DISCOVERING GOD’S PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE (Part 1)

“If any man is ready to do God’s pleasure he will have knowledge of the teaching and of where it comes from–from God or from myself.” (John 7:17 BBE).

 

It is unwise to test run your life. Why?

 

Because you will never get another opportunity to come into the world again!

 

It is appointed for you to live once and then “to die once, but after this the judgment.” (Heb. 9:27 NKJV).

 

At the end of your pilgrimage on earth, God will do an audit of your life. You will give account to God how you spent your life and all the resources and opportunities God gave you.

 

Paul clearly states this truth in his epistle.

 

Romans 14:10-12 – NKJV

 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

 11 For it is written: “As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.”

 12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

 

Would you have a good account of your pilgrimage on earth to give to God?

 

The rewards for discovering and fulfilling the unique purpose of why God created you to be unique or different from other persons in the world are not merely transitory but eternal.

 

You will be highly commended and rewarded in heaven by God if you fulfill God’s purpose for creating and saving you (Matt. 25:21).

 

If you are not spending your life on God’s unique or specific purpose for creating you uniquely or especially, you are simply abusing, misusing, or wasting your life.

 

It is your responsibility to discover, seek, and find your purpose in life (Prov. 25:2). But how do you find out, know or understand your God-ordained purpose in life?

 

This is the thrust of this piece!

 

First, Seek God with all your heart:

 

Finding and understanding your unique purpose in life demands you seek it with all your heart, not merely for a thing, a piece of information, or some knowledge, but rather, seeking God Himself.

 

Not only is God your creator, but He is also the author or designer of your purpose in life. No one knows you inside out and what you are perfectly and specifically created, configured, or cut out for like God who created you.

 

Before you were formed in the womb, God knew you, and before you were born, God has already separated, ordained, or appointed you for a specific purpose in life (Jer. 1:5, Gal. 1:15). Therefore, no one else besides God can fully reveal your purpose to you.

 

Therefore, God said, “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things which you have not known.” (Jer. 33:3 RSV).

 

Until you seek and find God, you might never fully understand your unique purpose in life because God is the author or designer of your purpose. However, you cannot see God if you don’t seek Him with all your heart.

 

God assures, “You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jer. 29:13 NKJV).

 

God has revealed Himself fully to humankind in the person of Jesus Christ!

 

Jesus Christ is God manifested to us in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16).

 

Jesus Christ is the brightness of God’s glory and the express image of God’s person (Heb. 1:3).

 

The Lord Jesus came into the world to declare, reveal, or make known to us the invisible God’s person, nature, and character.

 

The Scripture clearly states this truth.

 

John 1:18 – NKJV

 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

 

1 Timothy 3:16 – NKJV

 16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.

 

Colossians 1:15-17 – NKJV

 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

 

Therefore, no one can seek and find God and thus his purpose in life without knowing Jesus Christ, who is the express image of the person of God (Heb. 1:3).

 

Jesus Christ is the only authentic or right way to find and know God, connect with God, and enjoy a loving and intimate relationship with God.

 

The Lord Jesus clearly and boldly states this truth.

 

John 14:5-9 – NKJV

 5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”

 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

 7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on, you know Him and have seen Him.”

 8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”

 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

 

By acknowledging Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and surrendering unreservedly to Him, you are on the right path to discovering or finding your purpose in life.

 

As you enjoy intimacy with God by spending quality time daily in prayer and studying God’s Word, you will grow in spiritual discernment and understanding of God’s perfect will, plan and purpose for your life.

 

Apostle Paul spent three years alone with God in the desert of Arabia for him to fully understand God’s calling and purpose for his life (Gal. 1:15-18).

 

Without having a regular or constant personal communion with God, there is no way you will fully know or increase your understanding of your divine calling and purpose.

 

Unless you incline your ears to God, you will never get to hear, recognize or discern His voice. But when you set your mind or affection on God, your feet will also be placed on the path of God’s purpose for your life.

 

Today, many born-again believers are ignorant or confused about their purpose in life because they are not seeking God with all their hearts or spending quality time alone with God in prayer, reading, studying, and meditating in God’s Word.

 

Second, Present yourself to God as a living sacrifice:

 

Today, many born-again believers struggle to discover or understand their purpose in life simply because they are still struggling to yield or give themselves wholeheartedly, unreservedly, or entirely to God.

 

Without a mindset, willingness, or resolution to embrace, pursue, or do whatever God reveals to you as His divine purpose for your life, you may never fully discover, know, or understand God’s purpose.

 

Preparing your heart to give up other activities so that you may focus on God’s purpose for your life is a significant prerequisite to discovering and understanding your purpose in life.

 

If you are not willing or ready to make sacrifices (give up things you need to give up) to see God’s purpose for your life fulfilled, you are not yet serious about finding your purpose in life.

 

The Lord Jesus said, “If any man is ready to do God’s pleasure he will have knowledge of the teaching and of where it comes from–from God or from myself.” (John 7:17 BBE).

 

Until you are ready to pursue and accomplish God’s purpose at all costs, you are not yet ready to discover it!

 

Until Moses willingly turned aside to see the remarkable sight of the bush burning without being consumed, God did not call him and reveal his divine purpose in life to him.

 

Exodus 3:3-4 ­– NKJV

 3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”

 4 So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”

 

Unless you are willing to turn aside from whatever you are doing now to see the vision of God for your life and say, “Here I am,” when God calls you, you will only remain confused in the wilderness of life.

 

If you are serious about discovering God’s purpose for your life, you need to heed Paul’s admonition to the Christians in Rome.

 

Romans 12:1-2 – BBE

 1 For this reason I make request to you, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you will give your bodies as a living offering, holy, pleasing to God, which is the worship it is right for you to give him.

 2 And let not your behaviour be like that of this world, but be changed and made new in mind, so that by experience you may have knowledge of the good and pleasing and complete purpose of God.

 

Beloved, discovering, knowing, and understanding God’s purpose for your life is nothing complicated if your heart is genuinely panting for God, if your affection is set on God, and if you have resolved in your heart to turn aside from whatever you are doing to pursue God’s purpose for your life.

 

The Lord Jesus exposed the cause of the Jewish religious leaders’ confusion during His days, asking, “Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.” (John 8:43 RSV).

 

This is also why many believers today are confused about God’s will and purpose for their lives!

 

Can you bear to do whatever God says or commands you to do?

 

If not, you may never get to understand God’s purpose for your life!

 

Find out more truths about discovering God’s purpose for your life in the second part of this piece.

 

 

Prayer: My Dear Heavenly Father, forgive me for not being serious about discovering, pursuing, and fulfilling Your purpose for my life in the past. My Dear Lord Jesus, I am willing and ready now. Speak Lord, for I am eager to hear and obey whatever you say, command, or reveal to me, in Jesus’ name. Amen.