How to Find Your
God-Given Mission in Life

This post was inspired by Eric Metaxas’ interview
with Mark Wahlberg, Mel Gibson, and Tim Tebow,
who share how faith impacted their careers.

June 20, 2022 Brabec Buletin

Do you know that God has a plan for your life and a special mission too?

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

I was delighted to catch Eric Metaxas on TBN in April when he interviewed Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson about their movie, Father Stu, and asked each of them to share how faith had impacted their Hollywood careers. Their words were inspiring, but it was Tim Tebow, Eric’s guest on the second half of this program, that gave me the fodder for this Bulletin.

I’ve never had any interest in football, but even I knew that Tebow is a famous football player. What I didn’t know until I visited his website was that he’s also the author of several NYT bestsellers and a Christian with an encouraging message people of all ages can relate to. As his site proclaims, his mission is “to bring faith, hope and love to those needing a brighter day in their darkest hour of need.” It was inspiring to learn about his Foundation, which is currently fighting for people in more than 70 countries who can’t fight for themselves. What a unique ministry Tebow has built!

To live a “mission-possible life,” he urges us to “Find your mission, pursue your purpose, and go create a life that counts!” I jotted down a couple of Tebow’s comments from the Metaxas interview (a little paraphrasing here) that I wanted to remember:

“I want to encourage people that we can truly have a life that counts by living out the mission God has given us. God wants a personal and intimate relationship with you,” he emphasized. “In Christ Jesus, we are a masterpiece, and God has good works for each of us to do.”

And then he referenced Ephesians 2:10: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Finding Your Mission in Life

The title of Tebow’s latest book, Mission Possible: Go Create a Life That Counts (March 2022), reminded me of the popular TV show of the sixties, Mission Impossible, which aired three decades before I learned that God had given me a special mission in life. I became a serious student of the Bible in my first year as a baby Christian, and this excerpt from the journal I began to keep in 1995 after I was born again—via radio—will explain how I discovered my mission in life:

February 15, 1995: “Last night I read a booklet on how to know God’s will. It stressed the importance of listening for God’s messages. So I prayed before going to bed that God would let me know what he wanted me to do with the rest of my life. At 4:00 I woke up, turned on the radio, and heard a sermon by Chuck Swindoll that emphasized the importance of not waiting until you’re old to do God’s work (a message I know I’m supposed to share with others). At the end of this sermon, I fell asleep with the earphone still in my ear.

Precisely at 6:30, I awoke again to hear Greg Laurie’s timely message: How to know God’s will and recognize the gifts he has given us. I learned that Mother had the special gift of giving, and my sisters and I have it too; we’re always trying to be helpful to others. And I learned that I have the gift of both teaching and exhortation, which translates to being a motivational teacher or speaker. I don’t have to preach the gospel to reach people; all I have to do is continue to be myself, share what I’m learning in life, and encourage others to follow in my footsteps by turning to God and Jesus Christ.”

And that’s what I’ve been doing since 1995 when I discovered God’s mission for my life. If you need help in figuring out what God wants YOU to do with your life, you’ll find many books on Amazon that address this question.

When I did a few keyword searches for “mission in life,” “God’s will for my life,” etc., some had millions of web pages; one had more than a billion, proving that countless people the world over are looking for answers to the questions discussed in this Bulletin. Do a few keyword searches of your own and ask God which articles or books He wants you to read. (You might be surprised.) 

Related Article: Barbara's Testimony for Christ

P. S. Visit HOME page to find links to featured articles of the month. And thanks for linking others to this blog. New readers, click here to join my mailing list.

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Tornadoes, Disaster Preparedness,
and God

If you suffer a weather disaster or fire, here’s how having a disaster plan in place will help you survive it financially and emotionally.

May 24, 2022 Brabec Bulletin

There were 227 tornadoes in the U.S. this past March, which broke the previous March record of 194 (Wikipedia). This article on Acuweather.com provides statistics on how tornado patterns and the severity of them are changing all over the globe. They predict 1,350–1,475 tornadoes in the US this year, which will set a new record. The financial and emotional damage they will cause is incalculable. 

