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| [Photo credit Amit Dey] |
The quest for our life purpose should absorb our time and energy. Some people have found their life purpose and are already living it. Others are yet to figure out the purpose for their lives or don’t even care to know.
This post is for people who desire to know their life purpose. It is for individuals looking for the one thing that can put their life’s purpose in perspective. It is for those who ask themselves the hard questions of life, like, “Who am I? What is the meaning of life? What is the ultimate purpose of life?”
These are central questions of life. The answer to these questions is the key to understanding ourselves and the world. It is what will set us up for success. These questions reveal that deep within our hearts, we crave for something that brings intrinsic and permanent fulfilment - something better. There’s something within us that calls out to us, “There is more to this life’s miseries!”
We are never at peace until we catch this missing link.
Sometimes in our quest to find the meaning of life, we fill our lives with people. We share our greatest fears, worries, and secrets with the hope they will sympathize with us. These friends end up disappointing us for soon we discover we can’t trust them. Then, we drown ourselves in drug and substance abuse but they leave us more miserable than we were.
In our search for answers, we seek meaning in material possessions, careers, family, money, travel, music, outdoor activities, pets, hobbies and so on but they leave us distraught and empty. We read countless self-help books, watch videos, and attend motivational seminars hoping to find our purpose for life without success.
The Success Magazine describes 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.”
The above two definitions agree that finding our life purpose matters because they give us a direction to our present and future lives. The two statements agree that our purpose should impact those around us. Our life purpose is a gift to the world. This gift drives us to deliver and attract success.
The Bible teaches that life originated with God (Genesis 2:7). Life then can only derive its meaning, purpose, and fulfilment in God. No job, person, or thing can make our lives meaningful apart from God.
According to the prophet Isaiah, God created us for a purpose: to glorify him.
It is by seeking to glorify God in our lives that we will find our true life purpose. Our plans aren’t plans until they acknowledge him as one who fulfils them. Understanding God’s purpose for our lives will change the way we pray and think about the material world.
One respected theologian put it this way:
Yes, our lives are restless until we find the One who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).
To shed more light on this answer, we must first dig a little deeper into the background of Isaiah chapter 43 for clues. For example, the text in question talks of the children of Israel as “a light for the nations” (Isaiah 42:6). The “nations” referred to here are none other than the surrounding Canaanite nations lost in heathenism.
Each Canaanite tribe or nation had an assortment of deities to which they prayed. There were gods for all occasions and seasons: harvest gods, household gods, fertility gods, temple gods, and patron city gods.
The worship experiences for the Canaanite religion revolved around the shrines they built at strategic places in honour of their gods. They stationed these shrines in the elevated or “high places” in the mountains, hills, and valleys. They took pride in these gods and glorified them.
Yahweh was to reign supreme in their everyday activities. It is by living for God’s glory that they would become “a light for the nations.” God would respond to their faith-living by showering them with blessings both spiritual and material. It was God’s desire that their lifestyles would draw the surrounding nations to true worship.
According to the Bible, everything created by God was for His own glory. For example, the Psalmist sings of heavens that glorify God:
The beasts of the field give glory to God:
The Psalmist calls on every living thing to glorify God:
We are to glorify God in everything we do:
Glorifying God does not benefit God, it benefits mankind by keeping us from evil. It keeps everything around us orderly. God’s glory is intact - He owns it, “And I will not give My glory to another,” (Isaiah 48:11).
Our lives must pattern and exhibit the greatness and goodness of God. Our actions must reveal who God is and what He is doing in our lives. We must always seek God’s will and direction in matters of life - whether eating or drinking or doing anything (1Cor 10:31).
How then are we to exhibit God’s glory in our lives? Not by works of the flesh but works of faith (works that emanate from faith) that God prepared for us in Christ:
These are central questions of life. The answer to these questions is the key to understanding ourselves and the world. It is what will set us up for success. These questions reveal that deep within our hearts, we crave for something that brings intrinsic and permanent fulfilment - something better. There’s something within us that calls out to us, “There is more to this life’s miseries!”
We are never at peace until we catch this missing link.
