The Gift of God's Purpose

This Advent we are looking at some of the different gifts God has given us. Too often during this season we only think about the gift of Jesus and the forgiveness, grace and life he brings, and while that is a great gift to focus on, there are other gifts that God gives that we need to acknowledge and receive and one of those gifts is the gift of purpose. The good news for all of us today is that God did not just give us life and then leave us alone to figure life out by ourselves; God didn’t create us and then set us adrift in this world, God created us and then gave us a purpose. Each and every one of us has a purpose in life. That purpose may change as we find ourselves in different situations and relationships, but God does have a purpose for us. No matter who we are or what we are going through God has a plan for our lives and that purpose and plan is given to us a gift.


We know that purpose is a gift from God because in Jeremiah 29:11, God says, I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. So God does have a plan for our lives and ultimately that plan is for something good. God’s plan is to prosper us, to grow us. God has a plan to use us and give us a future filled with hope. God has a purpose for our lives and if we want live out that purpose then the first thing we need to do is accept it as a gift.

To help us think about how to receive this gift of purpose I want us to think about Mary and the purpose and plan God had for her life. God had a purpose for Mary’s life; it was to be the mother of Jesus. God’s plan for Mary was to use her faith, love and life to bring Jesus, the Messiah, into this world. Mary was the one who would give flesh and blood to God’s heart and soul and spirit. What an amazing purpose for a young Jewish girl. In fact, in Mary’s day most young Jewish girls dreamed of being the mother of the Messiah, it was the highest honor any young girl could imagine and yet while God’s purpose was wonderful; his plan to accomplish this purpose was going to be difficult because while Mary was engaged to Joseph they were not yet married and so if Mary were to conceive a child by the spirit of God before the wedding, people were going to talk. And then what about Joseph, would God let him in on this plan or was Mary going to be left alone trying to explain it all to him? While the purpose God had for her life was wonderful and honored, the plan God had to accomplish that purpose was not exactly what Mary was thinking it would be.

As we look to receive the gift of God’s purpose for our lives we have to be willing to accept God purpose and plan even if it might not be what we want it to be. God’s purpose is a gift which means we don’t get to choose it – we simply need to receive it. It was during my second year of college that I began to discover God’s purpose for my life. I began to understand that God wanted me to serve him in some kind of full time ministry. I was sure this was what God wanted for me and I was eager to accept this purpose but I wanted to accept it on my terms and according to my plan. I was clear with God that I would serve him in mission and ministry, I would accept this gift and do whatever God wanted me to do, except be a local pastor. I even remember standing in a classroom at MS and saying to a friend of mine, I will do anything for God except work in the local church. She kind of laughed and said, but what if that is what God wants for you? In my ignorance and arrogance, I said, I know that’s not what God wants for me. I didn’t know that, I was just putting my own agenda on God’s plans.

If we want to receive God’s purpose for our lives we have to be willing to accept it all. What if Mary had said, OK God, I will be the mother of the Messiah, but only after Joseph and I are married. Come back a few months after the wedding so that people won’t talk. My guess is that if Mary had put conditions and limitations on God, God would have moved on and found a more willing servant. Accepting God’s purpose for our lives means accepting God’s full plan as well and there may be times when that plan makes no sense to us, and there may be times when God’s plan appears to be everything we don’t want, if in those times we say no to God, we will pass up his gift of purpose. If we say yes to God, if we are willing enough to trust God and his plan for our lives we will not only find God’s purpose but we will in time experience the peace and joy and that sense of fulfillment that comes when we walk in God’s purpose.

When I finally acknowledged that God’s purpose for me was to serve him in full time ministry and also accepted the God’s plan of serving him in and through the local church, I not only found God’s peace, but joy as well. As much as I might struggle at times and even doubt myself at times, God reminds me in so many ways that this is his purpose and plan for my life and most of the time there is no where else that I would rather be. As hard as it must have been for Mary during this time of her life, I don’t think there was any place else she would rather have been. In fact, during her pregnancy she goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth and it is during that trip that she sings a song of praise to God that is filled with confidence and assurance, listen to what Mary says, Luke 1:47-55.

