Purpose

By Brooke Momblow

 

 

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.”  

                                                            2 Peter 1:3-9 NIV

 

God knew you would be living during this time. He knew ahead of time not only when you would be living, he knew where and with whom you’d be living.

 

We are all familiar with Mordecai’s admonishment to Esther “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14 But during this time of Covid, during questions of how to respond to racial issues, national division, and sometimes outright hate for each other, do we believe that we, in our humble positions or high positions, have been born to this time and place for God’s purpose? Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

 

If the Holy Spirit is living in you, God has anointed you to lead as you follow Jesus. “For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” Philippians 2:13

 

Whether you are a CEO or a stay at home mom, whether you are a business owner or you stock pet food. Your life has meaning and purpose because you were made with purpose. You were made for God’s delight. God made you with a unique design for purposes you alone were meant to accomplish.

We can become discouraged when we look around and see the ways others are gifted and are using their gifts because we can have difficulty identifying what our own gifts are and how to use them. Esther’s position during her time in history seemed to make her purpose so clear. Our purpose is often filled in the details of "our ordinary everyday life, our sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life." Romans 12:1-2 Msg

 

As we grow in all the ways Peter describes in the verses above, we grow in maturity. While we are being faithful to do the work that grows and equips us, God works in us to fulfill his purpose. As we mature, our gifts and specific callings may become clearer to ourselves and to the body of Christ we serve with.

 

There is no need to be discouraged. We have been given everything we need for where we are at and we will be given everything we need as we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit into those places he is calling us to go. He calls us all to lead, to serve, to love, to change our ways, to bring and embody the redemption story of Jesus. 

 

“'Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus.' 2 Timothy 1:1 When we are in Christ, we have life. One of the things that kills the inner spirit is the feeling that there is no future in what one is doing. In Jesus everything is promising. There is at the heart of every possession a promise. Even the grave has an open end – open to eternal life. I am ‘a child of promise’ – nothing static do I receive – it is just a promise of the ‘to be’. All His promises are life. There is a tingle of expectancy in being in Christ. Every little thing is big with destiny. Every gift is a promise. The future beckons.” E. Stanley Jones, In Christ

 

In The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren outlines the Biblical principles of our purpose:

 

1.       We were planned for God’s pleasure.

2.      We were formed to be part of a body in Christ (God’s Family).

3.      We were created to become like Christ.

4.     We were shaped uniquely for serving God.

5.      We were made for a mission.

 

Think. Pray. Live.

 

o   The details of my life should bring glory to God.

o   Can I expect to take the gospel to the nations if I’m not living it in the fibers of my being, in the little things that make up the whole?

o   Thank you, Jesus for your great and precious promises.

o   God, grant me the courage to venture into those places you’ve called me to go and the wisdom to recognize them.

 

“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8

 

“Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.” Isaiah 50:7

 

“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 20-21