“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”

—Dolly Parton

Having a fulfilled life entails taking the time to discover your purpose in being here on earth. In the book of Proverbs 16:4, we are told “The Lord has made everything for his own purposes, even the wicked for the day of disaster” (NLT). God has created us with a purpose in mind. We understand that God is intentional and was intentional when He created us for His purpose. It therefore behooves us to find out what that purpose is. We need to discover why we are here so that we may find ourselves useful in the world. The responsibility is ours to know our purpose for being alive, and I say alive because it is but for the grace of God that we who are alive are not consumed already.

But it all starts with knowing why God created us. He says in Isaiah 43:21, “This people have I formed for myself: they shall shew forth my praise” (KJV). We must each ask ourselves ‘What can I do to show forth the praise of God?’ ‘How can my life bring pleasure to God our Creator?’ Very often this will require us taking a step back and looking at ourselves, examining what our passions are, what motivates us excessively, and what fills our minds and spirits that even if we want to set it aside we can’t help but return to it. What is it that gives us that joy to get up in the mornings and run to it?

For some discovering their purpose may come naturally from a very early age. This is how we have twenty-five-year-old farmers, doctors, researchers, teachers, counselors, etc. Then there are cases where you just stumble into something that clutches your heart and you find yourself developing a love and affinity for it. The next thing you know, that is what you want to do. As you talk to God in your times of quiet times, He will make it very real to you with prompting to pursue it. However you discover your purpose in life, it is important that you pursue it to make your life purposeful and meaningful.

God has designed us to be fruitful and have dominion not only for ourselves but for our world. But then the question becomes, ‘How do world affairs affect my life? What impact would changes in world dynamics have on my purpose?’ These and many more questions are valid, but we must be a people who know their God because as Daniel 11:32b tells us we will be strong and do exploits. This means that irrespective of the economic circumstances or the political landscape, with the guidance and wisdom of God we will do exploits in the thing He has impregnated us to do.

We find a very good point of reference in the book of Jeremiah. The children in Judea and Jerusalem had been disobedient and God had caused them to be taken into captivity into Babylon under the governance of King Nebuchadnezzar who was not only ruthless but evil. Although they were no longer in their native land, the land that God had promised them for an inheritance, God saw their dismay and concern for their lives and the interruption this exodus from their norm would bring about. So God dictated a letter to the prophet Jeremiah which he sent to King Nebuchadnezzar saying,

 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters, that you may be increased there, and not diminished. And see the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace” (Jeremiah 29:4-7).

            Here God is telling His people that although the circumstances were not what they were accustomed to in a strange land, they were to focus on being fruitful and productive in their lives. They were not to allow the external climate to detach them from their purpose as the people of God. Yes, they were in judgment, and yes, they were not in the environment they knew and were accustomed to, but God was promising to make their purpose come to fruition irrespective of where they were, and how uncomfortable they were. God was telling them to pursue and live their lives so that they are not diminished. Isn’t God good, to be both love and justice at the same time?

            God was letting them know that he judged them to humble them, but he still loved them and would prosper and be with them in their captivity. God who created everything for His purpose is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is King over governments and kingdoms and as we remain faithful and obedient to Him, we can be assured that He will not abandon us under any circumstances. We must never abandon our purpose but rather hold on to the peace of God no matter what.

            It is this peace that we have with God that will give us the confidence to remain steadfast in our purpose whether our job changes, our location changes, or our government changes. God never changes, and neither does our purpose. This should strengthen our resolve in today’s world where so many are disillusioned by our political and economic conditions. We must be encouraged that although there are changes that may be unpleasant to us, our God has not changed. He is still God, King of all kings, President of all presidents, and Lord of all lords, and will be faithful to us in all aspects of our lives. We must discover our purpose in life that will bring praise to Him for in doing so we not only please God, but we bring joy and fulfilment to ourselves. Discovering our purpose leads to a full and peaceful life within.