Your God-given Purpose: 5 Things That Hinder You From Fulfilling It
It’s exciting to watch others discover and fulfill their God-given purpose. They live the life of their dreams, and it leaves you wondering when your turn will come to experience what they are. And when you look at your life, you can’t figure out what stops you from fulfilling your purpose. You know your God-given purpose but there are roadblocks at every turn – most of which you can’t see. You can end up frustrated and tempted to retreat and settle for the familiar.
It frustrated the Israelites when Moses went up Mt. Sinai and was long in coming back. They wanted to pack up and return to Egypt when the promised land seemed like a distant dream that would never come to pass. They didn’t go back, but their hearts did (Acts 7:39). Don’t fall for the temptation to turn back because of the things that hinder you from fulfilling your God-given purpose. Ask God to show you what these things are and how to overcome them.
Your purpose is distinct from that of others; it’s important and life changing no matter what obstacles you are facing.
Below is a list of 5 things that hinder you from fulfilling your God-given purpose.
#1 Distractions
A distraction is a thing that takes away your attention from something else. It turns you away from the main thing. Your purpose requires your full concentration and distractions only slow you down and make you lose focus. They are not bad things; they are not a priority for you.
One of the main causes of distraction from your purpose is worry. When you want to launch into God’s assignment for your life, thoughts of where your income will come from, how you’ll pay your bills, what others will think, and so forth, dominate your mind. This can keep your mind focused on the wrong things and take your mind away from the work God has called you to do.
When you compare your purpose journey to that of your social media siblings, you can spend a lot of time thinking about how you can be like them. Thoughts of inadequacy and self doubt can creep into your mind and you can waste precious time mulling over them instead of working.
When you transition from a job to your purpose work, it’s possible to experience a financial slump and you can fall into the temptation to get a side hustle. This can distract you from what God is asking you to do and it will slow you down. Besides, you can get caught up in making money and postpone the fulfillment of your God-given purpose.
The purpose journey can be a lonely one and you’ll face the temptation to seek the comfort of movies, series or videos on YouTube. You watch one movie or episode and you want to watch another. In the meantime, time is ticking and you lose focus of what you were working on. Sometimes you won’t enjoy working after binge watching. Your entertainment palate is begging you to appease it.
Avoid making moves or doing work that God has not assigned you. He has promised to provide for your needs as you do His work. Turn your worries into prayers for God’s guidance. A large chunk of your entertainment will need to go to make room for the Word of God.
#2 Wrong alliances
Alliances are key to fulfilling your God-given purpose. The right ones provide a good support system and place a high value on purpose and vision. A good alliance will comprise people who know what God has called you to do and keep you accountable when you seem to veer off the right path. The wrong alliances will lead you in the wrong direction and drain you mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
So, how do you find the right alliance for you?
Isaiah 30:1
“Woe to the obstinate children,” declares the Lord, “to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin.”
The Spirit of God leads you to the right people with whom you can form a godly alliance. God draws you to those He wants to align you with in this season. Some alliances are temporary, others are life long. Learn how to discern the difference. The wrong alliance can cost you your destiny. You can form alliances with friends, business partners, groups, or others you interact with every day.
There are times you will let go of alliances that worked in the past but stifle you in the present. Do you have a friend with whom you shared intimate details about your purpose but they keep pushing you toward other ventures? Instead of helping you move forward, they are taking you backwards with their advice. It’s time to release such friendships. Keep those who cheer you on with a pure heart.
#3 Lack of passion
Passion fuels your God-given purpose. Some aspects of your purpose may not be pleasant but your passion will keep you going. When you follow Christ and fulfill His purpose for your life, you will experience persecution, rejection, abandonment, betrayal, and the list is endless.
When you fall in love with God’s work, you’ll weather the storms along the way and not give in to the temptation to quit. If you talk to those who are doing God’s work, they will tell you that sometimes the going gets tough and they want to close shop and go home. It is the power of God at work in them and others that keeps the fire burning.
Imagine if the Apostle Paul gave up on preaching the gospel because of shipwrecks, beatings, bandits, false believers, etc (2 Corinthians 11:24-26). Whom would the Gentiles God sent him to believe in today? What would the New Testament look like? He wrote most of it. Paul persevered till the end because he was burning with a passion to see the Gentiles know Jesus Christ.
Life can throw you many challenges that shake your faith and your desire to please God goes. When your most cherished dreams shatter before your eyes, you can wonder whether it is worth it to pursue God’s dreams for your life.
God is the One who can revive your lost passion for your purpose. Jesus said when you abide in Him and He in you, you will bear much fruit (John 15:5). To fulfill your purpose in the long term, remain in relationship with Christ and He will strengthen you. He will rekindle your dying passion and you can serve Him again with all your heart.
