ARE YOU LOST?

PURPOSE,GIFTS, SUCCESS. IMPACT, MANUAL

ARE YOU LOST?

And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (LUKE 2:49 NJKV)

Have you ever felt empty, lost, without focus, empty, drained, rudderless, off track or simply feel you are not doing the right thing? If yes, you may be lost. How do I mean? You might have watched the story of Jesus on T.V, read the Bible or a comic book telling the tale of the visit of the Joseph’s to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. Just for a quick recap, 12 year old Jesus went to Jerusalem with Mrs. Mary and Mr. Joseph. But alas! He was left behind as His parents assumed (poor parenting: topic for another) that He was with one of their friends and family. The family had travelled for about 25-30 miles before they realized that Jesus was not with them. Wow. What a time to find out that you were “lost”. As far as Mr. and Mrs. Joseph embarked on ‘Operation look for Jesus’. In short, Jesus was lost.

Just like anyone of us, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph looked for Jesus everywhere except the right place. Thus, Jesus had to ask them, “And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (LUKE 2:49 NJKV). What a question! Different things come to mind in this little episode.

1. JESUS DID NOT CONSIDER HIMSELF LOST

It is quite amazing that Jesus did not consider himself as lost. “Why do you seek Me.” He said. In other words, the world might take you as lost but you are not lost. The true judge of the status of a messenger is the sender.

2. JESUS KNEW HIS PRIORITIES

Jesus, while on earth was a master communicator and He employed the tool of elicitation a lot. He taught people by asking them questions. “Did you not know that I must be about my father’s business?” You were created to achieve a certain goal, to perform a certain task, to fulfill a certain purpose. It is mandatory; it’s not a question of choice. Because your success on earth is determined by the fulfillment of the original purpose for which you were born. Jesus used the word ‘must’ deliberately in order to show us our job on earth is a must. In case you have forgotten, Genesis 1: 28 is not a blessing only, it is also an assignment.

3. JESUS KNEW WHERE HE WAS MEANT TO BE ‘FOUND’

Jesus was fully aware of His purpose on earth, even as a teenager. Life is too short to waste. Like Myles Munroe once said, “life is not measured by duration, but by donation.” You are judged not by your standards but by the standard of the person that sent you. You are meant to be doing the business of the Father.

To tie it all up, if you feel lost, the only place you can find yourself is in the business that the Father has called you to do for Him. I have come to realize that the Father has configured us to yearn for this business. No matter how ‘successful’ you are, if you do not do this business, you will always feel lost. Life would not have its real and ultimate meaning to you if you do not find out this business now that you have the resources to do them. You might ask, how do I find out this business? Easy, it wasn’t meant to be difficult to find. The answer is SHAPE. What is SHAPE?

SHAPE

S – Spiritual Gifts - What has God supernaturally gifted me to do?

H – Heart - What do I have passion for and love to do?

A – Abilities - What natural talents and skills do I have?

P – Personality - Where does my personality best suit me to serve?

E – Experiences - What spiritual experiences have I had? What painful experiences have I had? What educational experiences have I had? What ministry experiences have I had?

HOW TO DISCOVER YOUR Gifts:

v Experiment – Someone once said ‘It’s easier to discover your gift through ministry than to discover your ministry through your gift.’ In other words, use the gifts you have. Place a demand on your gifts by trying out different things. Don’t adopt an armchair approach.

•  Read and study – There are a plethora of books about spiritual gifts. Daniel 9:2 gives us insight into what reading can do for you.
• Take assessments – Like the S.H.A.P.E. assessment (this is available online for free).
• Sincere feedback from others – Others will often see gifts in us that we can’t see ourselves.
• Prayer
• Meditation

 In sum, whatever you do, time is of the essence. People are waiting for you to discover yourself because you are God’s answer to someone’s prayer. Your gifts are a blessing to someone. That business idea is an answer to a pressing problem. That career, that volunteer work, that outreach you need to do, that charity work you need to do, that secondary school you need to visit, that homeless child you need to accommodate, that depressed person you need to speak to, that person you need to pray with and for, that lady you need to visit. God is waiting for you. Take action today. Grace is available to do the job.