God told Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).
Well, I wish I had a God-given purpose like that, you may be thinking.
The truth is you do! And God’s design is that your life and activity should revolve around that purpose.
Ephesians 2:8–10 declares,
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
The fact is that God’s work with us doesn’t stop with salvation. That is only the beginning. He has a purpose for you on this earth—good works that He has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them, or as one translation puts it, they should be the employment of our lives.
You are not on earth—at this time in history—by accident. God planned for you to be here, and He has a pre-ordained purpose for your life even with all that’s going on in the world. You have a destiny to fulfill and a purpose to pursue.
In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he speaks about one of the great pursuits of his life. And in so doing, he reveals what should be one of the central pursuits of every follower of Jesus. He writes,
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12–14).
What was Paul’s great pursuit? What was he trying to lay hold of? He was pursuing and trying to lay hold of the purpose for which Christ had laid hold of him!
You can discern and lay hold of God’s purpose for and in you even during the particular season we’re in. There is a prize waiting in heaven for those who press in and pursue the purpose of God for their lives.
It may be possible to completely fulfill God’s calling for your life from the context of your present career or employment. Or, perhaps, God will have other things for you. Seek Him and He will guide you.
Pursue Him. Pursue your purpose as it relates to His plans. All you are responsible for is to listen and obey (John 10:27). God rarely gives us His entire plan for our lives all at once, but He does give us a step. And as we faithfully take that step, then He gives us the next.
Dare to ask the Lord what His next step is for your life. Even if the impression the Holy Spirit gives you is small, it always pays to obey. And when we are faithful in the small, He entrusts us with larger things!
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