#4 Heartbreak
Your purpose will not sweep away the disappointment, anger, bitterness, and resentment caused by past hurts. Betrayal, rejection, abandonment can lead to deep emotional wounds that can leave you with a broken heart. Therefore it is an illusion to believe that knowing your purpose will make you happy, joyful and excited.
If you had emotional baggage before discovering your purpose, it will still be there if you haven’t dealt with it. Don’t compare your life journey with anyone else. Focus on your healing journey.
When you have lingering soul ties from previous romantic relationships, pain because of that person who hurt you, hate for your father for his hurtful words and actions toward you, you can remain stuck and unable to move on from the hurt.
It is hard to serve God with a broken heart because “What ifs” hold you back. What if he came back? What if I change my mind? What if I mess up? What if I want something different? Emotional baggage weighs you down and incapacitates you from fulfilling your life’s purpose.
Time does not heal all wounds, God does. Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted and set free those who are in emotional prisons (Luke 4:18). Restoration to wholeness is a process and takes time. When you are whole, you can love God with all your heart, mind, and strength and God can equip you with the capacity to do His work.
#5 Generational curses
Many “purpose seekers” have the notion that knowing your purpose means your life will be smooth sailing and you will experience the success you have always envisioned. When they come to know their purpose and start to do the work, they come across roadblocks they can’t see or overcome.
Unless God reveals to you the obstacles standing in your way, you can toil for years and see little progress in the work you are doing. A lot of the insurmountable roadblocks you will experience along the way are from your bloodline. Generational curses reveal themselves in oppressive cycles, patterns in families, recurring failure, constant rejection, among many others.
For example, do you get jobs and after several months your employer terminates you (for no fault of yours)? Or people in your family don’t prosper no matter how gifted they are? Others always get engaged but never get married. Curses are many and come in many shapes and sizes as listed in Deuteronomy 28.
Imagine a curse like this one operating in your life, “You will be unsuccessful in everything you do” (vs 29) or “You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little because locusts will devour it” (vs 38). This means no matter how much effort you put into fulfilling your God-given purpose, you will be unsuccessful most of the time and have very little to show for the effort you are putting in.
This may not apply to everyone, but there are people under witchcraft attacks from family members. How and why? If your ancestors practiced the occult, then someone in every generation must take over. Someone in the previous generation has selected you to receive the mantle and continue with the craft. This brings a lot of demonic activity in your life and a lot of hardships you can’t seem to conquer.
The gods you are to serve strip you of finances, jobs, relationships, opportunities and block all your paths to success so you can align with their will. Don’t give in no matter what, nor seek the help of psychics or astrologers. This will lead you into further spiritual bondage as I have explained in my eBook: The Grey Kingdom: The Truth About The Kingdom of Light and The Kingdom of Darkness. Seek help from a trusted deliverance minister as the Holy Spirit leads you.
God’s will is that you prosper in what He has called you to do. When you encounter obstacles that oppress you, and have done so all your life, remember Jesus has given you His authority to overcome all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19).
To identify generational curses operating in your life, you can take stock of areas of your life where you encounter failure often or where you experience oppression. Ask God to show you which curses are hindering you from fulfilling your purpose. If you are in Kenya, you can attend the deliverance sessions offered by Breaking Barriers International run by Pastor Nellie Shani. She will teach you about curses and how to break them from the Word of God. I am a blessed beneficiary of this ministry.
Helpful resources
The 5 things I have listed above are only the common ones that hinder you from fulfilling your God-given purpose. There are many more considering each of our paths in life are different. Shana Schutte has written a good article on how easy it is to get frustrated when God’s purpose for your life doesn’t unfold as fast as you think it should. Read about four barriers to fulfilling your destiny by Avalon church.
If you want to know more about purpose, I invite you to read my eBook titled: Life Purpose: A Beginner’s Guide, it will show you the truth about purpose from the Word of God.
Knowing what hinders you will help you determine the right course of action. God says we perish for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). Don’t let the enemy make you retreat and quit doing God’s work because he is hiding from you the real cause of your troubles. God has given us an invitation – in Jeremiah 33:3 – to ask Him what we don’t know about our lives, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”
Follow the leading of the Holy Spirit as you fulfill your God-given purpose. He will show you the way and remove anything that hinders you from the success He has planned for you.
Josephine Ngatia is a Digital Content Writer & Strategist. She works with Christian ministers and business owners to plan, develop, and manage digital content for them. She develops digital content for their websites, blogs, and other channels. Josephine mostly works with new authors, business startups, and small businesses.