Sometimes in our quest to find the meaning of life, we fill our lives with people. We share our greatest fears, worries, and secrets with the hope they will sympathize with us. These friends end up disappointing us for soon we discover we can’t trust them. Then, we drown ourselves in drug and substance abuse but they leave us more miserable than we were.
In our search for answers, we seek meaning in material possessions, careers, family, money, travel, music, outdoor activities, pets, hobbies and so on but they leave us distraught and empty. We read countless self-help books, watch videos, and attend motivational seminars hoping to find our purpose for life without success.
What is Life Purpose and How Do We Find It?
According to the Journal of Positive Psychology, life purpose “is essentially about the future-oriented aims and goals that give direction to life.”The Success Magazine describes 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.”
The above two definitions agree that finding our life purpose matters because they give us a direction to our present and future lives. The two statements agree that our purpose should impact those around us. Our life purpose is a gift to the world. This gift drives us to deliver and attract success.
How to find Life Purpose
The key to finding our life purpose is in the Bible.The Bible teaches that life originated with God (Genesis 2:7). Life then can only derive its meaning, purpose, and fulfilment in God. No job, person, or thing can make our lives meaningful apart from God.
According to the prophet Isaiah, God created us for a purpose: to glorify him.
“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).
It is by seeking to glorify God in our lives that we will find our true life purpose. Our plans aren’t plans until they acknowledge him as one who fulfils them. Understanding God’s purpose for our lives will change the way we pray and think about the material world.
One respected theologian put it this way:
“Our lives are restless until they find rest in you,” — Augustine of Hippo
Yes, our lives are restless until we find the One who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).
What Does It Mean to “Glorify God”?
According to one Christian blog, glorifying God means, “Feeling, thinking, and acting in ways that reflect his greatness.” It follows then glorifying God is living a life of greatness. It is living a life that magnifies God in our feelings, thoughts, and actions.To shed more light on this answer, we must first dig a little deeper into the background of Isaiah chapter 43 for clues. For example, the text in question talks of the children of Israel as “a light for the nations” (Isaiah 42:6). The “nations” referred to here are none other than the surrounding Canaanite nations lost in heathenism.
Each Canaanite tribe or nation had an assortment of deities to which they prayed. There were gods for all occasions and seasons: harvest gods, household gods, fertility gods, temple gods, and patron city gods.
The worship experiences for the Canaanite religion revolved around the shrines they built at strategic places in honour of their gods. They stationed these shrines in the elevated or “high places” in the mountains, hills, and valleys. They took pride in these gods and glorified them.
A Light to the Nations
In the middle of this spiritual darkness of paganism, God set apart the nation of Israel as “a light to the nations” to “glorify” Him. The children of Israel were to magnify Yahweh far above all the Canaanite deities.Yahweh was to reign supreme in their everyday activities. It is by living for God’s glory that they would become “a light for the nations.” God would respond to their faith-living by showering them with blessings both spiritual and material. It was God’s desire that their lifestyles would draw the surrounding nations to true worship.
Glorifying God is Universal
The whole universe exists to glorify God.According to the Bible, everything created by God was for His own glory. For example, the Psalmist sings of heavens that glorify 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).
We are to glorify God in everything we do:
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God,” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Glorifying God does not benefit God, it benefits mankind by keeping us from evil. It keeps everything around us orderly. God’s glory is intact - He owns it, “And I will not give My glory to another,” (Isaiah 48:11).
Set Apart for God's Glory
Just like the Israel of old, God has chosen and set us apart for His own glory. We don’t live for ourselves; we live for God. God created and redeemed us to feel, think, and act in ways that make Him supreme in our lives. God made us for Himself and for His own pleasure.“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created,” (Revelation 4:11).
Our lives must pattern and exhibit the greatness and goodness of God. Our actions must reveal who God is and what He is doing in our lives. We must always seek God’s will and direction in matters of life - whether eating or drinking or doing anything (1Cor 10:31).
How then are we to exhibit God’s glory in our lives? Not by works of the flesh but works of faith (works that emanate from faith) that God prepared for us in Christ:
“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).
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