The Apostle Paul had more than a vague or general idea about what God put him on Earth to accomplish. He had a grasp on his very personal and specific God-given mission in life: “the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace” (Acts 20:24), specifically to Gentiles (Acts 13:6; Romans 15, 16, 17; Ephesians 3:1). That is the challenge of focus.

Do you have a clear and very specific understanding of what God has put you on Earth for? If you really want to finish well, you must begin to get a sense of your personal, specific mission from God, and lean into it with everything you have.

Most of us are not sure of our specific God-given mission. Few Christians can finish the following sentence with any personal specificity: "God has put me on the earth to ____." Go ahead right now, stop reading and finish that sentence.

Most people never seem to get around to discovering God's specific, personal destiny for them — and, consequently, their ability to finish well is impeded. You will never finish this life well unless you can complete that sentence.

Finding your God-given destiny

This quest of discovering our God-given mission should be seen as a journey with God that continues through the various seasons of life.

To be sure, finding and fulfilling the destiny for which God has called you will bring God glory and you joy.

I also believe that in some key way, your God-given destiny — if it is truly God's destiny for you and not your own plan for your life — will have everything to do with helping people encounter "the gospel of God's grace" (Acts 20:24), but in a manner that is unique to the way God created you.

There is great personal power and freedom that comes from knowing what God specifically wants you to do. It keeps you from being taken captive by what others think you ought to do with your time and life. That is, it helps you avoid the First Spiritual Flaw. Of course, the First Spiritual Law is, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. The First Spiritual Flaw is, God loves you and people have a wonderful plan for your life.

Having a clear understanding of what God wants me to do enables me to be judicious about how to strategically spend my short life doing God's best, rather than that which is merely good.

When you know what God specifically wants you to do, you know what to say yes to and, perhaps more importantly, what to say no to. (See Mark 1:35-39.) Every opportunity people give you — even ministry opportunities in the church — should not automatically be understood as an obligation from God.

This is precisely why you must begin the journey of discovering God's personal, specific mission for your life.

Read books about this. Evaluate yourself by contemplating prayerfully and honestly. And involve other key people in your destiny discovery journey.

Once you have struggled deeper into this journey and God starts to confirm your specific mission, stepping into your destiny will not come easily or automatically. God will require you to take some kind of step of faith (Hebrews 11).

Discovering your specific, God-given mission is not the end. It is the beginning of the greatest challenge of your life. The question at this point will be, “Do you have the spiritual guts to step into God's specific mission for your life?”

Make no mistake about it: If you really want to finish well in God's eyes, you must — right now — begin with true surrender. You must forget the world. And you must focus.

Republished with permission from the Cadre Connection, a publication of www.cadreministries.com.