Purpose-driven Life

Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life. We were made to have meaning. When life has meaning, you can bear almost anything; without meaning, nothing is bearable. Without God, life has no purpose, and without purpose, life has no meaning. Without meaning, life has no significance or hope. In the Bible, many different people expressed this hopelessness. Isaiah complained, "I have laboured to no purpose. I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing." Isaiah 49:4. Job said, "My life drags by, day after hopeless day." Job 7:6 and "I give up; I am tired of living. Leave me alone. My life makes no sense." Job 7:16. The greatest tragedy is not death, but life without purpose. Hope is an essential part of life. You need hope to cope and this hope comes from having a purpose. If you have felt of feel hopeless, hang on in there! Awesome changes are going to happen in your life as you begin to live it on purpose. You may feel you are facing an impossible situation, but the Bible says, "God is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes." Ephesians 3:20

Knowing your purpose simplifies your life. It defines what you do and don't do. Your purpose becomes the standard you use to evaluate which activities are essential and which aren't to God's purpose in your life. Without a clear purpose you have no foundation on which to base decisions, allocate your time and use your resources. We tend to make choices based on circumstances, pressures and our current mood. People who don't know their purpose try to do too much, and that causes stress, fatigue and conflict. Knowing your purpose also focuses your life, it concentrates your effort and energy on what's important. You become effective by being selective. But without a clear purpose you will keep changing directions, jobs, relationships or churches hoping that each change will settle the confusion or fill the emptiness in your heart. The problem you have is a lack of purpose and focus, but none of these changes will solve that, "Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants." Ephesians 5:17. There is nothing quite as powerful as a focused, purpose-driven life. Paul, one of the most effective leaders in the Bible said, "Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead" Philippians 3:13. If you want your life to have impact, then you need to give it focus. Stop trying to do so much, do less and focus more. Knowing your purpose energises your life, it produces passion because a clear focus is motivating. When your life lacks purpose, small things can become a great chore, even getting out of bed. A meaningless life wears us down, saps our strength and steals our joy.

Knowing your purpose prepares you for eternity. Many people spend their lives trying to make a lasting legacy on earth because they want to be remembered when they are gone. But, ultimately it doesn't matter what others say about your life but what God says. Living to create an earthly legacy is a short sighted goal. It is far better to focus on building an eternal legacy, after all, you weren't put on this earth to be remembered, you were put here to prepare for eternity. On the day that you stand before God, he will do an audit of your life, a final exam before you enter eternity, "Yes, each of us will have to give a personal account to God." Romans 14:12. God wants us to pass this test. He will not ask about your religious background and doctrinal views, but he very much wants to know if you accept what Jesus did for you and did you learn to love and trust him. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6. God wants you to know, love and trust his son who he sent to earth to show us what God is like and to forgive and save us. God will also want to know what you did with the life that God gave you. He will want to learn if you used your talents, gifts, opportunities, relationships and resources on yourself to fulfil God's purpose in your life.