Spring 2000
What is your Purpose?
Ronald L. Taylor
President

Life becomes exciting when you know that you are being directed by the Lord.

“Not as though I had already attained, either were
already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may
apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of
Christ Jesus.” Phil 3:12.

The Amplified Bible says, “But I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus, the Messiah, has laid hold of me and made me His own ...”

Each of us has a unique “that” (purpose) for which the Lord has laid hold of us. To the extent that we touch the lives of others whom the Lord brings across our path, the more likely we will be to discover the purpose for which we have been apprehended.

If we focus on ourselves, we will be unfulfilled, frustrated, and restless. These are sure signs that we are missing the purpose for which the Lord apprehended us. Jesus said, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God.” Only then will “other things” come into their proper perspective.

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended:
but this one thing I do, forgetting those things
which are behind, and reaching forth unto those
things which are before,

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Phil 3:13-14.

We cannot reach our goal by longingly looking back. While Lot’s wife was fleeing the city, she looked back, even though the Lord had warned her to not do so. However, there are times when we should look back; when we need encouragement by considering the times that the Lord met our needs and answered prayer.

“And Jesus said to him, No man, having put his
hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for
the Kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62.

The clearer our purpose is to us, the easier it becomes for us to make tough decisions, especially those which are necessary in order to abandon the good and grasp the best. If our goal is fuzzy, we will be unable to make tough decisions.

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Prov 29:18a.

Another translation reads, “Where the people dwell without restraint.” We must exercise restraint in order to reach our goal.

“Know you not that they which run in a race run
all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that
you may obtain.” I Cor 9:24.

But you may say, It is good to know that the Lord has a goal for me, but how do I find it?

First, do not ask people. The Lord told Joseph his purpose, but when he told his family, his father rebuked him, and his brothers threw him in a pit.

Proverbs 3:5-6 gives us the best advice,

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean
not unto your own understanding. In all your ways
acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.”

The Lord may call us to do something that we do not understand. He does this so He can take us through experiences which will make our path straight and our goal obtainable. Some of us arrive by a circuitous route, through a laborious maze. To the extent we are able to trust in the Lord, He will take us on a straight path.

Psalm 37:4 gives us the same advice,

“Delight yourself also in the Lord; and He shall
give you the desires of your heart.”

The difficulty is that most of us do not know the true desires of our hearts. Therefore, only when we delight ourselves in the Lord and trust in Him (actually doing what He says), can He lead us on a straight path.

Proverbs 4:7 (Amplified) gives us another key.

“The beginning of wisdom is: get wisdom, skillful
and godly wisdom. For skillful and godly wisdom
is the principal thing.”

Thus the principal, or primary thing is for us to lean on the Lord’s wisdom. If we are waiting for someone else to give us direction, we may become frustrated. But if we will apply the Lord’s wisdom in a practical way by seeking Him first, and by waiting upon Him, He will reveal the path that we are to follow. Then we must be careful to not just be willing to hear about it, but we must apply it to our lives.

James says, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only.”

The Lord’s wisdom makes the difference between order and chaos; poverty and plenty; emptiness and fulfillment.
How do I obtain the Lord’s wisdom?

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom
and revelation in the knowledge of Him.”

“The eyes of your understanding being enlightened;
that you may know what is the hope of His calling,
and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance
in the saints.” Eph 1:17-18.

The Lord’s wisdom is ours for the asking. James 1:5 tells us,

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who
gives to all men liberally and upbraides not; and
it shall be given him.

Thus, we are to ask, and then act.

Trust in the Lord, delight in Him, and He will make your path straight. Apply His wisdom to your current situation. We may say, “If it is something very important, I will ask the Lord; but the little things I can handle by myself.”

But it is only after we are found faithful in the little things that the Lord gives us the opportunity to be found faithful in more.

“... Well done, good and faithful servant; you
have been faithful over a few things, I will
make you ruler over many things: enter thou
into the joy of your Lord.” Matt 25:23.