What’s the purpose?
We often ask this question after encountering difficult times, while wondering if there is a lesson to learn, or some other reason for the suffering. All too often, we miss the purpose in both the positive and negative things which come our way.
When Jesus heard that his friend Lazarus was sick, He said that it would not end in death, but instead, gave the purpose for the situation.
When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” – John 11:4
However, by the time Jesus came to their house, Lazarus was already dead and buried. Even though Jesus wept, He knew the real purpose was to bring glory and not even death would stand in the way of God’s purposes. Jesus stood at the entrance to the tomb and commanded life into what was dead.
Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” 44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.” – John 11:43,44.
If you’ve ever held onto a promise from God, which now seems dead or impossible, remember that He is the God of the impossible. Nothing stands in the way of His purposes, even if He has to breathe life into what was once dead.
Sometimes the purposes of God in our life can be missed as we get distracted. Jesus told a parable which has become very familiar to us, which may help illustrate this point.
Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” – Matthew 13:31,32
It is wonderful to see the increase in size from the tiny mustard seed to the huge tree and get excited about what God could do with the small seeds in our life. Jesus is speaking about the small steps we take on earth which lead to the vastness of the kingdom of heaven. It’s easy to be distracted by the contrast between the seed and what it becomes. Some people see the growth and miss the purpose for the tree which Jesus gives at the end of verse 32, ‘so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches’.
The growth is a consequence of faithfulness, the purpose for the tree is appreciated by the small birds which we often overlook. They find their home within it’s branches.
So today, I want to encourage you to ask the question, what’s the purpose for my life? Be absolutely sure that God has a purpose for you and nothing can prevent it from being fulfilled. Spend some time discovering, or rediscovering, the purpose God has for you. It may be that you have become distracted along the way, or even feel that what you held onto for many years has now died.
God’s purposes for our lives are born out of His great love for us. Nothing can stand in the way of that incredible love and nothing can distract or prevent Him breathing life into His perfect purposes for our life today.
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:38,39