So Mary accepts the gift of God’s purpose and surrenders herself to God’s plan and when she does this she finds the blessing of God and the fullness of life even as she walks a difficult road. If we are willing to accept God’s purpose and surrender ourselves to God’s plan we will also find the blessing of God and the fullness of life and the gift of God’s peace even if the road we walk is difficult. God’s purpose is not always easy – Mary’s life was not smooth sailing and even after she said yes to God things didn’t get any easier. At first Joseph was going to dismiss her quietly, he was going to grant her a quick divorce and move on, but then an angel convinced him that his purpose was to be the father of Jesus so they moved forward together, but still things weren’t easy. They had to travel to Bethlehem right before Mary’s due date and she gave birth to Jesus while they were away and the only place available to them the night Jesus was born was a stable and the only place they had to lay Jesus after he was born was in a manger. Not exactly the way Mary dreamed it would be, but the picture we get of Mary through it all is one of quiet faith and trust. After Jesus is born, it says she simply pondered all these events in her heart. She didn’t question God, she accepted all that was talking place and found it all a sense of peace.

God has a purpose for our lives. God says he has a plan for us and we can receive it as a gift if we are open to God’s ways and don’t insist on our way, but still the big question we all face is how to know what that purpose and plan is? How do we figure out God’s plan for our lives? How do we actually open this gift of God’s purpose? Well, if we use Mary and Joseph as an example then we see that God shares his purpose with us by telling us. An angel came and talked to Mary and an angel spoke to Joseph in a dream. So God spoke to each of them in a slightly different way, but God still spoke to them. God may speak to us in a different way than he did to Mary and Joseph (at least an angel has never come and spoken to me) and God may speak to each of us in a slightly different way, but God still speaks if we are willing to listen. Do you remember the first gift we talked about? It was the gift of God’s word. If we will take the time to listen and read and open ourselves up to the spirit of God, God will speak to us and when God speaks part of what he shares with us the purpose he has for our lives.

So we have to accept the gift of God’s word, we have to listen to God before we can understand God’s purpose but we also have to accept the gift of worship, think again about Mary. In Luke 1:28 it says that the reason God chose Mary was because Mary had found favor with God. Mary was close to God, she honored God, she glorified God - she worshipped God. Because Mary surrendered herself to God in worship God was able to speak to her and share with her the purpose for her life. If we want to know God’s purpose for our lives then we need to make sure that we have surrendered ourselves to God in worship, and that doesn’t mean just attending a worship service for one hour on Sunday, the kind of worship God is looking for is complete surrender of heart, mind, soul and strength. It involves actively opening ourselves up to God and his word and gathering together with the expectation that God is going to speak to us and move in us in ways that will not only reveal to us his heart but his purpose for our lives as well.

We need to actively worship God because we can only receive the gift of God’s purpose when we are close enough to God to reach out and take it from his hand. I don’t think God is going to toss us this gift from afar, I think God wants to place it in our hands, more than that, I think God wants to place it in our hearts and that can only happen if we are walking with God, and if our hearts are open to Him in worship. God was able to reveal his purpose to Mary because Mary worshipped Him; she had found favor with God. It was because Mary and Joseph walked with God that God was able to reveal to them the purpose for their lives and that is how it will happen with us, we need to spend time in worship so God can reveal to us his desire and his plan for our lives.

So for us to discover our purpose we have to first be willing to receive the gift of God’s word, and this gift of worship, but there is something else that we need to keep in mind if we want to receive the gift of God’s purpose and that is that God’s purpose will always involve an element of sacrifice and service. Mary had to sacrifice her reputation and Joseph his good name in order to accept God’s plan for their lives, and that was just the beginning. After Jesus was born Mary and Joseph had to flee to Egypt to protect their son, and then later in her life Mary had to watch her son struggle and then die. Mary was one of the few people at the foot of the cross when Jesus died, so while accepting God’s purpose blessed Mary and filled her with joy and peace, it was not an easy life and it called her to a life of service and sacrifice.

It wasn’t just Mary and Joseph who faced that kind of life, the plan God had for Jesus also involved sacrifice and service. Jesus served people throughout his life and clearly the cross was his ultimate sacrifice for others. Now if the purpose of Jesus’ life involved sacrifice and service then as followers of Jesus it only makes sense that part of God’s purpose for our lives will involve sacrifice and service. Whether it is a full time vocation or a volunteer ministry, the purpose God has for us will always involve lifting up those in need and loving those around us. Jesus said, if anyone wants to come after me, they must take up a cross and follow me so part of the purpose for our lives as followers of Jesus means taking up a cross, it means being willing to live for others and serve those around us.

In a world of great uncertainty, there is one thing we can be sure of, God has a plan for our lives, I know the plans I have for you, God says and God wants to give us those plans as a gift. As we reach out to accept this gift of God we need to remember that we also need to listen to God’s word and surrender ourselves to God in worship. In the busyness of this season, let’s not crowd out these gifts of God, let us receive them and open them and use them so that we can experience all the blessing and fullness and power of life.