There are over 7 billion people living on earth, all of whom are here for a purpose. I wonder how many of them know what that purpose is. In fact, you may be one of those who are feeling a need for deeper meaning in your life, clarity of your existence, or true identity.
Do you believe your life has a predestined purpose? That no matter what the circumstances surrounding your birth or what has happened subsequently over the years, there is a definite purpose to your existence? The dictionary defines purpose as “the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists; have as one’s intention or objective.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 says: “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” It seems whenever I need redirecting along the purpose path, an “unseen Hand” or the “Master Designer” sends subtle hints to give course correction.
Recently the word “purpose” kept showing up in my life in various ways. I made mental notes, but didn’t give it a lot of thought. A few weeks ago while visiting my sister in North Carolina, I was getting dressed for church when the word “purpose” again came to my mind; this time I paused to meditate on it. I began to understand that what I was experiencing was divine discontentment and what I needed was clarity of purpose, because there was more to my life, a deeper meaning. The thought I had was “everything you do in life has a purpose; every relationship, every decision, every success, every failure, everything… always seek to know the reason behind everything, it will lead you to your ultimate life fulfilling purpose.”
When I arrived at church, I wandered over to a group of three kiosks displaying t-shirts. To my amazement, every shirt had the same word printed on them:
“PURPOSE.” Squire Rushnell, author of the book series “When God Winks,” would definitely call this a “God Wink.” My BFF says these moments are “indicative of a favor trend and should be exploited.”
Whether you believe in “predestined” purpose or not does not mean it doesn’t exist. It may just mean you will live and die and never be totally satisfied or fulfilled or complete your true assignment. The vast majority of us get caught up doing vs. being. Trying to fulfill our basic human needs engulfs us and causes our purpose to get caught up in the “cycle of life.” The mundane parts of life cause us to believe that our purpose is mixed up in this.
It’s not always easy to determine what your purpose is or even how to fulfill it. I am a firm believer in revelation through fasting, prayer, and meditation. Veteran blogger and life coach Steven Pavlina suggests another way: