What is God’s purpose for my life? What is the next step for me? Will I go to school, have a family, get married? Will I be on the mission field? Will I have a career? At some point, we have all wondered what God’s plan for us will be. Maybe we have even become discouraged because we want to follow God’s purpose for our life, but aren’t sure if we are making the right choices to get there.
I have some good news for you: God cares about all of your questions, and sees that you want to know His purpose for you.
I also have some other news: God doesn’t always reveal every detail exactly when YOU want to know it. In fact, He rarely does. But don’t let this fact be discouraging. This just means we have to shift our perspective from searching for our perception of God’s purpose for our life, to walking by faith with Him day after day.
Of course, the best place to begin searching for God’s purpose for your life is the Word. We’re going to look through a few directives God gives us in the Bible about His purposes and plans. Read to the end for some practical action steps!
1. Trust God’s Ability, Timing, and Consistency with His Word
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
Proverbs 3:5-6
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
This is a pretty common verse, but what does it truly mean? To “lean not on your own understanding” means to not rely on your own knowledge, scope, or thought process. You may be looking ahead at the choices you are facing and think, well that’s never going to happen. OR you may not even be considering the next step God has for your life, because it doesn’t even seem possible. Remember: God doesn’t work in the possible. He can move and transform anything and everything for His purposes and plans. The next step for your life may not be the most likely one.
That’s why the next part of the verse is: “In all your ways acknowledge Him”. God’s plan for your life will line up with the scriptures. Whatever plan He has for you will reflect His ultimate goal: To bring more people to Christ. The specifics of that plan can be found when seeking God, but everything will ultimately bring more glory to Him.
And the last part of the verse “He will make your paths straight” is what will happen when we trust God in our decision making. Notice it doesn’t say easy. God’s plan for us isn’t always easy, but if it’s His will, it will bring peace and clarity to your spirit. This is why it’s so important to be in the Word and in prayer to discover God’s plan. If we are seeking Him, we can trust that He WILL reveal what we need to know WHEN we need to know it.
Main Takeaway: When figuring out God’s purpose for you life:
- Make sure it lines up with The Word of God
- Don’t rule out the unlikely–God works in the impossible
- God’s purpose may not be the easy path, but it will bring clarity
2. God’s Purpose and Plan isn’t Always a Straight Line
I think we look for a nice consecutive step plan because that’s the expectation set around us in America: Go to school, get a job, start a career, marriage, kids, get old and retire. Guess what? God’s plan for us may not look like that.
We see an example in the story of Moses. God had a plan for Moses from the beginning: Rescue the children of Israel from Egypt. Moses felt this burden early on BUT God didn’t directly tell him about this plan until he was about 80 years old. WHAT?? Why didn’t God just tell Moses the day he turned 18, “Here’s your purpose, now go do it” ? Because God has more for us than that. Moses was transformed in the process. He learned to wait on God, and to walk with God. Moses went through some crazy things that he had to lean on God to get through. When he did finally carry out God’s plan, it was in His timing.
Main Takeaway: Rely on God’s timing for your life, not what YOU think the timing for your life should be
3. We May Not Receive the WHOLE plan
When we ask God about his purpose for our lives, He may not give us all the details we desire. He may give us a glimpse of what our lives might look like, or a general direction to go in. Then, it’s up to us to walk with God as he shows us each step, even though we don’t know the final destination.
In the story of Joseph, Joseph didn’t know he was going to be Pharaoh’s right hand man and save his nation during a famine. God gave Joseph a vision when he was young: His brothers would bow before him. But that’s about all. He did not know how, when, or where this would all occur. He had to trust that God would fulfill that vision, even when he experienced hardship. He was put into some unfortunate circumstances like being sold as a slave and thrown in prison both because of unfair treatment, not his own sin. But he continued to praise God anyway, and guess what: He stayed faithful and was a pivotal character in this redemption story.
Main takeaway: We might not see the whole picture, but we need to be faithful to walk with God every step of the way through life.
