The glass rattled as his officer slammed the door behind them for a private meeting. A confrontation had been a long time coming. Clearly annoyed, the officer drew a deep breath and sat softly in his chair. "Where do you see yourself in five years?", he calmly inquired."Stand up for a sec and I'll show you." challenged the subordinate. He hopped over the edge of the desk, plopped down in the chair, propped his feet up, and folded his hands behind his head. "I'll have your job and be in charge by then."The officer opened his top left drawer and pulled out his Bible. "I thought so. Let me read you a verse that changed my life years ago when my dad and I didn't see eye to eye. "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." (Proverbs 19: 21). Last week we sought to answer the question of " Who am I?". We found we can attain real, lasting meaning, significance, and identity from understanding our position with Christ, which is manifested in our personal relationship with Him. The second part of seeking significance is understanding God's purpose for our lives. We must answer the question of "Why do I exist?".A goal is something we plan to achieve in a certain short period of time. Though they are great motivators for action, the frustration with goals is that once you complete one you immediately create a new one to achieve. We will find that we can reconstruct our goals to focus on achieving God's purpose for our lives. A purpose could be defined as "what God wants us to do long term". It could be our life theory or creedo.God's life design contains two purposes for us. One is His earthly purpose in which He wants us to glorify Him in all of our tasks. Secondly, His eternal purpose is for us to enjoy His company forever. We can kickstart this union by developing desire to know Him by studying the scriptures and engaging in prayer daily.Second Timothy 1: 9 says God is the one "who has saved us and called us to a holy life - not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.".So universally, His eternal prupose for all men is to save us, and His earthly purpose is for us to glorify God by leading a holy life characterized by faith, love, obedience, and service.We can also realize a personal purpose for our lives. This would be a specific mission statement that we develop to remind us of why we exist and to give meaning and perpective to life. Therefore, we should all attempt to construct a Written Life Purpose Statement. This will be a personal, powerful, and time specific statement to help focus on God's purpose for us. First, pray for God to reveal Himself to you. Be patient, listen for God's response, and you can expect results in time. Meanwhile, search the scriptures for verses that possibly represent your current life theory. You might paraphrase it to better apply it personally. Write this mission statement on an index card and tape it in a conspicuous place you will see everyday: your bathromm mirror, dresser, locker, etc. You might find a fitting example among these or discover your own:Josh 24: 14,15; Prov 3: 5,6; Matt 6: 33,34; 22: 37-40; 28: 19,20; John 4: 34; 15: 1-9; 17: 4; Acts 20: 24; I Cor 10: 31-33; Eph 2: 10; Phil 3: 10; Prov 30: 7-9; Micah 6: 8; Ecc 12: 13; Phil 1: 9-11; 3: 12-14; 4: 4-7: Col 1: 9-12; 3: 12-14; 3: 17.
Pat Morley proposes, "If we can examine each goal we set in clear view of why we want to achieve it, then we can set goals which build toward our understanding of God's purpose for our lives, rather than for our own motives.". To God be the glory.Next week: The Secret of Job Contentment.
