Living in your purpose

“For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11 AMP

“For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the LORD. ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11 NET

Deep inside of us, we know that we aren’t on this earth to simply take up space and pass time. God declares in His Word that He has good plans for us; plans of prosperity, peace and well-being; a future filled with hope! This is God’s desire for us, but that doesn’t mean that it’s just going to happen automatically. If it did just happen because “God willed it” there would be a lot more people experiencing prosperity, peace and well-being – there would be a lot less hopeless people in the world. But God does not force His will to come to pass. We have a choice. The next verses show us a lot about how this hope-filled future comes to pass.
 
“Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:12-13 NKJV

These verses reveal that it’s not so much about seeking your purpose and destiny as it is about seeking Him. Many people want God to tell them what He wants them to do, and then they want to go and do it. But God has called us to be in relationship with Him before we do anything for Him.

God is inviting you to friendship with Him; to call on Him and talk to Him. He’s inviting you to seek Him: not your purpose and destiny, but Him. And He promises that when you seek Him with all your heart, you will find Him.

You are called, firstly, to a relationship with God. Jesus’ purpose in coming was to give us eternal life – which is a relationship with God (John 3:16; John 17:3). When a relationship with God is our main focus and aim in life then everything else falls into place (Matthew 6:33). God has a purpose and destiny for your life. In Him, you have a hope-filled future full of peace and prosperity – and that purpose and destiny is found in Him. As you seek Him, you will discover your destiny and start living life on purpose.
 
Living in God’s purposes and out of a relationship with Him is what will truly satisfy you and make you come alive. I find that often Christians who are miserable are so because they are not living in His purpose for them or they are looking at it in a negative way. When you are convinced of the goodness of God you will not ever doubt whether His will for you is good or not.
 
A large part of discovering your purpose is in discovering your identity because identity determines purpose. For example, you are a child of God and therefore part of your purpose is to live as a son or daughter of God. Changing the world and living in your purpose starts with knowing who you are and living out of your identity.
 
So, who are you? As you read the following scriptures, ask yourself what do these verses say about my identity and my purpose?
 
Matthew 5:13-16 New King James Version (NKJV)
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
 
Acts 1:8 New King James Version (NKJV)
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
 
Matthew 28:18-20 New King James Version (NKJV)
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
 
2 Corinthians 5:20 New King James Version (NKJV)
Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.