Purpose

When we are young, we have dreams of what we want to be when we grow up.  We want to be firemen or astronauts or doctors or policemen or farmers or...  My daughter, Kimberly, wanted to be a lawyer or a ballerina - apparently both were pretty equally balanced in her eyes.  She and her best friend at the time planned to get a house together and their husbands would live in a house behind them.  Her life had purpose and her plans were set.

As we get older, those plans seldom hold up and our purpose tends to get rather murky.  Our plans often get thrown into the blender of life and we come up with something quite different.  So often, even though we make new plans, we are left wondering what is our purpose.

In my work, I talk with people who, at the end of their lives, are still wondering what God's purpose for them is.  They well say, "I know God has some purpose for me, but I just don't know what it is.  Life, as is most often the case, did not turn out the way they had thought.  And many are left feeling there is something they missed or are missing.  There must be purpose, of that they seem sure.

I agree that life has purpose, that God has purpose for our lives.  I believe that along the way, He has many things in store for us, many opportunities to fulfill his will in our lives.  We don't always see what they are at the time and often opportunities are missed.  Some feel they missed their boat entirely.

However, I just don't believe that is ever true.  I am convinced that God always has purpose for us, regardless of opportunities missed or years passed: "I know the plans I have for you.  Plans to do you good no harm.  Plans for hope and a future" (Jer 29:11).  Notice the present tense, have not had.   God has purpose still for your life.

And, while I can't tell you everything God has planned for you, I can share in a general way what His purpose was and still is.  Are you ready?  Write this down: "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thess 5:16-18).

There it is.  Take joy in life, look to God always and be grateful for what you have.  You may not have much but you have life and hope for a future.  Some of the happiest people I've ever seen were on mission efforts in third-world countries where they had little but their lives were registered with big smiles and a generous spirit.

In this country, even the poorest of us have much more than the rest of the world.  And there is always hope.  For the child of God, there is more than hope.  We have already won the victory.  We re simply on a journey home to receive the glory already purchased on the cross.  We may have some difficult miles ahead, but soon they will be behind us.  In the meantime let us rejoice, let us pray and let us be thankful.  Jus' Say'n.