Your Purpose

Your Purpose

10/26/16

Having your purpose defined is a topic that we commonly hear from many people, especially from the younger generations today.  I find this topic in its question form quite interesting because for many of the individuals who ask this single question provide varying degrees of answers, some of which prove no direction has been ascertained.  I also find it interesting that the majority of the ones who ask this question are not looking for a relationship with God but a worldly one even though many have been raised in church or have backgrounds rooted in a church setting.  Our purpose in life has already been defined and this definition comes from the beginning of a pure and holy source, the Creator of all life.  On the other hand, it is a terrible thought that so many of us have missed this truth for so long, if we had known it sooner maybe our world would be in a different position than it is today.  The world provides a steady stream of false pretenses which influence our choices in life and if we allow these conditions to continue in our lives our true purpose in life may be shielded from our recognition.

All of us have the burning question within us concerning about what direction we want to go in after we reach the age of adulthood.  There is nothing wrong with any of us having this type of question running around in our hearts for it is a normal process that all of us encounter at some time in our younger years.  It is ok to dream and to pursue those dreams; that is one of the mighty gifts that God has given us to flow through and to develop as time travels along.  But it is when this desire for our direction invades our lives and causes us to question our purpose in life that makes the difference, a difference of such magnitude that it can eternally affect our presence.

Many of you know that I am in the medical field and my ambitions to join the medical field have been within me since I was a young lad and have been working in this field ever since my junior in high school.  I have had many opportunities around the hospital over these decades and I have enjoyed each department that I have been associated with as well.  Even though my attitude was not always correct, I must admit that I learned so much about humanity through these experiences that it is a continual treasure trove of information and knowledge that is hard to corral sometimes, but I will never trade these experiences for anything for I am still learning more and more each day that I enter into my work environment.

When I was in high school I sat in front of the student counselor one day and was asked the question: What do you want to do when you grow up?  Most of us in high school do not even have a clue about the direction that we want to take but unlike many others around me I did have a direction and I had aspirations to achieve that goal as well.  I had no other desire but the medical field, it did not matter what part at first for all I knew was that I wanted to be in the hospital environment.  This sounds like a far-fetched dream I know but because I had the opportunity to repeatedly gaze at my mother’s nursing books I had a slight knowledge of what it would be like to be in this general area of work.  At that moment I had no idea that this was going to be more than a direction for my life but it would fulfill my purpose in life, but not in the way that most would expect including myself.  I truly believed that this was going to be my purpose in life, the medical field, and my dreams were going to be endless.

When I was going through all the motions of becoming a part of the medical field I had no idea of how the pieces were fitting into place, many of them without even being placed into their spots without any activity on my part.  The medical field details came easy for me and I found myself learning so much about my future even before I actually began my career.  As high school rolled along I continued to take courses that would prepare me for my choice of careers down the road.  During this time period many life circumstances and choices were thrown my way but while I did not recognize them then, I cannot help but see the hand of God upon my life now as I reflect on those times.  I cannot deny the fact that God has allowed me to have a wonderful career in the medical field and I would not trade any of my experiences for anything.  To be honest, I must contend that I thought that my career and purpose in life for God would have been played completely out in the medical field and it was through this path that I had in store (and in mind) for my children.  It is imperative that I admit that while not all of my children chose the medical field for their careers I am extremely proud of their work ethic and spiritual listening to God that has allowed them to be just as successful as God has proven to be in my life. 

Over the years, I had always wondered if my children would follow me in the path that I have chosen.  I guess that thought is always in the back of our minds but this thought and question did not really hit me until a few years ago when one of my daughters came to me and stated that she had finally made up her mind to which direction she wanted to go in.  She had picked the medical field and to eventually become a nurse.  This proclamation could not have made this daddy any prouder and I was even more distinctive in my celebration of this coming to pass.  As time went along, my daughter began advancing in her choice as a nurse and I am proud to say that she will graduate from nursing school this Spring and be eligible to take her nursing boards.  She has further stated that after a few years into her position she wishes to further her education and become a nurse practitioner in the Oncology portion of the medical profession with a specialty in pediatrics.  How could a dad be more proud of a child, eh?

