Your Purpose Is Connected to God’s Purpose

No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.
–2 Timothy 2:4

God not only made you, but He has set you apart for a great, eternal purpose. What is that purpose?

Your purpose is connected to God’s purpose. Many Christians wonder, “What is my purpose in life? Why am I here? Why do I exist?” If you will grasp one simple truth, it will cut through the fog of a lot of your questions about your own life. Here is the simple truth: you are created by God, saved by God, selected by God, and gifted by God to fulfill His agenda, not yours.

How do you know what God’s will is? Let’s look at some scriptural clues to discovering God’s will. In 1 Timothy 2:3-4, Paul said, “God our Savior . . . desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” God’s will is for everyone to come to know Jesus Christ as Savior. Now, that doesn’t mean everybody is going to be saved, but that is certainly God’s will. God is not trying to save as few people as possible; He wants to save as many people as possible.

Colossians 1:13-14 says God wants to rescue people “from the domain of darkness” and transfer them “to the kingdom of His beloved Son.” God is on a search-and-rescue mission. That is His purpose. He is rescuing as many people as possible from the kingdom of darkness to deliver them into the presence of His Son, and He has asked you and me to join Him in that rescue ministry. Does God need our assistance? No, God doesn’t need anything. He is self-sufficient, but in His sovereign plan He has chosen to allow us to have the incomparable privilege of partnering with Him in His kingdom mission. And, by the way, it has always been that way. God has always chosen mercifully to allow us to be partners with Him in His work.

Throughout the New Testament, Christians are described as soldiers. For example, 2 Timothy 2:4 says, “No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” How many people do you know in the military who wake up in the morning and say, “Gee, I wonder what I ought to do today?” Nobody would survive in the military with that kind of attitude. The people in the military have one job, and that is to obey their commanding officer. In Paul’s day, a Roman soldier’s one goal was to fulfill the emperor’s agenda to expand the Roman Empire. It is the same way with you and me. We have been enlisted by God to expand His empire. God didn’t leave us here in this world to accumulate money; He didn’t leave us here to have a successful career; He didn’t even leave us here to have a happy family life. God left us here to expand His kingdom.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Finding the One Thing in Your Life” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2019.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.