Finding Meaning and Purpose in Your Life

Is the story of your life interesting?

A church member once stood up and testified.
“Before I was saved, I was wicked, sinful and boring. I want to thank God I am not sinful any more.”

When you respond to the call of Jesus, God forgives all your sins and changes your character. God’s purpose is to make you like Jesus.

Most of us will never walk on water or die on a cross. But if you are like Jesus, the story of your life will never be boring. If your life is routine, ordinary and predictable, ask Jesus to show you what is missing, and he will answer.

Please don’t misunderstand me. Many people today demand constant entertainment. I am not suggesting every moment must be exciting. We also need to cultivate patience. But spiritual patience is not the passive acceptance of a mediocre life.

Are you actively pursuing a big dream for your life? Are you living an adventure story?

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)

The peace God gives is not a domestic tranquillity where nothing exciting happens. It is the peace of Jesus who slept through a terrible storm at sea because He trusted in His heavenly Father’s care.

The prophet Jeremiah was in prison when God spoke to him.

'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.' Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV)

Prison can be a place of dark suffering because you stand for God in spite of persecution. Prison can also be a life dominated by a grey routine.

God can deliver His children out of both kinds of prison.

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;  Luke 4:18 (NKJV)

Even if you are trapped in domestic slavery with no means of escape, God can give you adventures in the Spirit.

'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;

Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. Acts 2:17-18 (NKJV)

God created you with a purpose. When you repent and believe, you are forgiven. But the plans of God do not stop there.

Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. Romans 8:30 (NKJV)

God has a plan and a destiny for your life. He wants you to experience His glory and to reveal His glory through you.

Why not read the story of Jesus of Nazareth? Fast-forward to the book of Revelation and see Jesus in Heaven. Then you will understand that glory can never be boring.

If your life has no adventure, ask God to put you on track to glory.

I hope you will allow me to conclude with some essential practical wisdom. One thing which imprisons so many good people is the tyranny of the urgent.

Of course, you must not neglect essential practical duties. But are you setting aside time every day to work on your life dream?

For example, if you are called to minister the Good News of Jesus, start a house church or do something special for God, you need to make time to prepare, to read and pray.

What are you doing today to advance towards your destiny?

What is your Purpose in Life?

 Abraham was a strong old man, but still an old man, that is, no longer a virile bridegroom. His wife was also way past her used by date.

Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Ro 4:19 NIV

But despite everything, Abraham had a promise from God.

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Ro 4:18 NIV

If you receive a promise from God and don’t see its fulfilment so quickly, you must cultivate the virtue of hope.

Human hope can be little better than wishing. If you harbour wishes, you can merely dream without really expecting any fulfilment. But with God, hope is an attitude and a way of thinking in which we truly expect God's blessing.

Genuine hope is a gift of God, but we must put hope to work in our thinking and in our lives.

Faith and love are the key to life with God, but you need to have hope to keep your faith alive, so God can use you for his purpose.

And what is God's purpose for you?

God's purpose for Noah was to preach, to warn his contemporaries, to build an enormous ship, to save many animals and his family from the Flood.  

Is shipbuilding your calling? Probably not.

God's destiny for Moses was to free two million slaves and lead them through the desert. You are probably not called to do that.

David was a shepherd, poet, musician, and then a soldier, general, king and prophet.

Esther was an orphan and then a queen.

So we can see that everyone has a very individual destiny and calling.

After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel. Jdg 3:31 NIV

Shamgar was obviously a cowherd or farmer. He was also effective as a soldier, but not with conventional weapons.

David was a soldier, but in the beginning he fought with a slingshot.

Maria Luise Prean-Bruni has written a brilliant book on this subject.

‘Come into your destiny. God created you as an original. Don't die a copy.’

God created Billy Graham but only once. Everyone is different.

What is your calling?

What are your Priorities

 What is important in your life?

There are people who do not pause to consider their priorities.

A well-known management expert taught that a company must have clear priorities. If you have ten priorities, you have no priorities.

Many organisations have many rules, but no clear priorities.

But what's it to you? You are an employee and you simply have to adapt.

But you also have your own life. What are your goals in life? What are your priorities?

All the main characters in the Bible had clear goals.

• Noah was to build a ship to save his family and all kinds of animals from the Flood.

• Moses was to save the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt, and he led them to the Promised Land.

• Deborah was to lead the Hebrews in a war.

• After the death of her husband, Ruth determined to provide for her mother-in-law.

• God gave Nehemiah the task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.

• Paul was given the task of missionary work among the Gentiles in the Roman Empire and to plant new churches everywhere.

  What is important in your life? Maybe you have clear goals and priorities, but maybe not.
  
  Many people have a vague idea that they should be good Christians. But otherwise they don't have clear priorities.
  
  What is a ‘good Christian’? If your ideas of the Christian life only come from Bible teachings from your church or your family, you will always be torn by other people's expectations.
  
  Again and again we read in the Bible how an apparently ordinary person had an encounter with God and received a calling for their life.
  
  Do you perhaps feel frustrated because you have no clear direction in your life? God loves all his children with all his heart. Jesus is the great King of kings. If you are a son or daughter of a great king, should you remain an insignificant nobody? God forbid!
  
  God has important tasks for you. If you are always busy fulfilling all the wishes of your family or your church or your boss, you will not be able to hear God's guidance.
  
  If you do not yet know Jesus as your Saviour and guide, you will either be enslaved by your own drives and desires, or you will be enslaved by other people.
  
  There are selfish, self-centred people who deal with all kinds of addictions, porn, alcoholism, drug addiction etc.
  
  On the other hand, there are virtuous people of duty who are enslaved by the desires of other people.
  
  Jesus wants to set you free, but not so that you can always satisfy your own desires.
  
  Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 1 Co 9:24 NIV
  
  But the Christian life is not a competition. Paul does not mean that only a hero of faith should win God's prize.
  
  Every Christian has a unique calling from God, a very special mission in life. If your life is based only on religious duty, you will never find out what God's purpose is for your life.