance his ministry. If Paul had been distracted from his apostolic mission and focused on his tent-making trade, he would have failed to achieve God"s purposes for his life. No doubt, his trade would have allowed him to live a financially prosperous life that avoided the travels, dangers, prisons, and beatings that he endured as an apostle. But he would have failed to experience the fulfilment of seeing churches planted and growing throughout the Roman Empire. He would have missed the opportunity to see the power of God made manifest through signs and wonders through his obedience. Also, he would have failed to run the race that God had planned for him.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

Understanding our personal mission will also help us with our priorities and decision-making. As our leadership skills and ministry develop, we will find that we will be presented with greater ministry opportunities and responsibilities. Though many of the opportunities may appear to be attractive and positive, we will find that God has not called us to take on some of these roles. With a deep sense of personal mission within us, we will find that we intuitively know that some of the areas are outside our calling.

As well as providing a sense of priority for our lives, our understanding of our personal mission provides us with the faith and motivation to accomplish God"s calling for our lives. At various times we will be faced with difficulties and adverse circumstances that will tempt us to move away from God"s path for our lives. At these times, the sense of mission deep within our hearts and our trust in God will generate the determination and discipline that we need to fulfil our deepest desires. The Apostle Paul experienced this just before he was to travel to Jerusalem.

"After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. Coming over to us, he took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, "The Holy Spirit says, "In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles." " When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem." (Acts 21:10-12)

Paul had had a deep understanding of his personal mission since the time of his conversion in Damascus, so he knew that he had to go to Jerusalem despite the prophet"s warning.

Possessing the sense of personal mission will also spur us on towards God's higher calling for our lives. At various times we may be tempted to ease off in our commitment to Christ. This can happen through indiscipline and compromise: in our private disciplines and our relationships with others. However, with Christ's mission written on our hearts, we will be challenged to make choices that are consistent with the calling that we have received. Our personal mission will be a vision that draws us on towards the higher ground of accomplishing God's will for our lives.

"Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. " (1 Corinthians 9:26-27)

If we are to live effective lives that are dedicated to fulfilling God's purposes for our lives, we need to have a clear understanding of our personal mission. As we face the many options open to us we need to have a deep sense of our personal mission in order to make the right choices. Often the choices that we will have to make are between what it is "good" and what is "best", rather than what is "right" and what is "wrong". A deep sense of personal mission within us will act as an internal compass, showing us the direction in which we need to travel. Our sense of mission will bring the restraint that we need in order to say "no" to the "good" things in order to say "yes" to the "best" that God has for us.

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God." (Philippians 1:9-11)