Do I Have a Purpose?

Is God calling you to be a missionary?” Our pastor asked the question while he introduced the visiting missionaries from Sierra Leone. I sat in the hard pew and watched the couple walk on stage to share what God was doing in their mission work. I tuned out and blankly watched the slideshow of places and people that meant nothing to me. I was pretty sure God was not calling me to be a missionary or a pastor. Those thoughts had never entered my mind. Where did that leave me? And, if you’re like me, where does that leave you? It has taken me forty years to learn what I wish I knew as a teenager: God has a purpose for every life He has created. As a teen, I thought God only had a purpose for people He called to do something big. Like live in a foreign land and speak in a foreign language to tell others about Jesus. The rest of us were relegated to attend church, be good, get a job, and live an ordinary life. I was mistaken. It has taken heartache, wrong choices, and a renewed relationship with God for me to realize He has a divine purpose for each of us in His kingdom. He has equipped everyone with a unique combination of talents, strengths, and desires. No one is insignificant in God’s eyes. We don’t have to be foreign missionaries to spread the good news about Jesus and His death and resurrection, or to share God’s love with the world. What’s in your future? What career(s) will you have? Electrician? Doctor? Store clerk? Designer? Farmer? Scientist? Parent? Where will you live? Who will you be in relationship with? The possibilities for your life’s influence are endless because our amazing God is limitless. You are a useful, worthwhile, one-of-a-kind kingdom citizen. God has a purpose for your life tailored specifically for you. As you seek Him and follow Him, He will lead you along the paths He desires for your life. • Erin Nestico • What are some of the talents, strengths, and desires God has given you? How might He be inviting you to contribute to His kingdom today? What about in the future? • As you continue to discover what God has put in you, who are trusted Christians in your life who can pray with you and help you notice what God is doing in and through you? For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

Read Verses:

2 Timothy 1:8-2 Timothy 1:12; Matthew 5:13-Matthew 5:16; Ephesians 2:8-Ephesians 2:10