Every year as tornado season approaches and I begin to get tornado watches on my weather alert radio, I check my grab-it-quick list of what to move downstairs. I’ve previously urged my readers to be ready for any kind of disaster, but given the severity of the various weather problems and fires we’re seeing everywhere these days, it seems more important than ever to have a disaster plan in place.

How many times have you heard someone who’s lost everything say, “But we’re alive, and that’s what counts”? Yes, but with a little planning before a disaster, you could end up with much more than just your life. Saving your most essential needs and treasured possessions would make life after a disaster much more bearable from an emotional and financial standpoint.

Making a “Disaster Plan”

What do you value most that needs to be protected from disaster? Insurance will cover furniture and other replaceable things, but what about things that can’t be digitally stored in the Cloud—things with financial or nostalgic value and one-of-a-kind treasures that no amount of money can replace? Isn’t it prudent to identify what’s most important to you so you can plan the best way to protect what you own from destruction?

Be sure to read my updated article, “Are You Prepared for a Disaster?” It includes my special tips and resources and how to identify and protect everything you own. Making a plan like this could be essential to moving on in life if you were to suffer the loss of almost everything in your home or home-based business. 

It took a few years for me to refine my grab-it-quick list. Each year after I’ve gotten extra exercise by hauling things downstairs and then back up again after the tornado danger is past, I see one more item in my office or other rooms of the house to add to my list. So don’t wait to start your own list since it will take time to perfect. And remember that the kind of weather-related disasters in recent years are only going to increase and intensify in the future.

Signs in the Heavens

Like many Christians and pastors across the country, I believe we are living in the last days before the end times. For one thing, there is nothing natural about all the “natural disasters” we’re seeing now. As they continue to increase in number and intensity, I don’t see this as “climate change,” but merely a fulfillment of what the Bible tells us:

“There will be great earthquakes, and there will be famines and plagues in many lands, and there will be terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven” (Luke 21:11, NLT).

I remembered similar warnings in other books of the Bible about unusual weather and signs in the sky when I read about the crimson red sky over China’s Port City earlier this month. That news shook up a lot of people when various experts tried, but couldn’t definitively explain this phenomenon.

“And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on earth, the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides. People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken” (Luke 21:25-26).

When there’s a tornado warning, I’m grateful to have a lower level to run to for protection since many do not. I’ll never forget the story I heard one year about a woman who got into her bathtub with her little dog, her purse, and her cell phone. While she was saying goodbye to her sister on the phone, the tornado picked up that bathtub and set it down 75 yards away—without her losing her dog, purse, or cell phone. Sure, she got bruised and banged up, but she sure looked happy on TV as she recounted her miraculous story. At times like this, Christians always see God’s hand at work.

I believe God wants us to be good stewards of all that He has blessed us with in life, be it money, things, or the pets we’ve been given to protect. And I also believe God wants us to plan ahead by using the intelligence He has given us. For example, disaster specialists always emphasize having extra food and water for an emergency. (Even squirrels have the God-given sense to bury nuts to prepare for cold weather when food will be scarce.)

I like the old Arab advice of “Trust in God but tie up your camel,” but we can do only so much to help ourselves. Many believe that God helps those who help themselves, but that isn’t biblical. Actually, the Bible says that God helps those who can NOT help themselves, like when one is being blown away in a bathtub in a tornado. Remember to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5 (NIV).

Thus I will continue to trust in God and hope for the best while also “tying up my camel” (my disaster plan). And if the worst happens and I survive a tornado but lose some or all of my most treasured possessions, I trust my Lord will help me to emotionally let go of what I’ve lost and enable me to move on in life with a glad and grateful heart.

P. S. Visit HOME page to find links to featured articles of the month. And thanks for linking others to this blog. New readers, click here to join my mailing list.

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Copyright © 2022 by Barbara Brabec.