Finding Purpose In The Grind

Published August 3, 2025
Finding Purpose In The Grind

Ever feel like your life is just a long list of errands and obligations? Dishes in the sink, emails piling up, laundry still in the dryer—again. You wonder, Is this it? Is this all there is to my life? And buried beneath that question is an even deeper one: Does any of this really matter?

You’re not alone.

Most of us long to live with purpose. To know that our lives are more than a string of random events or survival-mode weeks. But we often assume purpose has to be glamorous. Something big. Something impressive. Something loud. We imagine purpose as a job title, a platform, or a spotlight. But what if that’s not how God sees it at all?

In Exodus 3, God speaks to Moses—not in a temple, not in a throne room, but in the middle of the wilderness. Moses had been doing the most ordinary, normal thing for 40 years! Easy to forget isn't it? Moses' highlight reel before leading God's people to freedom was that of shepherding for 40 years in the wilderness. Not exactly glamorous. He wasn't practicing his revolution skills. Or how to come down the mountain carrying the Ten Commandments.

Nope. None of that.
He was simply faithful where God had placed him.
In the normal, everyday, run-of-the-mill wilderness place. 
And that's where God showed up.

He shows up in the ordinary.

He met David in the pasture. He met Gideon at the threshing floor. He met Elisha behind a plow. Amos was farming. The disciples were fishing. Jesus Himself spent the majority of His life doing what we’d call “normal”—working, eating, walking, laughing, grieving. Jesus left the hallways of heaven only to spend 30 years in obscurity. 

Before he ever preached a sermon.
Or healed the sick. 
Or raised the dead.

The Son of God lived with divine purpose in everyday moments.
This was God's divine purpose for Jesus.
To learn the family business.
To love his neighbors well.
Jesus probably helped with dinner prep. Maybe he wiped down the counter or helped wash the dishes. 
Maybe he was in charge of taking out the trash. 

My point is this: the vast majority of Jesus' life was spent in obscurity doing everyday, normal things. He wasn't missing God's divine purpose for his life. Quite the opposite. He was walking perfectly in it. 

Which means you can too.

What if your purpose is found in the small stuff?
 • Getting your kids ready for school.
 • Encouraging your coworker.
 • Bringing dinner to a neighbor.
 • Being present in a conversation.
 • Cutting your friend’s grass because he’s overwhelmed.

God isn’t asking you to be impressive. He’s asking you to be faithful.

Jesus didn’t chase greatness; He modeled humility. He came not to impress, but to serve—and in doing so, He gave our lives eternal meaning. Through His death and resurrection, we’re not just saved—we’re sent. Into neighborhoods, classrooms, boardrooms, and backyards with divine purpose.

You don’t need a title to live a life that matters.
You just need to open your eyes to the burning bushes around you—and say yes.