How to live with purpose so your kids will live with a sense of destiny

BY THERON & MIZPAH GLENNY

The following article is from our column published today in the Tyrone Daily Herald.

Whether you are a Mom or Dad, Uncle or Aunt, a grandparent, teacher or coach, if you work with youth, this bi-weekly column is designed to encourage you and equip you to impact the next generation. Here at Joshua House, helping youth find purpose is our mission. It is our heart beat. It is what drives us. We have learned over the years that modeling purpose starts at home. The following article is the first of a four-part series where we walk through how you as a parent can model at home how to live with purpose so your kids will live with a sense of destiny.

As mentioned earlier, purpose starts at home. It starts with us as parents.This may sound simple, but the first key to modeling living with purpose is to remember you have it. A definition of purpose is "the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists” (online dictionary). Remember that God created you on purpose for a purpose. There are reasons why you are alive and breathing today. Do we ever doubt this? Is every day full of happy, smiley-face emoji’s? No. There are tough days. There are days where we might not feel like getting out of bed. There are days where we wonder if there is any purpose at all. We have all been in a place of wandering in life, not knowing what our purpose is and where we are going. But, we must remember that even on those tough days, purpose still exists. Our successes in life are determined by how we handle our problems and struggles. Our battles can birth our victories, if we position ourselves to win.

In the Bible, Joshua was one of the leaders that brought the Israelites out of a place of wandering into their Promised Land, the land and purpose God had for them from the beginning.

Joshua 1:2-3 says, "Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.”

Joshua did not shy away from the destiny he knew was promised to his people because he remembered what God said. He remembered his purpose. His story sets an example for how to live with purpose in order to get to the Promised Land that God has for us. But Joshua’s story didn’t start well. The Israelite people traveled from Egypt where they were in slavery to their promised land and when they got there, many in the group had a change of heart. Why? The leaders sent out trusted men to spy out the land to see what was there. Joshua and his colleague Caleb were two of those spies. They went into the land and found it was everything God had promised. It was luscious and full of goodness. There were giants in the land too, but Joshua and Caleb believed the Israelites could take the land and thus, were full of faith. The key to positioning yourself to win is to remember your purpose so you can be in a position of faith. Have faith. Believe you can overcome with God’s help.

The other spies that were sent out came back full of fear. They were not full of faith. They had forgotten God’s promise. They forgot God said He'd give them that land. They forgot they had purpose because they were in a place of fear and not faith. Therefore, the report they brought back about the land scared all of the people and the Israelites did not go and take the land. They were so close! They were at the doorstep! God did miracle after miracle to get them out of slavery in Egypt. You would have thought they would have been full of faith when they arrived at their destiny moment. Sadly, they weren’t. And because they embraced fear, they ended up wandering in a desert for forty years while that generation died off. Forty years!

The good news is, Joshua and Caleb out-lived most of that generation and when they were appointed leaders, they led the people into the promised land. After all those years, they never lost sight of their purpose. You don’t want to be a family that embraces fear. You want to be a family that is full of faith because you know you have a promised land. You have purpose.

As parents, we know that most often, more is caught than taught. Our kids absorb and imitate so much more of what we do than what we say. Will they catch your position? Yes, they will! Your words, actions, attitude and behaviors will communicate to them. The key to staying in a place of faith is to remember you have purpose. Remember. Remind yourself. Remind your spouse. Remind your kids. They will watch the way you position yourself to face your challenges and will imitate what you do throughout their lives. Will you have rough days? Probably. But don’t lose faith. Remember God created you on purpose for a purpose. Remembering will sustain you on tough days. It will build your faith up. You got this!

Practical tip: Write it down. Somewhere in your house, write down ‘I have purpose’ or ‘We have purpose’. If you know what your purpose is in this season of life, make sure to be specific. Put it somewhere where you can see it and where your family can see it. Let it be a memorial to you to help you remember so on your tough days, you'll position yourself to face your challenges with faith.

Photo credit to Pinterest.