I want to live my life on purpose but it’s so easy to get caught up in life that I forget to to be intentional.
How about you?
Living life on purpose begins by understanding that our life is not just a series of random events and that God has wonderful plans for us. In fact, it’s important for us to know how important we are TO God in order for us to live a life of importance FOR God.
So let’s look at Psalm 139:13, 15, 17 & 18
“13For You did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother’s womb. 15My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret [and] intricately and curiously wrought [as if embroidered with various colors] in the depths of the earth [a region of darkness and mystery]. 17How precious and weighty also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 If I could count them, they would be more in number than the sand. When I awoke, [could I count to the end] I would still be with You.”
God has very uniquely created each one of us. Colossians 1:6 tells us we were created BY God and FOR God. So we don’t have to spend any time or energy on trying to fit into somebody else’s mold. He has made us all uniquely and His plans for each of us are equally unique. And we have to really grasp this principle in order to understand the concept of living life on purpose. It begins with knowing how special you are to God and how uniquely He has made you.
You know, the last 2 verses we looked at talked about how precious and how innumerable His thoughts are towards each of us. Sort of like Willie Nelson’s song says….We are always on His mind!
What we’ve studied so far has been the foundational principals to live out practically what we know to be true. But as we look at this next verse, we are going to see that this is where the rubber hits the road.
Turn to Ephesians 2:10. (And I’m going to read it to you in the Amplified). “10For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), [a]recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].”
Have you ever seen a tapestry? The strands are not all so pretty by themselves but when woven together they create something beautiful.
God is the Master Weaver and that’s exactly what He does with our lives when He saves us and He continues to do that as He conforms us more and more into the image of His Son. He takes the simple, the plain and even the ugly strands of our lives and makes them His own beautiful handiwork.
But Ephesians 2:10 goes on to tell us that we were created (or in the Amplified recreated) in Christ Jesus to do the good works that He preordained for us to walk in…or another way to say it is that we were born again to live out daily what God saved us to do by doing the good works He puts before us on a daily basis.
I’m telling you, this verse totally revolutionized my prayerlife. I mean when I really got ahold of the reality of this verse, I started praying, “Lord, I’m Your workmanship and according to Your Work, You saved me to do specific ‘good works’ that you preordained for me. Today…let me live out the good works You have on my schedule…don’t let me miss out on doing anything You have planned for me to do today.”
Now, I’m certain that I have missed many of the opportunities He’s laid before me each day…maybe because of my attitude…or because I didn’t want to be bothered…or maybe because I was too busy to listen to that still small voice saying…”Stephanie, this is the way…walk there in it.”
So, I’m sure I’ve missed out on doing a lot of the good works God has had for me, but praying that verse has helped me be much more aware that God has got work for me to do each day and I really want to please Him by doing what He has for me to do.
I’m so glad that God assures me that He has a very specific plan for my life & very specific works for me to do. I’m so thankful that my life is not a series of random events that have no significance. God has entrusted me with the responsibility of carrying out certain things and that truth alone helps me live life on purpose. And when I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do, Psalm 32:8 says, “I [the Lord] will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.”
Jesus is our ultimate teacher and He uses many different ways to teach us, but His primary sources are THE WORD OF GOD and THE HOLY SPIRIT. He also uses circumstances, godly counsel and other things, but The Word of God and The Holy Spirit are His primary sources.
OK, so let’s get practical…How does the Word of God teach us? Well, are you: Struggling with someone who treats you badly?
Matt 5:44 tell us to love our enemies and do good to those who treat us badly.
Struggling with forgiveness?
Matt 18:21 tells us we’re to continually forgive one another.
God’s Word tells us how we are to act and react…what we are to do and not to do and even how we are to think and how we are not to think and He tells us that He will instruct us. But if you look at the next verse (Psalm 32:9) which says, “Be not like the horse or the mule, which lack understanding, which must have their mouths held firm with bit and bridle, or else they will not come with you.”
In other words…When the Lord shows you what to do, just do it…don’t be stubborn. In order to live life on purpose, we have to cooperate with the Lord day by day and even minute by minute.
Living life on purpose means I make choices about what I say and what I don’t say…what I do and what I don’t do and even the attitudes I have. I have to purposefully decide to give God glory in any and every situation. I remember the first time I realized I could clean toilets to the glory of God. At work, I’ve begun praying before I get there..”Lord, help me do a really good job today. And please allow me an opportunity to witness to someone.”
You see, we look for the “Big things” to do for the Lord, like being a missionary…yeah…then I’d witness to people, or like being the next Beth Moore…yeah…then I’d study the Word more and be able to give godly counsel, or like being in some sort of full time ministry…yeah then I would be able to be completely devoted to the Lord.
No…God calls us to be faithful in the little things and if we do that, then He may choose to let us be involved in the bigger things…but that’s not to be the goal. The goal is pleasing God by living life on purpose. By choosing to glorify Him by the way I respond to an arrogant coworker, or by taking a meal to a sick friend or by visiting someone in the hospital…or by cleaning someone’s house after they’ve sprained their back 🙂 or by building someone up when you know they need encouragement. It means being nice to the people making those pesky sales calls and being courteous to those who butt in line at the grocery store. It’s all for the purpose of glorifying Jesus so that others may know Him
Living life on purpose means we keep our attitudes in check…we change our perspective and we view our obstacles as opportunities to let Jesus shine through us.
It means to flee from sin and avoid temptation. It means choosing to live holy lives in an unholy world. It means filtering your thoughts about world events and issues through the Word of God and through God’s principals.
And when we don’t understand what is going on and if things get rough, we know that He promises to work all things together for our good (Romans 8:28).
Remember…He’s the Master Weaver.
So, today, commit to living a life of purpose by choosing to live life ON PURPOSE.
Remember…
In order for us to live our lives on purpose we must CAREFULLY GUARD our fellowship with Jesus Christ. No matter what you’re going through…don’t loose your focus from the Life Springs of your life and that is Jesus. He is the One that will enable you to see things clearly and when the storm rages on around you…know that Jesus is holding on to you and He will enable you to live life on purpose, even through the storms of life.
I read from the Amplified tonight and shared some meanings from the original because I wanted you to see that God’s Word is so much deeper than we see on the surface. It’s RICH & FULL. It really does have the answers to all of life’s questions and the solutions to all of life’s problems. It’s ALIVE – it is God Breathed. It is God’s Word…God’s Word to us. It will help us to make those minute by minute choices that will enable us to live a life OF purpose by living life
ON purpose.