I have been talking about your
purpose and your path in this life. I have tried to motivate you to
listen to the Voice and the calling of the Lord. I have tried to
warn you of potential potholes that we can all fall into along the
way. But what I haven't done, and that is probably the most
important question of all, is to tell you how you can know what
your specific purpose is. Now that is the million dollar question,
isn't it? What is it exactly that God wants me to do? How can I
know it is Him calling and not my own desires pulling me
in one direction? I truly want to listen to His Voice, but He
doesn't necessarily physically talk to us as He did in Moses' days,
so how can I know for sure? I think that these are the type of
questions that are haunting each of us at some or other stage in
our life.
Another thing I would like to
clarify is that yes you can have an overall purpose, but you can
also have smaller tasks to complete along the way. Small things
that the Lord might require you to do. It can all add up to your
ultimate purpose, or it might be ad hoc things along the way. So
please also keep that in mind as we go further.
Now before we go on I would like to
make something clear. As I have said before, I do believe we all
have a purpose to fulfill. BUT what I would like to emphasize is
that you will not necessarily achieve that purpose. It is not
a goal to be achieved, but a life to live. We are all growing up in
an intense goal orientated, success orientated, materialistic
world. Since our birth we have been pushed in some or other way to
perform. It might not be our own parents or family, but the whole
society. I have noticed with my own two sons that it is very
interesting how society as a whole looks at them. The questions I
frequently hear are:
'Has he started walking yet?',
'Has he started talking yet?',
'Can he count to 10 yet?'
And then of course after my answer
the person would relate some or other story of a child walking at 7
months, or some child talking fluently at 1 year, or something like
that. Competition, competition, from the day we are born. Now what
I am actually getting at is that we are constantly driven, from one
goal to another. As soon as we can crawl, people expects us to walk
and as soon as we walk, people expects us to run and as soon as we
run, people expects us to be the fastest and so it goes on and on.
From the one goal to the next to the next. I truly believe that is
one of the reasons people battle when they retire, they feel that
there are no more goals to attain, no more prestige and honor. But
that is another story, what I actually want to say is that your
life's purpose is not like that. It is not a goal to attain, it is
not something to achieve. No, it is a lifestyle.
For example let's say you feel that
your life's purpose is to become a doctor. Well the day that you
finish your qualification, you are certainly not finished. Your
purpose has not been attained, no, it has only started. You will
continue to help people until the day that you retire and then
after retirement you will most probably continue on a personal
basis assisting people in need as you come across them on your
daily path. You will never cease to be a doctor.
Now, your purpose can be something
concrete like in my example of being a doctor, but your purpose can
also be something that will also never end, like for example your
purpose is to motivate people, or your purpose is to pray for other
people and be an intercessor, or your purpose is to serve other
people, the list goes on and on. There will never be an end to what
your purpose is. In essence you are your purpose. Your purpose will
only be finished the day that you die, the wonderful day when you
go to be with our loving God.
Lord Jesus, please help us to
follow Your dream for us. Please help us not to look at the world,
but only up to You, our wonderful Savior. We love You. Amen