A mission statement that flows from a biblical worldview becomes a map that helps us stay on track or get back on track when life doesn’t turn out the way we expected. We have a friend who faces the recurrence of deadly cancer every minute. Every day they have to answer this question: Will I live life through the grid of worry and fear or through the grid of trusting God?
Another friend lost his beloved wife. Every morning he faces a choice: Will I grieve as one without hope or as one who knows that God is sovereign and I can trust Him?
A young mother of 4 children under six years of age learns she’s unexpectedly pregnant. This new life confronts her with a question: Do I welcome this child as sent from the Lord or do I resent the extra responsibilities and disruption of our plans?
When facing physical limitations that will only worsen or a dead end job with no way out; a difficult mother-in-law, a broken relationship with a child, or the death of a loved one, having a mission statement can remind us of our life purpose.
I’ve experienced the power of having a biblical mission statement when life took turns I did not expect. When I struggled to understand my purpose after the death of our son, my mission statement eventually reminded me that no matter my circumstances, I still had work to do:
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33 ESV
A mission statement can help transform us from life-takers to life-givers. Each one of these examples I shared is true. Each person struggles every day to remember that he or she can be life-giving, in the way they live out their God-given purpose in the middle of circumstances they did not choose.
LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
Do you have a mission statement that you go to when well-laid plans don’t come to pass or when you watch your dreams shatter? What drives your everyday life? Where do you turn when you don’t know what to do? Pushing your tasks through the grid of your mission statement helps give purpose to otherwise mundane days. Intentionally living daily life through your mission statement, strengthens spiritual muscles, so that it becomes an auto response to crisis. Pushing a shattered heart through the grid of your mission statement can breathe new life into a body struggling to breathe.
If you have a mission statement, take the time to review it to determine if you need to update it with a renewed desire to be a life-giver rather than a life-taker.
If you don’t have a mission statement, continue to prayerfully consider how your identity as a child of God shapes your purpose and how you will fulfill that purpose. Write out your thoughts in your journal.
STORE UP MORE TREASURES
At some point in our lives, we or someone we know will go through great suffering. I encourage you to go to the MARKINC website and listen to the interview "The mother-in-law DANCE" so that you can store up treasures of encouragement for the next rainy day in your life or someone else's. Here is a summary of this resource:
Google mother-in-law jokes and you can take your pick of numerous sites that offer laughter at the expense of the mother-in-law. Becoming a mother-in-law after pouring your life into your son might be one of the most difficult challenges some women face. Perhaps family conflict is one of the hardest places to experience help and hope. This conversation between Annie Chapman and Sharon Betters will help guide daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law through the sometimes difficult maze of “sharing” a man. Annie Chapman is the author of The Mother-In-Law Dance and knows from experience how challenging it can be to get along with your mother-in-law. She also has married sons so she brings great wisdom on family relationships that might be just what you need to find a bridge into your “in-law’s” heart or build an even stronger relationship. Can two women love the same man and still get along? Annie says yes! And she offers sound advice for those times when only one party wants to have that friendship.