The age-old question as old as time itself as soon as man had a voice to speak
or letters to write or tone to talk or speech to be made it was to form a question a question that
threatens to fulfill us and validate us and encourage us and identify us the question
deep down in the hearts of every human being living is why am I here what is my purpose
and most of us don't know our own purpose on earth
the average human being does not know why they are on planet earth they wake up every morning
going to a job they hate working with people they don't like getting paid less than their worth
and dying too young from frustration because they don't know why they exist
and I discovered that the greatest tragedy in life is not death
there's something worse than death
the greatest tragedy in life is life without a purpose
nothing is worse than being alive and not knowing why
this is a tragedy to live for 80 years and still didn't know why you were here that's a tragedy
without a purpose life has no meaning it has no sense of destiny no sense of precision
why am I here and this is the frustration of all humans
how can I say I'm successful if I don't know why I'm here I can say I'm busy but I can't say I'm
successful because I'm only successful when I'm doing the thing I was created to do why am I here
the problem is most of the time we ask one another the question and you're it's like
a blind man asking another blind man which way should I go because we can't answer your question
because we're trying to answer our own question and the answer that is true for me might not be
true for you because my purpose might not be your purpose so in order to get the answer we have
to go back to the manufacturer because he is the only one who knows me because I don't even know me
Dr Miles Monroe who wrote several great books on destiny and purpose
he writes this it's a statement I've pondered for years the greatest tragedy in life is not death
it is life without purpose it's not knowing why you're here it's it's not it's life without
meaning it's not understanding your destiny it's not understanding why God made you the great quest
of life is to discover your purpose and fulfill it King David writes in Psalms 139 and verse 13
God you made all the delicate and inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb
thank you for making me so wonderfully complexed your your workmanship is marvelous and how well
I know it you watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion as I was woven together in
the dark of of the womb you saw me before I was born mentions the foreknowledge of God
you saw me before I was born every day of my life was recorded in your book every moment was laid
out before a single day had passed that's amazing before you were ever born God pondered plans
he had for you before there was even a single day to your existence and he established your purpose
before you were ever created in your mother's womb they were actually recorded or written in his book
that of course should give confidence to everybody that God has purpose for me that
ought to give you some hope there he has plans for me I'm not an accident I'm here for a reason
God has plans for me Jeremiah 29 verse 11 the new living translation reads
God says for I know the plans I know them I know the plans plural so he must have some plans plural
ones I know the plans I have for you says the Lord they are plans for good and not for disaster
to give you a future and to give you a hope so God has great plans for you he promises that his plans
for your destiny are only good ones no disasters are planned for you by God he
hasn't written down on this occasion when they're 35 40 years old I'm going to get them none of that
no his plans are only good and they're only filled with grace and hope Jeremiah 29:11 it says for I
know the plans that I have for you declares the Lord plans to prosper you and not to harm you
plans to give you a hope and a future notice who the plans come from and who they belong to
you see the bible says God holds his plans for you and it's a plan to prosper you it's hopeful
it's made just for you you see God has designed a purpose and then he made you to fit it and to
fulfill it in Jeremiah 29:11 God says I know the plans I have for you already plans to what prosper
you and not to harm you plans to give you a hope and a future I know your plans already
God already finished you before he started you the bible says God saw you in your mother's womb
no human being on earth is a mistake not one of us is a mistake we were sent here specifically
to do something valuable
see Miles Monroe said it this way the greatest tragedy is not death but life without purpose
it's not death it's life without purpose
it's getting to the end and going what what was this all about what's my purpose why why am I here
absolutely everything has a purpose everything in fact everything that God ever created he created
on purpose for a purpose in fact everything that God created he created first with purpose before
it even came into being he had a purpose for creating light before he said let there be light
he had a purpose for you before you were even ever created everything in life begins and ends
with purpose that's why purpose is so important because everything has a purpose including you
Colossians 1:16 in the message it says this everything got it start in him and finds its
purpose in him he didn't create you by accident you're not some you're not some accident that
just happened to come along because your mother and father are because two people came together
you are here by divine appointment by God called on purpose for a purpose that's what it says
and there's only one me and God said I want you to live in this moment you are unique and you
have a unique purpose before he created you he had the end game in mind he gave you a purpose
your birthday's special because that's the day God said you're going to come into this world
