What Is Your Life's Good Work? Discover Purpose That Transforms You and the World
Recognizing the divine invitation in each task
Breath of Spirit within and around us, You have sown within each of us a purpose, a good work that nourishes the world and shapes our souls. Help us to listen for Your voice as we walk the path before us. Help us trust that our unique contribution matters deeply, not only to the world that needs healing, but to our own souls that long for completion. When we feel weary, remind us that our labor is holy. May every act of love and service bring life and green into the barren places of this world and cultivate new growth within us.
Every single one of us has a good work to do in life. This good work not only accomplishes something needed in the world, but completes something in us. When it is finished, a new work emerges that will help make green a desert place as well as scale another mountain inside ourselves.
—Elizabeth O’Connor
There’s something profoundly beautiful about recognizing that our life’s work isn’t just about what we give to the world. It’s also about what the world gives back to us through the very act of giving. This quote captures the sacred reciprocity perfectly—our good work serves others and completes something essential within our souls at the same time. Isn’t that brilliant?
I have experienced this. Have you?
Sometimes it looks like raising a child, caring for a neighbor, healing from grief, or tending to a community in quiet, faithful ways. The beauty of this work is that as it blesses the world, it also transforms you. That’s the mind-blowing and heart-rending part.
Often, when I was out on a mission trip, I’d return to sense this same thing happening within me. Here I thought I was doing the good work, but the good work was also transforming me. And, boy, did it transform me.
And when we complete one work, another falls into our path — not as a burden, but as an invitation to deeper wholeness. This is the rhythm of the soul’s journey—to bring life where there is dryness, to climb toward inner peaks of wisdom, compassion, and courage. The work is both outward and inward; both are necessary for the world and necessary for our becoming.
Both are necessary for the world and our becoming.
This dual nature of meaningful work reveals one of life’s most elegant truths. We're not merely pouring ourselves out until we’re empty, nor are we solely seekers focused on our personal growth. Instead, we exist in a dynamic dance where service and self-discovery intertwine, where helping others heal helps heal us, where making the world more beautiful makes us more whole.
The image of making “green a desert place” speaks to a miraculous potential within each of us to bring life where there was once barrenness, hope where there was despair, and connection where there was isolation.
Did you notice how the quote continues? This external greening is paired with scaling “another mountain inside ourselves.” Our outward service creates inward potential, and not just any kind of potential. Our acts of love expand our ability to love. Our courage in the world builds courage within us.
This isn’t spiritual selfishness. It’s spiritual ecology. Just as healthy forests depend on each tree contributing to the ecosystem while drawing nutrients from it, our spiritual lives flourish when we understand that giving and receiving, serving and growing, are not opposites but partners in the same sacred dance.
The cyclical nature O’Connor describes — where completed work gives birth to new work — reflects the eternal creativity of the divine flowing through us. We don’t just have one purpose and then fade away. We have seasons of purpose, each building upon the last, each deepening our capacity for greater service and greater wholeness. Isn’t that amazing?
Where do you see it within yourself and your work?
What “good work” is yours to do in this season of your life?
What feels like “desert places” in your life — areas that seem barren, stuck, or in need of new life? Think about external (relationships, communities, causes) and internal landscapes (parts of your heart, old wounds, undeveloped gifts). How might your unique presence and gifts bring a sense of “green” to these places?
How have the tasks you have completed in the past shaped and completed something in you? What was “completed” in you through that service? How did helping others change or heal something within you? What new capacities or insights emerged from that experience?
Where is there a “desert place” in the world, or your heart, that you might be nudged to help make green?
What “mountain inside yourself” feels ready to be scaled next? What inner territory (courage, creativity, compassion, or …) is calling for your attention and growth? How might this inner work prepare you for greater service in the world?
Listen for the Intersection: Spend time in quiet reflection or prayer asking, “Where do my deepest gifts meet the world’s deepest needs?” Your sacred work often lives at this intersection. Pay attention to what consistently breaks your heart or fills you with joy. These emotional responses are often compass points that lead you toward a purpose. Are there particular things or ways that others frequently ask for your help with? Take notice of that. Or, what problems do you find yourself naturally wanting to solve?
Start Small and Stay Present: You don’t need to change the world overnight. Begin with one small act of service that feels authentic to who you are. This might be listening deeply to a friend, tutoring a child, caring for your environment, or sharing your creative gifts. Shift your focus to how this service affects both the recipient and your inner world simultaneously. Let each act of love teach you about love.
Embrace the Rhythm of Seasons: Honor the fact that sacred work comes in seasons — times of intense service, times of rest and integration, times of learning and preparation. When one “work” feels complete, resist the urge to immediately fill the space. Instead, create time for the new work to emerge naturally. Trust that the same Spirit that called you to your last mission is already preparing your next one.
May the Creator who formed you for good works guide your hands and heart today.
May you trust the good work that lives within you, knowing it serves both the world’s healing and your own.
May the Spirit breathe new life into the deserts you tend.
May each act of service teach you more about love, and each mountain you climb within yourself expand your capacity to lift others higher.
May you find the strength to climb the mountains within, and when one work is done, may you trust the new work that emerges, knowing your purpose is not a destination but a living river that flows on and on, bringing life wherever it goes.
May you know that you are loved because you matter.
May your soul be refreshed.
sdg
