One of our greatest human needs is a sense of purpose, of significance. We need to know that we are significant, that our lives actually mean something, that we’re here to do more than just eat, sleep, work, get married, maybe have kids, and die.
A question that people have asked since the beginning of time is “what’s the meaning of life?”
To put it simply, the meaning of life is to live a life of meaning – a life of significance, a life of purpose! But what does that ‘mean’? What does the Bible say about it?
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Jer. 10:23 Yahweh, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.
[Amp] “O Yahweh, I know that the path of [life of] a man is not in himself; it is not within [the limited ability of] man [even one at his best] to choose and direct his steps [in life].
Our life only has true meaning, significance, purpose, when we find out what Yahweh wants us to do… And we lay hold of it. We begin to find our purpose by first recognizing Yahshua the Messiah’s purpose.
Yahshua’s Purpose
1 John 3:8 “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of Yahweh was revealed (manifested), that He might destroy the works of the devil.”
Note: Yahshua didn’t come just to be a propitiation for our sins. He came to destroy the works of the devil! And not just in a general sense… but in US!
John 10:10 “The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly (Gr. perissós – super-abundant; AMP: to the full, till it overflows).”
That was a major part of Yahshua’s purpose. How many of us have really embraced it?
Finding Yahweh’s Ultimate Purpose
Pro. 19:21 (NIV) “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is Yahweh’s purpose [counsel] that prevails.” AMP: “… but it is Yahweh’s purpose for him that will stand (be carried out).”
Yahweh worked out His purpose through Moses, despite Moses’ objections and excuses in the beginning. That raises an interesting question: can we actually negate Yahweh’s purpose for our lives? Absolutely! He has given us free will. But we also need to realize that He can, in fact, work out His purpose even through those who aren’t serving Him at all. He did it with Pharaoh!
Rom. 9:17-26 “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I caused you to be raised up, that I might show in you My power, and that My Name might be published abroad in all the earth.” [see Ex. 9:16] So then, He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. You will say then to me, ‘Why does He still find fault? For who withstands His will?’ But no, man, who are you who replies against Elohim? Will the thing formed ask Him who formed it, ‘Why did You make me like this?’ Or hasn’t the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel for honor, and another for dishonor?
“What if Elohim, willing to show His wrath, and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath made for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, us, whom He also called, not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles? As He says also in Hosea, ‘I will call them “My people,” which were not My people; And her ‘beloved,” who was not beloved.’ ‘It will be that in the place where it was said to them, “You are not My people,” There will they be called “Sons of the living God.”’ ”
This flies in the face of our logical minds. But it’s nevertheless true. The ancient Israelites – in the midst of their captivity – not only didn’t understand what was about to happen… they didn’t understand that Yahweh had an ultimate purpose in it all. It wasn’t just to deliver them and take them to the Promised Land but so that “His Name might be published abroad in all the earth”!
Verse 23 says that He prepared us for glory! That is a part – a big part – of our purpose, to show forth His glory in the earth!
We should also consider Paul’s testimony to King Agrippa about his encounter with the Messiah:
Acts 26:15-16 “’I am Yahshua, whom you are persecuting. But arise, and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you a servant and a witness both of the things which you have seen, and of the things which I will reveal to you;’”
Finding Purpose in Every Situation
We need to train ourselves to find purpose in every situation and circumstance of life, including those painful or uncomfortable ones – even trauma and crisis. And we must develop the maturity to understand that we might not fully recognize His purpose in something until much later.
We can use our past as an excuse or a crutch… or we can use it to propel us into our future! We choose the meaning that we assign to things in our lives.
Rom. 8:28-31 “We know that all things work together for good for those who love Yahweh, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. Whom He foreordained, them He also called. Whom He called, them He also justified. And whom He justified, them He also glorified. What then will we say about these things? If Elohim is for us, who can be against us?”
We have an ultimate, overarching purpose for our lives. But we can and should also find individual purpose in our present circumstances, situations, and relationships. One way to do that is to change the quality of the questions we ask ourselves:
For example, instead of “why me?” ask “What can I learn from this? How can I use this for His glory?”
Isa. 64:8 “But now, Yahweh, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you our potter; and we all are the work of your hand.”
Yahweh called you for a purpose – and it wasn’t just to “save” you! We are predestined to be conformed to the image – the very likeness – of Yahshua Messiah. Why? So that “He might be the firstborn of among many brethren (brothers)”!
That is the overall purpose of each and every one of us – to be conformed to the image of Messiah… for us to walk like Him, talk like Him, and do the things that He did. So that we might show forth His glory! It is time that we started living like it; it’s time that we embraced our purpose in the earth and started living a life of purpose ON PURPOSE – by FAITH!
Isa. 55:11 (NIV) “so is My Word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
Called on Purpose
Yahweh reveals His purpose through and accomplishes it by His Word.
Isa. 46:10-11 (NIV) “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’ From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill My purpose. What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do.”
Yahweh is summoning or calling those who have a heart to fulfill His purpose in the earth. How we respond to that call will determine our level of impact in these last days. Let each of us live a life of purpose ON PURPOSE!
2 Tim. 1:6-11 “ For this cause, I remind you that you should stir up the gift of Elohim which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For Yahweh didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and discipline. Don’t be ashamed therefore of the testimony of our Master, nor of me, His prisoner; but suffer hardship with the gospel according to the power of Yahweh, who saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Messiah Yahshua before times eternal, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior, Messiah Yahshua, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. For this, I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.”
What Purpose Does
Purpose gives us direction. It not only shows us the right direction but also helps us recognize more easily the wrong direction. It gives meaning to the mundane and changes the ordinary into the extraordinary. That is true in our lives, our relationships, our jobs, and our gatherings!
It gives us focus. It changes how we think and prioritize, as well as how we act and how we speak. And it gives us drive and determination. It inspires us, makes us willing to go beyond ourselves, and gives us a sense of community.
As we embrace our individual purpose, it is vitally important that we also realize that our purpose is ALWAYS connected to the greater purpose of the Body of Messiah. “No man is an island!”
Hebr. 2:10 “For it became Him (Yahshua), for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”
We need to stop chasing the glory and just become the glory! Let’s embrace the truth that it is
“Messiah in you, the hope [expectation] of glory” (Col. 1:27)!