If there’s anything we all want in life, it is to live out our life’s purpose. Can I get an amen, church? We want to know how we got here, why we’re here, and what we’re supposed to do while we’re here. This leads us onto a lifelong search for this thing we call purpose. What I love about this is that right from the moment we are able to wonder what to do with the time we have on Earth, we are exposed to a mystery of Heaven that is intended to cause a curiosity in us that should result in us finding out what this purpose thing is all about. Proverbs 25:2 says that it is to the glory of God to conceal a matter and it’s to the glory of kings (that’s us!) to search for out. So if our purpose is concealed… our response is to start seeking. I believe that this is why we are instructed to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness first (Matthew 6:33), before we do anything else.
I used to get frustrated when I would be talking to my Christian friends and I would express my frustrations only to hear, “seek the Kingdom”. I would get annoyed because I lacked understanding, but now, when I hear that phrase I’m reminded that I need to get back to purpose. Our purpose in life is concealed in the Kingdom of God. What we’re handcrafted by God to do on the Earth is buried as the Kingdom’s treasure, and our first task is to go and find it. Trying new things, investing in our interests, taking note of the things we have naturally picked up on or gravitated towards are the arrows that point us towards God’s why for us; and with that why, God gets the glory and our glory comes from finding that which God has hidden. When I think about looking for something of such great value I can’t help but think about Abu from Aladdin. He had one job: to help Aladdin find the lamp. But he got distracted by what he found on the way to the lamp, and it put him and Aladdin in danger.
At some point in the pursuit of purpose, many times we can get distracted. We get fixated on a jewel until we see where stopping early along the journey leaves us. Have you ever stumbled upon something that felt like your purpose? It worked for you for a while and then suddenly you became burnt out? It began to feel like something was missing and you couldn’t keep up anymore? This is what happens when we stop at jewels and forget about the lamp. We become content with an essence of the purpose and don’t pursue the purpose itself, and find ourselves tired. But that’s because we put our all into something that looked like our purpose when it was really our purpose in part. When this happens we find ourselves in a place where we have to seek once again.
1 Chronicles 16:11 implores us to seek the Lord, His strength (not ours), and His face continually. When we get off track we can seek God’s strength as we get back to seeking the Kingdom. There’s grace for everything needed to search that which God has concealed.
I want to encourage you to remember that actively seeking what God has is connected to the sure promise that you will find what you’re looking for (Matthew 7:7), so keep seeking! If you’re in a place where you have become fixated on a glimpse of God’s purpose for your life, the best way to get back to that is to seek the Kingdom. Plain and simple. Don’t be afraid to ask God questions along the journey. Humble yourself and ask for strength when you need it. Understand that your purpose isn’t written by you even though it’s for you, which is why you won’t have a successful pursuit without God’s help. When you get back to pursuing your purpose, you’ll see that there was so much more God had for you that was too good not to look for.
