Life Makes Much More Sense When You Understand God’s Purpose for Your Life

“The person without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder.” ―Thomas Carlyle

What is your ‘why?’

Simon Sinek gave a great TED talk several years ago with the concept, “Start with Why.” You can watch it?here. It led to a best-selling book and an excellent career for this brilliant man. He encourages people to make sure that they understand why they are doing something before they invest a lot of time, money, and energy into anything in life. You can find out more of the wonderful things that he does to inspire people on?his personal website.

Many people never stop to consider why they exist, but all of us should contemplate why we are here. Sadly, if we don’t, our focus will be off, and the decisions in life will be as well.

Don’t let other people steal your ‘why’

In the biblical book of 2 Kings, Elisha is the prophet of the Lord who is calling his people to repentance and revival. While Israel was just as religious as it had ever been, the people’s hearts were not wholly committed to following Jehovah.

Syria was one of the great world powers that day, and they were often brutal in how they treated their enemies. They were a threat to Israel and would often take advantage of them simply because they could.

In this context, there is a story of a mighty man with a grave problem. The captain of the army of Syria was a man named Naaman, and he was a very decorated soldier. He was responsible for many of Syria’s victories. (Actually, the Scriptures tell us that the Lord enabled him to have these victories, but isn’t that true for anybody?)

Sadly, he had contracted leprosy, which was a death sentence in that day. It was incurable, and once it was confirmed that someone had leprosy, they were confined to live in a leper colony.

During one of his victories, he had captured a young Jewish girl that he brought back to be a servant for his wife. Think about this. He took a young Jewish girl away from her family to live in a foreign land simply because he wanted her to become a slave to his wife.

Interestingly, she was not rebellious or bitter. She did not serve begrudgingly, nor did she seek revenge. How could that be? She had a relationship with the God of heaven and understood that He sovereignly allowed this to happen in her life. She could not change the circumstances, but she knew that God was with her and would give her the strength to do what she had to do.

We don’t know her name or much about her, yet we do see her devotion to her “Why.”

Like every child of God from any age, we are here on this planet to love God and love others. Our mission is to be a faithful disciple of Christ while seeking to make disciples for Christ.

When she found out that Naaman had contracted leprosy, she told his wife that she wished that he was back in Israel and could meet Elisha. She knew that he could heal him of his leprosy.

Someone overhears, tells Naaman, and Naaman tells the King. The King then sends Naaman to see Elisha so that he can be healed.

What a wonderful thing she did for a man who captured her, removed her from her family, and made her a slave. How amazing that she kept seeking ways that she could serve the Lord regardless of her circumstances.

Isn’t that part of everybody’s “Why”?

It does not matter our circumstances in life; God wants His children to keep loving Him, loving others, and pointing them to Jesus Christ.

For a similar perspective from a different vantage point, I would encourage you to read?this story?by J. Taliaferro.

Life makes much more sense when you understand God’s purpose for your life. Don’t let anyone else steal your joy of fulfilling your “Why.”

-- Previously published on Koinonia on Medium.com. You can follow this link to find it.

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