“He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord”
Have you ever asked yourself why God created you? Have you ever felt that for some reason you may have been born for a purpose? We all have an earthly assignment to complete.
As recorded in the gospel of Luke 1:16-17, John the Baptist was commissioned to bring the Israelites back to God, calling them into repentance, and preparing them for God. He came in the spirit and power of Elijah. There is nobody on this earth who exists to occupy space. We are not too young or too old to fulfill our purpose. Every living person gets older by each passing day. We must use the opportunities presented to us now, to ask God why he created us, and what our purpose for existence is.
Luke 2:36-38 “There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.”
Anna, the Prophetess had lost her husband thereby endured pain. That did not stop her from fulfilling her purpose. She was one of those who prayed at the temple until the savior of the world showed up. She lost her husband, but didn’t lose her relationship with God. She did not give up on God and blame God for killing her husband. Instead, she used her life to bring glory to God. She used her time for prayer and fasting, always at the altar of the Lord. She refused to be a waste.
Jeremiah 1:4- 10 “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
Jeremiah was called as a prophet from a young age. He actually made an attempt to run away from that purpose, but God rebuked him. He was called to tear down, uproot, destroy, and build nations and kingdoms. He went through a lot all his life as a prophet, but he did not relent to bring the word of God to the people, even at the expense of his life. Let’s look at two examples:
Jeremiah 20:1-3 “ When the priest Pashhur son of Immer, the official in charge of the temple of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the LORD’s temple. The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The LORD’s name for you is not Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side.”
Jeremiah 26: 8-9 “But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the LORD had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized him and said, “You must die! Why do you prophesy in the LORD’s name that this house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted?” And all the people crowded around Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.”
In the journey of fulfilling your purpose, you may go through different challenges, but you will have to remain focused, or you’ll loose it.
Nehemiah was a cup bearer to the king, but he did not forget his purpose. He got news from his brother. Nehemiah 1: 3 “They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” This troubled him and he decided to take action. He got permission and favor from his boss to travel to Jerusalem. Upon arrival, he gathered men to work with him and as they started the work, enemies gathered but that did not stop him.
Nehemiah 4:15-23 “When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our own work. From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me. Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!” So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. At that time I also said to the people, “Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and as workers by day.” Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water.”
In other cases, you may need someone to push you to fulfill your purpose, like in the case of queen Esther. Mordecai was on her case, and pressured her into fulfilling her purpose. Esther 4:14 “ For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
The devil likes a believer who makes no spiritual headache in his kingdom. But that is not who we are, and not what we are called to be in Christ. According to 1 John 3:8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” Jesus came to destroy the works of the enemy and he was successful. If we are his followers, what is our own purpose?
Be reminded that Jesus has already won the battle. So, while walking your purpose, opposition will arise, but you have to keep pushing, because your boss-Jesus, gave you the victory.
Prayer points
1. Ask God for forgiveness and mercy in areas where we may have failed him. God may have been calling you from your youth like Jeremiah, but you declined saying you are too young. God may have called you, but you said, I have to get married first, get a job first, all these “first” things, but we forsake our first love.
2. In some cases of our purpose, it may be a matter of lack of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.
Psalm 111:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!”
3. Ask if you’re walking in assumptions? Elijah the great man of God did. God had to ask him a question.
1 Kings 19:13 “When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
4. Have you ever considered this general purpose for every believer in Christ? How much love have you given out? How many souls have you won? Why not ask God to help you.
Mark 12:30-31 “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Mathew 28:1-20 “19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
5. Not conforming to the worldly patterns, and often transforming to the Godly way, is also another general purpose. What can you say about yourself if God were talking with you now? Ask him for help and grace to be doers of his word.
Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
6. Pray against any barrier standing between you and the purpose of God.
Psalm 138:8 “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.”
7. Ask God to open your understanding and reveal to you what his purpose for your life is. There is a good work he wants you to achieve.
Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
8. Whatever the purpose of God is for us, was already given to us in Christ Jesus. Pray that your walk in and with Christ will yield its right fruits.
Ephesians 1:11 “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.”
9. Pray that every word of God sent to birth the purpose of God for your life must be fulfilled completely.
Isaiah 55:11 “So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
10. Acts 13:36 and Acts 20:24 tells us of two men; David and Apostle Paul who fulfilled their purpose. Ask God for the grace that helped these men to help you as well.
Acts 13: 36 “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption”
Acts 20:24 “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”
11. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and open your eyes to see and grasp your purpose on earth.
John 16:13 “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”
12. Pray that your purpose will not end like these two sons of Eli who cared less even though they knew the truth. They were raised in church with a father who was a priest, but died in abomination. Pray that you will never mortgage your spiritual life for sin and wickedness.
1 Samuel 2:34- 36 “And what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign to you—they will both die on the same day. I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his priestly house, and they will minister before my anointed one always. Then everyone left in your family line will come and bow down before him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread and plead, “Appoint me to some priestly office so I can have food to eat.”