on purpose for a purpose before the foundations of the world for anything was even uttered
into existence he already knew you and called you by name and knew what your purposes would be
believe that you have a purpose do you realize this is the number one question really deep
down in all of our hearts what's my purpose does God even have a purpose for me please understand
God is a purposeful God he is not a purpose-less God everything he created has a purpose
God didn't create anything without a purpose Ecclesiastes 3:1 says to everything there is
a season a time for every purpose under heaven when you look at everything that God created
you can see God created trees with a purpose animals with a purpose people with a purpose
Romans 8:28 says and we know that all things work together for good
to those who love God to those who are the called according to his purpose God has a purpose for
your life and even when things go wrong he is working everything for our good listen to me
the designer had a specific purpose in mind for you when he designed you people ask this question
why am I here I really think we have two choices two world views one is we either believe that God
we are God's highest and most complex creation or were some random cosmic accident
I like the first one better it gives me a sense of worth value significance purpose why because it's
based on the creator almighty God who not only created me but has a purpose and a plan and a
mission for my life and your life I think this the starting point has to be God if he's our creator
but God knows why I am the way I am and he knows where the bolts goes and he knows where the screws
should be and he knows where to put the valves and he knows how to handle me because he knows me he
knows what I can do he knows what I can build he knows what I can handle he knows what I can have
he knows whether I'm supposed to be here or there or with this one or that one or connected here or
there and if I don't go back to the manufacturer then I'm just playing with screwdrivers
seeing what works only to spend hours building something that is dysfunctional
and frustrated because it didn't work the reason we go back to God is because he is the master
and he put everything in the box we needed to be successful at what we were created to do so I
don't I don't have to wish for stuff that he put in your box because I'm not supposed to be you
I'm supposed to be me I don't have to long after things that he has given to you
because he gave them to you so you could be who you were supposed to be he gave me everything in
the box I needed to do everything I was created to do he designed you for the life he wants you
to live and if your life is unbearable it might be because you're leading someone else's life
if you if your life is too much and too heavy and too fast and too painful maybe you're living
somebody else's life because you will find that you are perfectly designed to be you
and when you surrender to him he will show you how to best be you God has a unique purpose
for each and every one of us so don't follow in the footsteps of somebody else's purpose
let me say it again don't follow in the footsteps of somebody else's purpose
see God has gifted you he's given you talents and abilities that he's given only to you and
when you find out what that gifting is that will help point you in the direction of your purpose
say it a different way in other words that God's not going to call you to something that he hasn't
gifted you for first Peter 4:10 says this God has given each of you a gift from his great variety
of spiritual gifts use them well to serve one another you and I have been given God-given gifts
passion personality and experiences and God uses all this to shape your mission in the work
he's called you to do don't let failure stop you don't let your own limitations stop you don't
let your own background or lack of education or lack of experience you have to start somewhere
and when I think about ministry in general you have to start somewhere you start now wherever you
are you start now in your gift and then that is what opens the door for you you just begin moving
in the direction one step at a time the bible says thy word is a lamp unto my feet a light to my path
it doesn't say thy word is the bright spotlight that I can see way down the road you just take the
next step you be faithful in what God has called you to do because you simply step out and begin
moving in the gift that God has called you to do listen God has a specific purpose for your life
find out what your gift is be faithful don't allow setbacks to thwart you or to hinder you
in any way just continue walking in the gifting that God's given you and you will find yourself
in the destiny God has for you one day very rarely do we wake up one morning God said here is the end
from the beginning I'm going to unveil the whole thing to you I'm let you know it all
normally he begins to work in our life this way that you take the first step and I'll show you
what the second one looks like and then we begin to go that way so it's more than just a journey
more than just a discovery it is a journey of discovery as we walk with the Lord that the moment
I began to take a step that God tells me where the next step should be he's ordering my steps in fact
you look at it and scripture says well you step out in the water then it'll part that you take
the first step Peter if you really want to come to me then you get out of the boat you take the
first step and when you take the first step then I will show you what the next step looks like
if you want to know the will of God for your life then love God with all your heart soul mind and
strength give everything you have to God and let him begin to order your steps as you begin
to take them I found that God is big enough in my life to get me to where he wants me to be