You Are Who You Are For A Reason

You Are Who You Are For A Reason

By Byron Washington, Columnist

When God formed each of us He provided us with specific characteristics, preferences and abilities all of which help us to fulfill our purpose in Him.  Additionally, those preferences or abilities are helpful in discerning the will of God when we are making decisions or trying to understand what God is saying in a particular situation.

Preferences are the things that we know work in our favor and work in conjunction with the gifts and talents that God has given us.  This is not the same as staying in your comfort zone, this is understanding what arenas you are gifted in and knowing your ability to excel in a specific opportunity. 

For example, I had an opportunity a number of years ago to work overseas; there was a choice between two countries.  One of the options provided housing and said I would be doing research and reporting work.  The other option provided a larger stipend, but I would have to secure my own housing and the work was mostly finance work.  

I prefer to have travel plans in order before I arrive in a country and to know exactly where I am staying (this is based on past experiences). I have done finance work in the past. It is not something that I seek to do; I will do it, however it is not my preference.  

The blessing of Jehovah, it maketh rich; And he addeth no sorrow therewith – Proverbs 10:22 (ASV)

I selected the first option; it worked out great and was an amazing experience.  I am not suggesting that you will always have the benefit of everything being the way you want it.  That being said, understanding how God has wired and formed you is helpful in discerning the will of God for your life.  

People often discredit how God formed them. So they end up accepting jobs, responsibilities, or being a part of things that end up wasting their time, stress them out and frustrate them because it does not connect to how God formed them.  

My family and I travel all over the world, and every few years move to a new country. That level of ambiguity and change would not work for some people and that is ok.  Be who God made you to be, some of the choices placed in front of you are more easily discerned if you are honest, you do not like working remotely, or you do better on a team, or you prefer limited travel or dislike traveling all together.  

All of those things (with valid reasons) are helpful when making choices.  It is not foolproof and it does not mean that God may not lead you in a way opposite of what you desire, however it is often a good starting point (conjoined with prayer) for assessing the options that are in front of you.