Created for More

My husband and I have a favorite morning routine. Around seven o’clock, we sit on our front porch together while he eats breakfast before heading to work, and we spend a little time doing a devotional together.

A couple of weeks ago, he noticed yellow jackets flying in and out of one of the rock columns on our porch. Sure enough, they had found a tiny hole in the mortar and decided it would make the perfect place to build a nest.

The problem was that this column sits right beside our front door. Between us, the dogs, and all the kids who visit, it was only a matter of time before someone accidentally disturbed the nest. So, I went into full MacGyver mode.

I rigged a can of wasp spray with a plastic coffee stirrer so I could reach the tiny opening, put on my safety glasses, gave the nest a good spray, and then sealed the hole with a tiny wad of aluminum foil.

Mission accomplished. I’ll admit, I was pretty proud of myself.

The next morning, as we sat on the porch, we noticed a single yellow jacket crawling around the outside of the column, searching for a way back in.

My husband said, “I wonder why it keeps trying.” Without really thinking, I replied, “It’s the only thing he knows to do.”

Unlike that yellow jacket, we weren’t created to simply operate on instinct—doing the same things over and over without ever asking why.

God created each of us with something far greater than instinct. He created us with purpose.

Every morning, we have the opportunity to choose. Will we live for ourselves? Or will we live for the One who created us?

Purpose isn’t just about having a particular career or accomplishing something big. Sometimes our greatest purpose is found in the ordinary moments—encouraging a friend, showing kindness to a stranger, serving our family, extending forgiveness, or pointing someone toward hope. Those small choices shape a life that honors God.

As I watched that little yellow jacket circling the column over and over, I was reminded how thankful I am that God gave us more than instinct.

He gave us the ability to know Him. To love Him. To serve Him. And to choose, every single day, to live the life He created us to live.

Now that’s a purpose worth pursuing.

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” — Ephesians 2:10

July 5, 2026 Morning Brew