A Life Driven By Purpose
I was walking home with a couple of my friends last year, and I remember bumping into a friend and her fellowship group. One of the guys who spoke to me on that day asked me a question that really made me feel somewhat uncomfortable inside. His question was simply along the lines of- what is your form of service to God and are you living in your purpose?
Don’t get me wrong, the uncomfortable feeling I had in that moment, helped me to realise I hadn’t been paying attention to finding out what Gods purpose for my life was, and that I wasn’t acknowledging it either.
One of the most serious questions we can ever ask ourselves is: what is my purpose? This was the question that was on my mind the whole journey home that day. Hopefully this blog will help to kick you in the right direction; in order for you to get started on your journey of finding out what your purpose is, just like I did.
Now the obvious place to start would be defining what ‘purpose’ means right? Well the dictionary would tell you it is “the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.”
But the meaning I want to give you, which is what I have learnt purpose to be is this- purpose is whatever God wants to do through you via what he has entrusted you with. To some this may sound confusing and trust me even I was confused, for a long time at that. However, I’m going to try and break it down to make it as simple to understand as possible. [pullquote]being a person of faith that I am, I didn’t create myself and neither did I have the intention of being created to do things or achieve certain goals[/pullquote]
Now the reason as to why I said your purpose is whatever God wants to do through you is because; being a person of faith that I am, I didn’t create myself and neither did I have the intention of being created to do things or achieve certain goals.
The reason why I say this is because, I believe that God created me, and most times when people create things (or in this case humans or the entire world), it is for a specific reason or purpose. This purpose is flagged up numerous times in the one device God gave us in order to get closer to him which is the Bible.
One verse that really stands out to me on this topic is the famous Jeremiah 29:11- “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and to not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” I really love this verse simply because I am assured that God has everything planned, I mean literally.
The university that you’re going to go to- he’s planned it, the career you want to get in to- he’s planned it, the family you want to have- he’s planned it. All the things that has taken place already in your life all fit in to this gigantic puzzle that God has made, and the only way that puzzle is completed is by you living in the purpose and plan he has for you.
“How do I do that?” I hear you ask, well dear friend we move on to section two; which focuses on what he has entrusted you with. God has created each individual person with a particular gift(s) that makes them different and stand out. Some of these gifts may be the ability to: sing, dance, act, draw, paint, speak or eat in cases like mine.
But what I have realised since that day I told you about at the beginning of this blog was, God has given us gifts such as the ability to: love, show compassion, be understanding, lend a helping hand and more. I classify these things as gifts because they are things that come from God. For example; God is love (1 John 4:8), God is compassion (Exodus 34:5), God is understanding (1 Chronicles 28:9) and so on. He has given us gifts that generate from himself as the amazing father and creator that he is even to the point that, he is life and he gave us the gift of life to even be alive today!
Combining all of these together, the gifts that God has given us are to enable us to see that he is at the heart of everything because he gives us the ability to use these gifts. Once you understand that the gifts you have are not about your purpose but rather what Gods purpose for your life is, you are then able to focus on section three, which is being available.
Being available to the purpose of God simply means that with whatever gift you have, you are looking to God for direction as to what, where, when and how you are going to use your gift and for who you will be using that gift for in order for God to minister to that person.
Here’s the thing, our gifts are not for ourselves or to make us happy- God has given us gifts to impact the lives around us in one way or another. Example: the ability to sing can lead you into positions such as being part of your church choir for instance.
On a particular day you’re feeling a bit nervous because it’s your first solo, but nonetheless you sing your heart out in that solo. After the service a man walks up to you (not every day a woman) and has tears in his eyes and tells you that your singing and the song you sang ministered to him and is helping him to trust in God more about a situation he is going through; you’re just standing there like wow.
In that type of situation the glory didn’t go to you, but it went to God because the gift you used came from him and the painter normally gets the credit for the painting right? Therefore you have to allow him to put you in the right places at the right times for him to minister through you via your gift- resulting in you walking in your purpose.
This is just my intake of things and I still learning, so please share your thoughts and anything that you believe a life driven by purpose means.
