The Design Before the Degree
How to discover what you were
actually made for
You know what hit me while studying Exodus 31?
Most of us are running the wrong play.
We're out here grinding—building careers, stacking degrees, chasing titles—thinking that's where we'll find our purpose.
But here's the truth that changed everything for me:
Your design doesn't come from your first job.
It comes from before you were even born.
Exodus 31:3
God says something wild about a guy named Bezalel:
"I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge."
Notice the timing.
Bezalel had all this before he had a job.
Before he built anything for the tabernacle. Before he did a single thing to "prove" himself.
His design existed first.
The work came second.
Same with you.
Jeremiah 1:5
"Before I formed you in your mother's womb, before you were born, I set you apart."
That means out the womb, you were already wired for something specific.
Your purpose wasn't waiting for you to graduate, get hired, or hit some milestone.
It was already embedded in you—waiting to be discovered.
The Lie We're All Believing
Here's where most of us get it twisted.
We think: "Once I get the right job, I'll figure out my purpose."
Or: "When I finally make money, I'll discover what God wants me to do with it."
But that's backwards thinking.
The world has a design for you. God has a design for you.
And they're not the same.
The world will take your gifts and turn them into a career.
God takes your gifts and turns them into ministry.
So ask yourself:
Your attention to detail → How can that glorify God?
Your love for teaching → How does that build up the body?
Your creativity → How does that point people to the Creator?
If your "purpose" doesn't connect back to God's mission,
it's not your purpose. It's just a paycheck.
Your Job Is Not Your Purpose
Your purpose is not to be a nurse, a teacher, an athlete, or an entrepreneur.
Those are careers. Means to an end. Vehicles you drive—not the destination.
Your purpose came before your degree. Before your job title. Before your first paycheck.
Call your work what it is: a tool. A platform. A way to fund what God actually called you to do.
But don't confuse the tool with the assignment.
When you find your real purpose—the thing God designed you for— you never retire from it.
You can't. Because it's woven into who you are.
The Real Question
If your current job disappeared tomorrow,
would you still know your purpose?
If the answer is no, you're running the wrong play.
But if you can answer that question with clarity—if you know what you were designed for independent of a title or a paycheck—then you're operating in the freedom God intended.
That's the goal. Not to escape work.
But to know that work serves your purpose, not the other way around.
The Formula
f(Design) = Glory to God + Service to Others
Once you see it, you can't unsee it.
And once you start operating in it? That's when everything clicks.
Tribe 144
A community for people who refuse to stay stuck
Hear why I started this
If This Helped You...
I'm putting together a private community for people like you—a space to find clarity in your purpose through community chat, quarterly challenges, workshops, and in-person events.
This isn't research or theory. It's immersion. It's Tribe 144.
Billed annually at $144/year