By: Beth Doohan

“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do His work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve Him.”  1 Timothy 1:12

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How does your day usually begin? For me, it starts with the sun just peaking up in the sky, as my dawn chorus alarm clock chimes. Squinting my eyes against the light, I flip my nightstand lamp on, open my “Ellie Holcomb” Pandora station and stretch my relaxed muscles into motion. Next, I pick out my outfit, brush my teeth, comb my straight, honey-blond hair and lotion my face, in whatever order I feel like. This is my morning routine, how my day begins. And though it may seem commonplace, it is still lived with intention, on purpose and for a mission.

For some of you, your day may begin at a faster pace or surrounded by the demands of little ones.  Yet no matter what our seasons of life, we can still live intentionally and with purpose as wholehearted women of God.  As a daughter of our Lord, I understand that my life, even in the little things, is meant to glorify Him. My life, all of it, is meant to be worship to Him. One of my favorite passages in Scripture is Psalm 103:2-5, which says, “Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!” This has become my life’s mission – that I would praise the Lord with all that I am.

The Psalm 103 prayer has helped me time and again to navigate the routine, mundane parts of life and to live on purpose. When I approach my work as a paralegal, I don’t want to just check off tasks for my performance review, but strive for my work and who I am to reflect and glorify God. Before I start my day at the law firm, I pray, “Lord, help me to do good work and to have good work to do.” This petition surrenders my day to the Lord and reminds me that He is ultimately the one working through me. As I serve the attorneys and clients, I can lean on Him to help me in my work.

In Romans 12, Christians are instructed to offer their lives to God as a holy sacrifice. Verses 1-2 says, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” The Lord asks us to surrender our entire lives to Him and to live as worship to Him.

Sometimes, I find the everyday ordinary tasks to be mundane and tiring. As I take care of cleaning (revolving the dishes from cupboard to table to dishwasher), beauty maintenance (shaving my legs, again), and taking care of my family (making weekly grocery trips and meal planning), these daily duties can become overwhelming or commonplace. But when I avoid them, the work just builds up and gets out of control. Instead, I’ve learned to look at these duties as part of my worship to God. Each task is important to show others and God that I care and is an opportunity to bring glory to God. I pray that when we invite others into our home, that the order they see shows that we appreciate them. That my self-care shows that I care not just about how I look, but about my performance in everything I do. That serving my family shows them I love them and desire to take care of their needs.

I encourage you to live intentionally as unto the Lord, as worship to Him. Be faithful in the little things so God can entrust you with much. If we want to minister and have an impact for God, we need to live rightly, surrendering every area of our lives to the lordship of Christ. Philippians 2 shows us the ultimate example of how to live as worship to God. Verses 6-11 say, “Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” You see, Christ knew that His purpose and calling in life was to bring glory to the Father. This made Him intentional and drove His decisions.

When we fix our eyes on Jesus and follow Him, we, too, can learn to live our lives as worship unto God. John 17 tells us that Jesus brought glory to the Father by fulfilling God’s purpose and calling for Him. In verses 1, 4-5, Jesus prayed “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so He can give glory back to You. I brought glory to You here on earth by completing the work You gave Me to do. Now, Father, bring Me into the glory we shared before the world began.”

What work has God given you to accomplish for His glory? What is His calling on your life? As Christians, we are given the purpose to love the Lord with all our hearts and to love others, but He also gives us specific callings. This can be a career; a family role of wife, mother or daughter; a spiritual gift that allows you to serve others; or a passionate interest that connects you with others in order to show them God’s love. All these things are unique, personality-driven, and specific to God’s individual purpose for His children’s lives.

We encourage you to take some time to reflect on God’s calling for you in this season of your life, whether it be in your work, family, church, community or the world. If you are uncertain, seek God in prayer and His Word, then ask a close friend or mentor what gifts you may possess. You can even find spiritual gift assessments or personality tests that can help you to identify strengths that God has given you.  This will help you identify the unique purpose and talents you possess. And remember, God never calls anyone without equipping them to do His good work. In I Timothy 1:12, Paul wrote, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do His work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve Him.”

No matter what our seasons of life, we can live intentionally and with purpose as wholehearted women of God.  Ask God today to help you have the strength to do His work each day.  What is He calling you to right where you are at?  He will show you and will help you to live your whole life as worship to Him.

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