Over the past few years, I have had the privilege of watching my two youngest daughters come into their own.  I can honestly state that it has been an interesting journey raising and overlooking four girls but it is one that I would not change for any amount of money or conditions.  It was last year that both of these younger ones of mine made up their minds to the direction that they wanted to make their marks in society and I am proud to say that both went into the medical profession.  My third wants to be in the pharmacy portion so she is starting out as a pharmacy tech and has only two more modules plus her externship and registry test until that process is completed.  She is completing this task while pregnant and has made her mom and I are very proud for she has plugged through it with flying colors.  It is a choice decision for her life and will provide for her a great opportunity for her future when she completes school.

Also, last year my youngest stated that she too wanted to enter into the medical field and did so in her junior year as I did.  The local high school is in good standing with the vocational school down the road and when a student wishes to attend that school in addition to high school they are given that opportunity.  My youngest wants the nursing field as well and she had the drive to take the first step in that direction by completing the CNA program, then quickly passed her state boards and is now amazingly working full time while she is completing her senior year in high school.  She too has successfully won the medical field’s heart and shall go very far with her choices for job opportunities.

While my oldest did not choose to enter into the medical field her heart lies in the cosmetology aspect of the humanities.  I am so proud of her because it was in her junior year of the same local high school that she began and then completed in her senior year her vocation as a Cosmetologist.  She has had a successful business for the past 8 years or so and now has moved to another state to continue her business opportunities and raise my grandchildren.  I shall never be less proud of her even though she did not follow in my footsteps in the medical field per say, but that does not mean that I am less proud of her accomplishments and completing her heart’s desires for a career.  I am extremely proud of all four of my daughters and I shall NEVER be ashamed of them in any way, shape, or form.  They are my life and my future and with God’s guidance be a shining light to a darkened world.

I have no clue or idea about what God has in store for my life or in my daughters’ lives but I do know that we have provided the Word of God over their lives and have placed their lives in His hands for guidance.  I would never compare this figure to my girls nor would I ever hold this figure over their heads as any time of compromise or hateful acknowledgement but a worldly person would come to the conclusion that if three of my four daughters chose the field that I am in to be their own career fields, they would say that I had a good following.  But for those who raise up their children for God understand that it is not the world’s thoughts and likeness that we want our children to be modeled after.  Yes, if I want to place it into numbers I could boast that ¾ of my daughters chose similar paths as I but what would I gain if I made this assumption?  What if the one daughter who did not go into the medical field lost sight of God and He lost her for eternity?  What would I be considered then?

As God changed my heart and directed me to His ministry for my life He allowed me to stay in the profession that I was in and did not change my course.  As you are reading this article and message from God you know that it is being written in English from a computer by me, a person who for most of his life could not stand to write or type for any reason.  Yet, God chose this boy to communicate His heart to His people in such a way that I could have never imagined.  I do not care what people think or believe about my writings, what I do care about is that they hear the message that God wants them to hear and to think about.  God is an active God and a Creator who is alive and not dead.  He wants us to advance His Kingdom in every way possible and that advancement should be the #1 priority in our lives as well. 

It is this truth that I wish for my daughters as well.  It does not matter if they are in the medical field, a CPA, a housewife, a director of theater operations, a pastor’s wife, or an author it is my desire that they listen to God and to His voice so much that they understand how important it is to advance God’s Kingdom to the dying world.  It does not matter if my daughters are working in the medical field all that matters is that they portray a godly life and project to those around them that God is alive and that He loves them no matter what they have done.  While I am so proud of my daughters in their physical careers I am far prouder that they want to tell people about God through gentle and kind ways.

In no way is God saying that humans are dumb and have not been taught effectively.  However, it is obvious that we have not received the entire and true message of God through this teaching and since we have not received such a testimony of the truth we cannot in turn effectively preach the Gospel to a dying world.  Therefore, God is raising up men and women who have the desire to listen to, understand the, and proclaim the truth in every way possible.  While God has not told me to leave my profession He continues to allow me to explore His Word through the information He shares with me.  

I do not know what God has for me to do in the future, but I intend on working in my medical specialty for as long as God desires me in this position.  I do know that with the directions that He has ordained me to have back when I was younger are currently providing for the directives that God wants us to hear today and for that future status of our eternal lives.  Over the years, God has changed my heart in countless ways that have transformed me into a witness for His Kingdom.  Some of these changes have been subtle and almost unnoticeable but others have been gigantic in which even people who do not know me are able to see these instances.  These observations do not have to occur in my working position but may occur in the public, in church or at the dinner table whatever the setting God has done a fabulous work in my life and He can do the exact same and even more in yours.  The key in knowing your purpose is to completely submit your heart to God and allow Him to rule and reign over your life, this is an old and ancient pattern of God and it still is in place if one allows it.

