How I Found My Purpose in Encouragement

I’ve always felt a pull toward something bigger, something steady and strong long before I knew it was God. I couldn’t name it then, but I sensed a force drawing me toward purpose, even when life felt unclear. What I did know was this: I’ve always encouraged people. I spoke life into others long before I realized it was a spiritual gift.

A little over five years ago, God placed a shift on my heart that changed everything. I chose to step away from all forms of social media. That quiet space allowed me to cultivate a more authentic version of myself, to hear God more clearly and quiet the distractions around me so I could finally listen to what was happening within. Because outside noise rarely understands what’s happening inside.

For thirteen years, I didn’t step foot inside a church because of experiences I had in the churches I was connected to-what many would call “church hurt.” Even so, I never stopped seeking. I watched sermons, read spiritual books, and had respectful conversations with people from different backgrounds and belief systems. In my own way, I was still feeding that pull in my spirit.

Almost two years ago, my mom introduced me to Dharius Daniels. His teachings shaped my heart into one that loves deeply and lives with conviction. Through them, I experienced a spiritual refreshing, the kind that must be shared boldly. I came to know the goodness of God in a deeper way.

At the same time, my life at home was shifting.

I had built a successful career as a healthcare professional. When my paternity leave ended after my first child was born, I faced a difficult decision: do I return to the career I had invested so much time and energy into? Logically, it made sense. I had poured years into that path. But God, in His perfect timing placed a revelation on my heart: the career I worked so hard for was no longer the assignment He had for me.

Instead, He was calling me to be fully present as a stay-at-home dad.

Everything shifted.

My identity felt shaken. My sense of purpose felt blurry. Yet even in that uncertainty, I realized God had placed me exactly where I needed to be, positioning me to live authentically, nurture my children, and embrace the gift of encouragement that had been with me all along.

Then came my second child, and my role as a father deepened even more.

One day, during one of my rare “me days,” while others I love were caring for my children, I felt an unexpected emptiness. I missed them. I realized how deeply my sense of purpose is tied to being with them because all I do is talk to them about God. It’s natural. It’s my favorite topic. Somehow, even in their small lives, God uses them to teach me just as much as I teach them.

That day, with a heavy heart, I kept asking God, “Please, show me my purpose.”

In the middle of a conversation with my mom, the answer came, it was simple, yet undeniable. I had been living my purpose all along.

Encouragement.

Recently, I learned from Dharius Daniels that God sometimes develops us in the dark. When I heard that, everything made sense. That’s what had been happening to me. The “dark” looks different for everyone, sometimes it’s not pain, but quiet, unseen growth. God was using my transition into fatherhood to develop me, to prepare me. To bring me here. To you. These words, these posts you’ll read, are written by someone who was being shaped in sacred, hidden moments, while never losing sight of the light.

Before this clarity came, I had already been feeling a growing desire to live more authentically, to stop dimming my light and to move through the world with greater boldness and truth.

I love you, but God loves you more.

In courage,

Carnell