What IS God's Purpose for Me?

      By Fern Horst

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ." (Colossians 3:23-24)

"His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." (Matthew 25:21)

We've heard it many times, and read it just as often, that God has a purpose for each one of us. But what does that mean? How do I find out what His specific plan is for me? What dire consequences will there be if I don't figure it out?

I think most Christians agonize over these questions to one extent or another. Perhaps those without spouses, whether never-married, widowed or divorced, ask them more frequently and more perplexedly. Once one marries and has children, the path ahead is, for the most part, fairly clear-cut.

But for the unmarried the question is definitely more open-ended. Not tied down by a family, the options are endless and unlimited, though the inherent limitations of singleness often make the options seem limited as well.

So how in the world do we find our purpose? Well, as always when we are perplexed, we need to turn to God's Word for our answers. As we read through the Bible, we don't see God spelling out to any individual what their entire life's plan was to be at once. For instance, we don't read of God telling Anna that His plan for her life was that she serve Him daily in the Temple. Can you imagine her perplexity as a young married woman if God had told her that? It was probably the furthest thing from her mind for the short time she was married before her husband died. In fact, for those seven years of married life, God's purpose for her everyday life was very different from what He had for her after her husband died.

Throughout the Bible we do see God giving instructions at times to certain individuals for what they were to do next. For the times when there were no specific instructions, God expected them to live faithful and godly lives, not indulging in sinful activities, but living each day in line with His commandments.

What can we conclude then about God's purpose for us? First, that we are to be faithful in living our lives according to God's Word, doing what He says is right, and avoiding what He says is wrong. Whatever we find in front of us to do, whether something mundane or something we enjoy doing, we should do it as though we were doing it for Him, because in essence we are.

Second, when He gives us specific tasks to do, be obedient in doing them. This specificity may not happen every day, but when it is clear to us that God wants us to do something specific, or to move in a certain direction, it is important that we do it.

Third, we should recognize that the overarching purpose God has for us is to become like Christ:

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." (Romans 8:28-29)

© 2008 Fern Horst

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