So, What’s Your Purpose?

So, What’s Your Purpose?  What Makes Your Heart Sing #3 

The popular restaurant was noisy. Seems like it always is—whether lunch or dinner. Yet our conversation quickly turned serious when I asked, ‘So, what’s your purpose?’ As people often do, when stalling for time, he asked, ‘What?’ I lowered my head, adjusted my expression and said, ‘Yes, you heard my question … why do you think you are here? What is your purpose?’ He rubbed his chin, rubbing his jawbone with his forefinger and his thumb … ‘Wow, that’s a good question.’ A question to which he never ventured an answer. Once again, successful by all of the world’s standards, he could not identify his purpose. 

But listen to this: there is an answer. 

You and I were created for a purpose. 

Check this out--“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.1 ‘Sounds an awful lot like God has purposes for us, doesn’t it? Wisely stated, twas said, “Finding peace requires zeroing in on your singular, divinely ordained purpose—the task or tasks that God has assigned especially to you. Others cannot define that. God has a role for you to play that may be quite distinct from what’s designated for the next person. Rest in your calling. It is distinctly yours from the Father above.”2 

And so it is meant to be, as we have been created in God’s image.3 David captured it so well when he said of himself that he was ‘fearfully and wonderfully made…knit together in his mother’s womb.’4 And Paul took it further saying that, ‘we are God’s poema—his handiwork…his masterpiece(!)—created in Christ Jesus to do good works. 

So we know we have been created in God’s image--unique, beautifully crafted, first to come to know and be in communion with him. From our relationship with God, we are able to establish guiding principles for our lives, which are really quite broad; they frame and shore up most of what we do. They provide a litmus test for evaluating what we put our hands to, how we spend our time, energy, money and efforts. I first identified those two priorities as the keys to a great life when I set to think about the area of contentment, and who in fact, was the greatest example of contentment I have known—my mother. 

I deduced that she knew contentment because 

she knew who she was and 

what she was about, 

even though she was an old-fashioned woman from Missouri, with just an eighth grade education, not at all smart or ‘evolved’ by the world’s standards. She was not tripped up by what others were doing, or how they lived their lives. Her guiding principles were simple: 

love God first, and love others. 

Just like Jesus was not tripped up by the religious rulers who tried to trap him with the question about which was the greatest commandment. He simply replied, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength,’ oh and the second one, ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’5 

The process of discovering and living out our God-given purpose might be visualized by picturing a wide-mouth funnel. 

At the beginning, we realize life is bigger than us. It is about living for our God, and loving others. And then we look at what is in our hands—just as Moses looked at the staff that was in his hands—what do we have? 

What do we enjoy doing? 

What is our level of education? 

What are our current roles/responsibilities? 

What do we do well? 

What are our natural strengths? 

What was our child’s play? 

What is our personality type or temperament? 

What are our talents? 

What are our spiritual gifts? 

But God uses everything, so-- 

What have been our defining moments? 

What storms have we weathered? 

What are our current struggles or disadvantages? 

What disciples do we practice? 

Past experiences, education, talents, spiritual gifts, and God’s leading, (including difficult times, failings and trials), narrow the focus more until we are serving in our greatest area(s) of gifting, fulfilling our God-given purpose. Knowing our purpose produces joy, and there is nothing like it in all of the world! It causes the fruit of the Spirit, JOY, to find a home within. ‘You know how Eric Liddell felt when he said, ‘God made me fast . . . and when I run, I feel His pleasure’? When I am teaching, I feel God’s pleasure; when I am writing about the things of God, I feel God’s pleasure; when I see the lights of a person’s soul come on, I feel God’s pleasure! How about you? Do you know your purpose? 

Christine 

PastorWoman.com



1 – Jeremiah 29.11 

2 – T.D. Jakes, The Potter’s House 

3 – Genesis 1.26 

4 – from Psalm 139 

5 – Mark 12.30-31