Find Your True Purpose
The evidence that we have a purpose on earth is found in Scripture: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose,” Romans 8:28. “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,” Ephesians 1:11.
Have you ever thought about why you are on this earth? What is your purpose? What are you to accomplish in the few short years you are here? Did God put us here for a purpose, a purpose to be fulfilled?
Andy Andrews said, “If you are breathing, you are still alive. If you are alive, then you are still here, physically, on this planet. If you are still here, then you have not completed what you were put on earth to do. If you have not completed what you were put on earth to do…that means your very purpose has not yet been fulfilled. If your purpose has not yet been fulfilled, then the most important part of your life has not yet been lived…” It does not matter who you are, you have a purpose to fulfill.
Purpose & Meaning is the Key to Life: As one author writes, “True success is to discern the essence of what we’re created to be and to follow it relentlessly.” It is easy to get sidetracked in life and miss your true purpose. Though it is good to have pleasure and make an adequate living for you and your family, those are not the primary purpose to life. Nothing can replace your true purpose for living and no one can fulfill your purpose but you.
You are Something Greater than Yourself: C.S. Lewis said, “Meaning makes patience of pain, gratitude of sorrow, cheerfulness of change, and is the key to lasting joy. It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life comes flowing in.”
You Are a Shining Light: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven,” Matthew 5:16. From that same chapter the Bible warns us not to “light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, so it giveth light unto all that are in the house.” Today we are brighter than candles; our light is a brilliant light because it is the light of God’s glory that is within us. Don’t hold back that light from others; it can light their pathways. Let Your Light Shine. Don’t dam up that brilliant light or hold it back; embrace it; let God reveal your life’s mission. Finding your mission will fill your life with joy and meaning.
If I’m something greater than myself, who am I? I like the quote from Marianne Williamson: “You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in all of us [that are of God]. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Discover your Devine purpose:
- What one thing is at the top of what means most to you?
- What do you do best?
- What do you feel most comfortable doing?
- What is the one thing you desire the most?
- What holds you back from seeking your purpose?
We depend on God for many things but His guidance in showing our purpose should be at the top of the list. If we are to experience the fullness of life, to become the person God created us to be, and to complete our mission on earth, we must discover our purpose.
Written by Jimmie Burroughs