4. Remember: God Already Told You His Plan For You
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8
Yes, we get to care about the details, about our purpose, and about God’s specific plans for us. However, we cannot lose sight of God’s main purpose for us on this earth: Walk with Him. Be like Him. Love what He loves. We need to keep this big picture in focus when we seek God on the details of our life decisions. Because the truth is, we may not know if every desire and aspiration of ours will be fulfilled here on earth.
God made His big picture plan for us clear from the beginning. This does not mean that He doesn’t have specific plans for you, with certain people He wants you to impact in certain places. But it does mean we can stop worrying that we’re somehow going to “miss” God’s purpose for us. We already know what it is! As long as we focus on loving God and His people, we can rest assured that we are serving God’s purpose for our lives.
Main Takeaway: Keep the main thing the main thing. If you love God and love others, you are doing exactly what God has called you to do.
5. Find Purpose in What you’re Doing RIGHT NOW
Guess what else God’s purpose is for you: Whatever you are doing RIGHT NOW. Remember, God has you placed in your current season for a reason (oof that rhyme was unintentional). It would be devastating if in the busyness of seeking that next step, you neglected the purpose God has set before you NOW. Stay focused, my friend!
Look around you. Look at the people, the place, the situation you are in. How can you serve them? How can you bless them? How can you impact the world and show them Christ right where you are? If you focus on these things, then you are already completing God’s purpose for your life.
Main Takeaway: Continue to seek God about His future plans, but don’t do nothing! Continue to work the mission God has already given you.
Here is What Happened to Me
I’m a planner. Like, a super planner. I loved writing out my days by the hour. When I graduated from high school, I took a gap year because I was hearing nothing. Should I go to college? Which one? Should I keep working? Go on a missions trip?
One day, I put down the planner, literally. I said God, “Whatever you want me to do , tomorrow is yours.”
The next day, I was contacted by the CEO of a nonprofit I wanted to get involved with. They wanted me to volunteer for them! I have been with them since, and it has been my main focus. I also:
Got a car, even though I couldn’t afford one.
Got a text from the boy I liked (we’re married now)
Got a raise at my job!
Felt called to go to college
Now, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea from my story. I am not saying that if you just follow a formula, have “enough faith” pray hard enough etc. that everything will just fall into place (this is prosperity gospel teaching, which I don’t believe is biblical). While God blessed the fact that I surrendered my plans to him, I still had a long, hard road ahead of learning to trust him. He had given me a general direction for my life, but there were still unknowns that I had to pray through. Even today, I am still seeking His face about what He wants me to do next.
I do want to communicate that God will answer us in HIS timing, in HIS way. We need to diligently seek Him, but ultimately we need to surrender our own dreams, desires, and timelines, and make room for His purpose to become our own.
Surrendering to God’s plans may not bring you perfection or prosperity, but it will bring you peace.
Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock, and the door will be open to you.
Matthew 7:7
I believe when we lay down our need to control what’s going to happen next, and surrender our plans to God, he WILL answer us, and lead us in the direction we will go. Whether He lays out a clear plan, or just gives you a glimpse, I believe God cares about your questions concerning the next step in your life.
What Now?
So, you’ve read the tips and biblical examples, but what now? Here are some action steps you can take to find God’s next steps for overall purpose for you:
- Pray. This is always step one. Go to the source Himself. Make a list of questions you have, and bring the to God in your daily prayer time. Remember, He might not answer the way you expect Him to, or when you expect Him too. Be patient, and trust that He will show you when the time is right.
- Get others involved. Go to your parents, pastor, or trustworthy friends. I found so much clarity about God’s plan for my life from encouragement from trusted people.
- Don’t do nothing. Some of us think we’re supposed to just wait around for that “next step” i.e. a relationship, school, job until we can really “follow God’s plan”. Waiting on the Lord does not mean being idle. Remember, God already gave us directives of what to do. If you aren’t sure what to do next, do what God has already called you too: Serve others. We can do this in EVERY season of life.
- Don’t be worried. We do not need to fret about the future. We don’t need to worry that we’re going to “miss” God’s plan for us. We don’t need to worry about when or how or what our future holds. Seek God for answers, but do so with faith and confidence.
I hope this post gives you some clarity about how to discover God’s purpose for your life! Be sure to sign up for the newsletter for blog updates, freebies, and more!
