Discovering Your Purpose

Our purpose is to please God, not people. He is the one who examines the motives of our hearts. (1 Thessalonians 2:4 )

What divine plan did God have in mind when he created you? What role does he want you to play in his great and masterful purpose for all humanity? Why did he equip you with your specific gifts and talents? Isn’t that what we all desire to understand?
God doesn’t always tell us what he is doing, but he always works to prepare us for it. One of the ingredients of faith is a willingness to follow God on a “need to know” basis (when we need to know, he will tell us). We trust that God knows what he is doing, even when we don’t. Our job is simply to let God be God and to focus instead on his specific plan for our life. We don’t need to understand the whole game of chess. We simply need to be in the right spot on the board when he wants to move us.

But how do we know what role he has in mind for us? That’s something that God readily reveals if we seek the answer. We may not understand his ultimate plan for our life, but we can know his plan for us today. If you are seeking God’s purpose for your life, there are four good places to start. These suggestions are neither inspired nor exhaustive—just a good place to begin.

First, settle in your heart the truth that you were created for a purpose. If you believe that your existence is accidental and your purpose undefined, you will never be able to grasp God’s divine plan for you.

Second, recognize your unique gifts and talents. Understand your personality traits, your aptitudes, and interests. What do you do better than anyone you know? Write these things out if you need to.

Third, articulate the desires of your heart. What are you passionate about? What makes you happy, angry, sad, or exasperated? What have you always wanted to accomplish in life yet never felt equipped to carry out?

Fourth, seek God’s guidance with all your heart. Pray that he would bring his will into focus. When you read his Word, pray that he would lead you to confirming passages of Scripture. Listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit. Watch the circumstances around you to see what God is trying to tell you. Seek his will for your life, and you will find it.