Discovering God's Purpose For Our Lives

 

According to Rick Warren, One of the reasons life is devalued in today's culture is that many people value their own happiness and fulfillment over God's purposes for their lives. The search for the purpose of life has puzzled people for thousands of years. That's because we typically begin at the wrong starting point—ourselves. We ask self-centered questions like: What do I want to be? What should I do with my life? What are my goals, my ambitions, my dreams for my future?   

But focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life's purpose. The Bible says, "It is God who directs the lives of his creatures; everyone's life is in his power" (Job 12:10 TEV).

 But He has also given us a specific, custom-fitted plan for our lives. His plan for your life is different than His plan for mine. If I go on to do "great" things that I wasn't called to do, I will impress many people, but I will sadden my Father. Jesus could have done far greater miracles on this earth, but He was not interested in greatness; He was only interested in obedience to the One He loves. Jesus is the Son of God, perfect and without sin, and when He lived as a man, He only did what He saw the Father doing. We are called to do the same.

Bertrand Russell, the famous English atheist once said, "Unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is meaningless." He was correct; if there is no God, then our lives really don't matter. We are just random accidents of nature, and neither our births, our lives, or our deaths have any meaning or value.

The book of Jude says that there will be "godless" people in the last days. It's tempting to think he is talking about non Christians. But a "godless" person is simply one who is not living under the Lordship of God. They may be following all the rules and living a moral life, they may be doing wonderful things for God's sake, but they are not under God's daily direction. Instead they do what they want. They call the shots. They may seem godly, except God has no direct input in their lives. They are godless. 

The book of Jude compares godless people to trees that are "without fruit and uprooted." I believe that describes many Christians today. We are deracinated - abandoned the atmosphere of constant fellowship with God, and started running my own Christianity. Though, still a professing Christian, but alien to things that brings has eternal value, due to lose of connection with God. 

Jude also says that in the last days, men will "follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit." That goes for many of us believers! We let our fleshly nature take charge of our faith walk, instead of letting the Holy Spirit have his way with us. On the average day, who is deciding how you live your life: a moral you, or the Holy Spirit?

God has a purpose for your life. He will not shout that purpose to you. He will wait until you ask Him, and He will wait until you get quiet before Him, then He will begin to whisper to you what He has called you to. In some ways, that calling may seem right up your alley. It may be the very thing you want to do. Remember, He gave you the desires of your heart! 

 To Discover your purpose:

 1.   Start with God by asking and waiting on Him. He will show you your calling. To understand your life's purpose, you must begin with your Creator. You exist only because God wills that you exist. You were made by God and for God—and until you understand that, life will never make sense. It is only in God that we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose, our significance, and our destiny. Every other path leads to a dead end. 

 2.   You need obedience. You will never be happy unless you are living in obedience to your calling. The "greatest" job or marriage in the world will not satisfy you, if it is not the one God has called you to. Ambition is a trap; it will tempt you to go beyond your calling. Likewise, self defeat is a trap; it will tempt you to stop short of your calling. The most fulfilled person on earth is not the one who has done the most, but he who has been true to his calling.

 3.   Discover God's timing. Say you've heard what God has called you to. And He has given you an incredible desire to do this thing. That does not mean you have to run and do it immediately. Too many people mistake the call of God for the timing of God. Moses was called to set the Jews free long before he was given the go-ahead. His first attempt, on his own, failed miserably as he killed an Egyptian who was beating a Jew. But in God's timing, through many years and much refining, Moses was prepared.

The prudent will use this time to prepare for what God has called you to. Learn as much as you can about the area of your calling. Seek others who are gifted in that area, especially those who have had successes and failures. Search for wisdom. The gifting and the anointing will come, that's God's responsibility. What you bring to the table are wisdom, humility and obedience.

One of the biggest tests that you will need to pass in this stage is the test of being able to sit on the bench. This accomplishes one very important thing: death to yourself. As long as your sense of importance and value is tied to your calling, you are operating in the flesh and are not ready to give the Holy Spirit His proper lead role. Can you die to your own ambition?

It's so easy for pride to seep in to the person called by God. We start thinking that we are deserving of this high calling. We start thinking that He needs us. We think He picked us because He wanted the best. But check His prior selections. God has a track record of "choosing the weak and foolish things of this world" to confound the wise. God picked you because there's no way you could pull this off without some serious help from heaven. He wants to show all of creation how much He can do with so little. 

Wouldn't Paul have been the perfect theologian to preach Christ to the Jews? And Peter the fisherman would have fared far better with the Gentiles. But God flip-flopped their work assignments, just so no one could chalk up their successes to human gifting.

The fact here is that If God has picked you to do something great, you can be sure that you are perfectly incapable of doing it short of God's grace.

Now you’ve heard God's calling, and you've made it through that wilderness stage. You finally realize that it's not about you, it's about Him. Now He's drawing you into the action. You're walking in your calling.  Be careful. Too often we get careless and assume that God is now on our side, and we get presumptuous. God wouldn't let me fail, He wouldn't let me get into trouble. When we are called by God, we assume we have a guided escort who keeps us out of all danger. Take heed and know that God requires more from those who have been given more. If you have been given a high calling, then God holds you more accountable than most. Don’t let Presumption becomes your greatest enemy. 

CF.

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