Does God Have a Purpose for Your Life?

"Even every one that is called by My name: For I have created him for My glory; I have formed him; yea, I have made him" Isaiah 43:6-7,KJV

Do you ever contemplate the ultimate meaning of life? Have you ever questioned God’s purpose for your life? Do you want to figure out what your life’s mission is?

All of the above questions are important. These questions reveal that you’re looking for something that will give your heart intrinsic and long-term satisfaction.

Answering these questions will help you gain a deeper understanding of your life purpose.

Discovering your God-given purpose is the key to living a fulfilling and meaningful life. Finding your life purpose opens up a world of opportunities for you to use your talents, skills, and gifts to benefit others.

Understanding God’s plan for your life will alter your thoughts, actions, and words. Therefore, it is prudent to devote your time and energy to discovering your life’s purpose.

Life is more than just going through the motions of daily tasks.

You will not be able to experience true happiness and peace in your life until you find this missing link–your life purpose.

As you search for the missing link, you surround yourself with people who hope to find solace in their company.

You entrust them with your darkest, most intimate secrets in the hope that they will understand and sympathize with you, but they do not.

They instead humiliate you by revealing your secrets to the public. You’re on your own.

You then seek meaning in material possessions, a career, a family, money, travel, music, outdoor activities, pets, and hobbies, among other things, but each of these also leaves you depressed and empty.

Despite reading self-help books, watching instructional videos, and attending motivational seminars in the hopes of discovering the meaning and purpose of your life, nothing has worked for you.

Finally, you resort to self-destructive behaviors such as drug and alcohol abuse, which only worsens your situation.

You realize you’ve come full circle, still asking yourself, “What is the purpose of my life?”

What is life purpose? Success Magazine defines life purpose as “the point at which your talents, skills, abilities, and gifts intersect with a void or a need in the world around you.”

This definition is correct, because the Journal of Positive Psychology defines “purpose” as “some future-oriented aims and goals that give life direction…”

The preceding two statements both agree that discovering your life purpose is critical because it gives your life direction.

You must align your talents, abilities, abilities, and gifts in order to attract success. Your life is a gift to the world, and how you spend it will affect both you and those around you.

How Can You Find Your Life Purpose?

The Bible holds the key to discovering your life’s purpose. According to the Bible, your life began with God (Genesis 2:7). God is the author of life.

As a result, life can only find meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in God. Apart from God, no job, person, or thing can make your life more meaningful.

You find your purpose by finding God.

According to the prophet Isaiah, God created man for a purpose:

"Even every one that is called by My name: For I have created him for My glory; I have formed him; yea, I have made him" (Isaiah 43:6,7).

You were created for God’s glory, and in Him you discover your true worth and purpose.

Your plans are meaningless until you acknowledge God as the source of their fulfillment, because He is the one who brings them to fruition.

Augustine of Hippo, a revered theologian from centuries ago, put it this way:

Our lives are restless until they find rest in You
Augustine of Hippo

True, your life will be restless and meaningless until you find Jesus Christ, who is "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).

How then can you find your life purpose? To find your life purpose commit yourself wholly and unreservedly to God, and allow Him to take precedence in everything you do.

What Does “Glorify of God” Mean?

According to Desiring God, a Christian blog, glorifying God means, “Feeling, thinking, and acting in ways that reflect his greatness.”

It follows that glorifying God is living a life of greatness. It is living a life in which our feelings, thoughts, and actions exalt God.

To better grasp this subject, we must first examine the background of Isaiah 43. In the preceding chapter, the children of Israel are described as “a light for the nations” (Isaiah 42:6).

The nations referred to here are the Canaanite nations that surrounded them. Each Canaanite tribe had an assortment of deities to which they prayed.

The Canaanites had gods for all seasons and occasions. Harvest gods, household gods, fertility gods, temple gods, and city patron gods were all worshiped.

The Canaanite religious experience was centered on the shrines they had constructed in honor of their gods. They erected these shrines in elevated or “high places” on mountain ridges, hills, and valleys and used them to offer sacrifices, including human sacrifices.

They celebrated and glorified these fertility gods.

What Does “A Light to the Nations” Mean?

A classical lamp light and shining in a dark place — **Image by** **Lukas Baumert**

Despite their moral degeneration and spiritual darkness, God chose to make the children of Israel “a light to the nations.”

They were commanded to “glorify” Him in all spheres of life. In their daily activities, Yahweh was to reign supreme.

The people of God were to extol Yahweh as far superior to all Canaanite deities. They could only become “a light for the nations” if they lived a righteous life – a life that reflected God’s glory.

In return for their fidelity to His covenant, God would shower them with spiritual and material blessings. God desired that their lifestyles would bring genuine Yahweh worship to the surrounding nations.

Thus, Israel was a nation on a mission to glorify God and convert the nations (tongues in Hebrew) to God.

Thus, to be “a light to the nations” entails demonstrating God’s saving grace and knowledge in our character to all people.

This was God’s plan for Israel, and it still His plan for us today.

Is God’s Purpose Only for Israel?

God’s purpose and saving grace is not limited to on nation or people. Glorifying God is not unique to Israel.

The reality is that the entire universe exists to proclaim God’s glory.

All created order, according to the Bible, exists to glorify God. For example, the psalmist declares that the heavens extol the glory of God.

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork" (Psalm 19:1).

The beasts of the field give glory to God:

"The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people" (Isaiah 43:20).

The Psalmist calls on every living thing to glorify God:

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! (Psalm 150:6).

And we are called to glorify God in everything you do:

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Thus, the preceding Bible verses demonstrate that God created everything for His glory.

Our Purpose: Set Apart for God’s Glory

God has chosen and designated you for His glory, just as He did Israel in the past. God intends for your life to have meaning.

The Bible teaches that you don’t live for yourself; you live for God and that your divine purpose.

God created and redeemed you to feel, think, and act in ways that honor Him as the supreme in your life. God made you for His own pleasure as expressed in the book of Revelation:

"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure, they are and were created" (Revelation 4:11).

Your life must pattern and exhibit the greatness and goodness of God.

Your actions must bear witness to who God is and what He is doing in your life.

You must always seek God's will and direction in all aspects of your life, whether you are eating, drinking, or doing anything else (1Cor 10:31).

Takeaway

How are you then to demonstrate God’s glory in your life?

You are to exhibit God’s glory through your character. Not by works of the flesh, but by works of faith (works that flow from the faith). Paul states as follows:

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10).

Does God have a purpose for your life? Yes, God does have a plan for your life. God made you to reflect His loving character in your thought, motive, and action.

The goal of your life is to bring God glory. Your life’s purpose is to bring God glory.

To achieve excellence in other areas of your life, God must take precedence in everything you do. The book of Proverbs says it best:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,  and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6, ESV)

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