Ever wonder if God has a purpose for your life? The answer is a resounding “Yes! God Chose You for a Purpose!” The details are as unique as you are, but God’s purpose is crystal clear: you were created to passionately love God and deeply love others. Or to say it another way, you were made for a “heart on fire, life on purpose” extraordinary life of impact as a Kingdom Laborer.
Soaking in and enjoying God’s love is wonderful as a believer. But we were designed for so much more than consuming God’s love. We were also meant to share it!
No one knew this more than Jesus as He went through towns and villages and saw people hurting, lost, and without hope. Jesus’ heart broke for such people. He knew there was a solution to their heartache—but who would share it with them? Hurt and heartache was easy to see. It was those willing to deliver the remedy that seemed out of sight. That’s when Jesus turned to His disciples and said, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38).
Jesus was looking for people who would embrace a vibrant, intimate relationship with Him and then wholeheartedly and intentionally love others—everywhere, every day. Jesus was, and still is, looking to activate people just like you to live a high-impact life of purpose for His Kingdom.
God Chose You.
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: love each other.”—John 15:16-17
Sometimes, when we think of our purpose, we begin to think it’s some grand mystery that takes a lifetime to discover. Or we believe God’s purpose for us is so specific that getting it “right” is a must lest we disappoint Him. Or that God is playing some cosmic game of “hide and go seek” with our purpose and it’s our job alone to find it.
But that’s not how God operates. God’s purpose for you is an invitation to a life of Kingdom Laborership that bears lasting fruit with Him. Not only does God invite you, He also equips, encourages, and matures you all along the way. God wastes no circumstance, no situation, no opportunity. Every moment spent living up-close to Him provides everything you need to embrace the adventure He has for you.
Remember, God chose you for this. He already believes in you—regardless how unprepared, untrained, or unworthy you think you are. God chose you for a purpose—just the way you are—not because you’re worthy, but because He is. Your life and purpose are God’s idea. He chose you to be a part of His “Plan A” for reaching the world for His Kingdom’s sake. And get this, there is no plan b.
God Chose You to Live by Faith, Labor in Love, and Walk by the Spirit
2 We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction” (I Thessalonians 1:2-4, 5-8).
Paul and his missionary partners, Silas and Timothy, couldn’t say enough about the Kingdom-Laboring life they witnessed among the Church in Thessalonica. The people were “chosen by God” (v. 4) to impact the people in their region and beyond. And did they ever! “The Lord’s message rang out” so powerfully from among them that their “faith in God became known everywhere” (v. 8).
God has chosen you as well to “ring out” His good news message with your life in a way that draws others to Christ and puts Him on display. And you’ll do just that as you…
Live by Faith
Kingdom Laborers are chosen to live and work by faith. The believers at Thessalonica were commended for their “work produced by faith” (v. 3). The Kingdom fruit they produced was not accomplished by trusting a plan and method they came up with, but by trusting the plan God gave them—one step, one day, one person at a time. Living by faith requires trusting God in every idea, plan, conversation, and decision. Faith means walking with God, not getting ahead of Him or lagging behind. Living by faith is to listen intently, wait patiently, and respond quickly to God’s opportunities and instructions to love.
Labor in Love
Kingdom Laborers are chosen to labor in love. Love is what compelled the believers at Thessalonica to serve others. A host of motivations can drive the reason we serve others: self-satisfaction, duty, pride, pity, guilt, even feelings of superiority. But none of these represent Jesus. It’s love that compelled Jesus to live among us, to die on a cross for us, and to raise us with Him from death to life. That’s why getting up-close and staying up-close to Jesus is so important in fulfilling our purpose—loving others with God’s love in us is the only way others will experience God’s love through us.
Walk by the Spirit
Kingdom Laborers are chosen to walk by the Spirit. It would be a mistake to think we could fulfill our purpose or share the gospel with anyone outside of the guidance, prompting, and power of the Holy Spirit. Paul and His friends realized it wasn’t their spot-on preaching, eloquent arguments, or savvy ministry strategies that drew the Thessalonian Church to Jesus; it was the power of the Holy Spirit (v. 5).
Kingdom Laborers are attuned to the Holy Spirit in prayer and learn to listen and obey what the Spirit is saying, asking, leading, and urging. “Since we live by the Spirit,” Paul says to the Church in Galatia, “let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). That’s not just a good way to labor for God’s Kingdom, it’s the only way.
How will you daily live your purpose God has chosen and called you to as a Kingdom Laborer? Engaging these daily practices of the faithful followers from Thessalonica is a great way to begin.
Knowing God's Purpose for Your Life Sets You Free
Discovering God’s purpose for your life frees you to…
… say yes to things that align with the purposes God has for you.
… say no to the things you aren’t meant to engage or undertake.
… live confidently because you know God is with you and equipping you.
… live boldly because you know it is God who has designed the plan and purpose for your life.
Too often, Christians feel the weight of ill-fitting burdens they or others place on their shoulders. They get exhausted from attempting to carry Kingdom assignments never meant for them. Others get tired from living and serving under their own strength. They work for Jesus without walking with Him. Their stressing, striving, and straining leaves them wiped-out, run-down, dried-up, and weary.
That’s not the life God wants for you as a Kingdom Laborer. God wants to free you, equip you, and engage you in His Kingdom purpose in ways that activate and excite you; not discourage and drain you. That’s why Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
The yoke Jesus places on you isn’t weighty. It’s right-fitting, gentle-teaching, and rest-giving. Life up-close to Jesus will energize, encourage, and empower you to fulfill His Kingdom purposes. The Apostle Paul said, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1). And nothing is more freeing than walking intimately with Jesus in the plans and purpose He has for you!
Learn more about the Kingdom-Laboring purpose God has for you here.