I am sure that you are familiar with the person in the Bible named Moses.  If one reads and studies the Book of Exodus it will become clear of who this person was.  It was clear that Moses had made a mess of his life and his surroundings even though he had been divinely rescued and placed in a house of great power.  He was tending sheep in the middle of nowhere when God called him to complete a great task for His people.  Moses could not walk and chew bubble gum at the same time yet God chose him to be a source of light for the children of God.  I guarantee that David had no clue that his life would turn out to be a king of a nation and to be recognized as a man after God’s own heart.

Jesus picked fishermen and tax collectors to be His personal disciples and founders of the His Church.  All of these men had previous convictions about life and duties that they laid claimed as their own before God changed their lives for His Kingdom, and it is through this process that God changed my life and eventually – in His time - revealed His true plan for my life.  What I find fascinating is that when you read all of the stories about the lives of these people in the world is that they had no idea that God was going to change their lives in the ways that He did and yet every step that those men and women in the Bible took was a process that helped them advance God’s Kingdom in the future.

It is this process that is most valuable to our lives and if we do not understand our foundational origins and who made us as we are, it is easy for our enemy to steal this foundation from under us without us even knowing that it has been changed.  We must keep in direct understanding that our lives have already been defined from the moment of our creation and that definition has an eternal purpose, just not to be an object that takes up space either.  If we must ask ourselves the question of what our purpose is, then we have not understood God’s Word well enough to even begin to fulfill our purpose.  Once again God directs us to the book of Genesis and specifically to Genesis 2:7.  “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul.”  Through this verse alone it is evident that Adam and Eve knew exactly what their purpose was in life but yet it was their choice to choose their own direction and to accept a lie instead. While I am confident that they turned their lives back over to God, the damage had been eternally done and thus could not be undone.  How important is your purpose you ask?

It is through this verse that your purpose for life has already been defined.  When one takes the knowledge of the law of dominion that God gave us and places it into this category along with the knowledge that we have of Satan and his lost place through the birth of his lies, it all makes senses and it fits right into place with why our enemy hates us so much and why God loves us so much.  It is vital that we understand that God is the author of our existence which means that He shall always have a Kingdom purpose for your life.  It may seem trivial to you at first and it might not even be completely revealed to you at first either, but I can guarantee that Adam and Eve did not fully comprehend what their lives would entail and what would follow either.

It is the job of our enemy to distract us from our purpose.  God designed us to be directive and to have an initiative each day of our lives.  This means that we are to be caretakers of our dominion and to keep it protected from all evil.  If we completed this task while keeping in line with God’s Word we would not have any major issues in our personal world or in the world itself.  When we place God first, we cannot help but do things according to His Word which automatically pushes back the enemy.  I know that when we study each of the aforementioned examples in the Bible that it is plain to see this truth being portrayed.  This process alone defines your purpose and it provides the foundation of why you were created, it is to advance God and push back all worldly obstacles that are presented.

Church, your purpose is the same as an individual’s and since they are one in the same the question of fulfillment of your purpose may be asked.  Many will say they have done a good job of fulfilling this purpose, but are they telling the truth?  God has shown me over 400 messages to write over the last four years but I know that there are countless more out there that I have not completed as of yet.  My purpose is being fulfilled but the job God has for me is far from over, so I have not completed anything there is still much work to be done.  I am not satisfied with what God has shown me to write for there are still billions of people that have not been reached for God. 

I love my professional work and I love my writing even more but I recognize that many things still have to be done on the spiritual level, especially for what is about to occur in the country.  God loves each and one of us more than we can ever imagine and it is the job of our enemy to hide this truth from us.  There is a reason that you are created in the manner in which you are and it is through this specific creative status that will allow you to know your purpose and then complete your purpose in life.  God’s timing is everything and it is important that we never forget this aspect of our lives.  Some receive their directions from God when they are young and others like myself well into their adult years.  God wants us to be patient and to listen to Him and to understand exactly where He has placed us.  Your purpose is divinely ordained and will be presented to the dying world in God’s placement.  Stay the course and keep our spiritual ears in tune with His Word.

DLB