Purposed to Love

At some point in your life you begin to ask the questions, “What is my purpose in life?” “What exactly am I supposed to be doing?” You sometimes wonder if you are still on the right track for your life. And I get it. It’s so easy to get caught up in the pursuit of “stuff”. We strive for college degrees so that we can obtain great careers, making a substantial amount of money, so that we can eventually buy all of the stuff we want and think that we need. But then you still find dissatisfaction. You get tired of getting up and going to the same job, doing the same things. Or you may have a great job that you really enjoy, but you still feel that there is a void in your life. The reason being is that sometimes we seek fulfillment in the things that we want and want to do finding ourselves outside of God’s will for our lives, which results in dissatisfaction for us. The result of fleshly decisions we make for ourselves positions us in a place of discontent.

Recently, I began to ask those very questions. “Okay God, what am I here for? And what is my assignment?” My husband and I do pretty well for ourselves but I was getting to a point where I craved more. Not more stuff but to walk in my purpose or more closely to my purpose. I had this gut feeling that there was more in store for me, but I couldn’t really pinpoint exactly what. However, I did know that I would have to turn to God’s word. I also knew that my purpose would not be revealed to me in plain text, Romans size 12 font, easy to read with step-by-step instructions. I needed to position myself closer to God, closer to God’s will for me if I was going to become the woman God created me to be.

In short, through corporate prayer and fasting, God began to reveal things to me in His Word and every time I would receive confirmation through someone else’s prayer. I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced something like that but, I would be praying by myself and the very thing that I would have prayed about would be answered or related to our corporate prayer although I had not spoken a word to anyone. During this time, there was one scripture that began to stick out to me: Mark 12.

In the past, I had been very sacrificial but I wanted to be more obedient. In 1 Samuel 15:22 it says, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, to heed is better than the fat of rams.” It’s okay to give up your stuff but can you listen? Can you listen when God says that door of opportunity is not for you or not yet. Can your flesh submit to God’s will? So, in Mark 12 when the teacher asks Jesus which is the most important commandment his response is, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” I knew that it was important to be obedient. God had already given us commandments but these were identified as most important.

Let’s define love. Merriam-Webster defines love as a strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties. This is not how God defines love. In 1 Corinthians love is described as patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, not self-seeking, not easily angered, it always trusts, hopes, and perseveres. It doesn’t say that love is exclusive to our family and friends. If we are loving God and others as God has defined love to be, it blankets all of the 10 commandments we were already given.

God has commanded each of us to love. As I was searching for my purpose, it really dawned on me that I must first learn to love. If I love God with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength it makes it easier to keep His commandments. And if I love the people that God has placed in my life or even the people I come in contact with, I can begin to see past their faults and I won’t get hung up on what I believe to be a shortcoming. If I love them, I will want the peace of God and favor resting on them as I do for myself. I will care about their general well-being and have more compassion for them. I will do unto them as I would have done unto me. For some, this is challenging. The world has programmed us to be so judgmental. There will be times that we don’t agree with someone completely or maybe not at all. But we need to release an “In spite of” love. In spite of all of your faults, flaws, and shortcomings, I still love you. In spite of our disagreements, I still love you. In spite of your attitude and bad behavior, I still love you. As hard as that may seem, it is possible. It’s possible to love someone and not necessarily like or agree with them.

You may not have discovered your own, individual, unique purpose in life but, I challenge you to go deeper with God. Don’t start by only reading the Bible, start by also carrying the Word in your heart. Don’t just read your devotional, make a commitment to change after encountering God through your devotional. Don’t just recite prayers, be intentional and consistent. I believe God will begin to also reveal things to you as well as provide confirmations. While you are seeking your own purpose be reminded that we were all commanded to love as ambassadors of Christ. As you begin to truly love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength he will begin to give you clarity about your purpose as you draw closer to him through Jesus Christ. Also know that we were all purposed to love by God who is love.

Be Blessed!

Shateveon

XOXO