Peace in Purpose

One day last week, I met a friend for coffee. In the course of conversation, as we chatted about who knows what over Pumpkin Spice Lattes, she said, “I wish I knew what God’s purpose for me is.” I’ve spent a lot of time wishing that same thing for myself. How often as Christ-followers do we pray for God to reveal his will, his plan, or his purpose to us? How often do we feel we’re not hearing God? Why won’t he just tell me what he wants me to do? But you know what? God isn’t much into keeping secrets! He is for us and not against us.

In Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life, he opens his book with this sentence: “It’s not about you.” That pretty much sums it up! But if my life isn’t about me, what is it about? Scripture plainly tells us, in several places, just what our purpose is. It’s there, in black and white (and sometimes red), recorded for us all of those centuries ago.

In Matthew 22:38-39, Jesus said, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” In Mark 16:15, Jesus also said, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” In the gospel of Luke, after Jesus had healed a demon-possessed man, that man begged to go with him, but Jesus said in Luke 8:39, “No, go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for you.” So he went through the town proclaiming the great things Jesus had done for him.

And there you have it! Life’s purpose is simple: love God, love people, and share Jesus. We make it complicated and stressful and anything but peaceful by wanting to know each step before we get there, but our purpose can be fulfilled in any number of ways. The peace comes from knowing life’s purpose is found in leaving all of the details to God. With my focus on loving God with all that I am, loving others like I love myself, and telling people about Jesus and what he’s done in my life, I can let God be God and work out the circumstances. I can fulfill my purpose no matter where God places me on this earth and no matter what the circumstances of my daily life. Those are God’s to handle.

Life does involve decision-making, though. How can there be peace when I have to make decisions? What if I make a decision that isn’t what God wants for me? Well, God gives us a promise that leads to peace in making decisions in a well-known passage of Scripture. Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take (Proverbs 3:5-6). Seeking his will—loving God, loving people, and sharing Jesus. When I’m focusing on doing those three things, God promises to guide my decisions. And God is faithful to his promises.

I’ve fretted a lot in the past over decision-making. Even in asking God to guide my decisions, I’ve often been anxious about decisions after making them. One day I read a story in Acts about the remaining eleven apostles choosing someone to replace Judas. They nominated two men who had been with them the entire time they were traveling with Jesus: Joseph called Barsabbas and Matthias. Acts 1:24-26 tells what happened next: Then they all prayed, “O Lord, you know every heart. Show us which of these men you have chosen as an apostle to replace Judas in this ministry, for he has deserted us and gone where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and Matthias was selected to become an apostle with the other eleven.

What profoundly impacted me in reading this story is how matter-of-fact the apostles were in making their decision. They prayed for God to show them which man he had already chosen. Then they voted and selected Matthias. There was no anxiety or second-guessing. By faith they knew their decision was the right one because they asked God to guide them, and . . . their lives were all about fulfilling God’s purpose. Their example of God-guided decision-making changed completely the way I make decisions in my own life. I’ve prayed before for God’s guidance, but now I’m trusting that he gives it! That change has freed me from second-guessing myself and being anxious over decisions already made.

When my friend expressed her wish that day over coffee, I couldn’t help but share with her what God had revealed to me about my life’s purpose: love God, love people, share Jesus, and let God be God.