How you Can Live a Meaningful Life of Purpose

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.” 

My friend, quoting from Ephesians 2:10, explained that the Greek word for “masterpiece” was related to our word for “poem.”

It touched my heart that God was making my life into a beautiful poem. I decided I wanted to know the “good things” God had planned for me from even before I was born (Psalm 139: 13 – 18), so I spent the next two weeks focusing solely on this passage in Ephesians. 

Prayerfully, I sought God’s direction for my life. He gave me two themes, Creation and technology. Within days of this revelation, I had two opportunities which fit both.  Over a decade later, I’m still blogging about both subjects and also consulting and training about how to use technology for ministry. I “started small” as a homeschooling mom and am doing more now as an empty-nester.

Would you like to know how God has perfectly suited you for what He has planned for you? Would you like your life to have meaning? How do you go about finding God’s purposes for your life?

Know Him
First, of course, we must know God.  Not Who we think He is, but Who He says He is. Read His words in the Bible and ask Him to reveal Himself to you.  If you don’t know Him, read through this story of how to know God personally.

If we understand that we’re now subjects of a loving King, how do we obey Him and depend on Him for guidance? How do we know what He’s saying to us? Through His Holy Spirit.

In 1 Corinthians 2:12, Paul teaches us, “we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.”  (Read the whole passage 1Cor. 2:9-14 NLT)

The Holy Spirit comes to live inside us when we accept Jesus’ payment on the Cross. The Holy Spirit will make changes in our character that we cannot. He will equip us for what He calls us to do.

I also like to think of the Holy Spirit as a Person Who will keep me on the right road and “keep me in check” (if you’re like me and want to do everything).  

I love the assurance of Isaiah 30:21:
Your own ears will hear him.
    Right behind you a voice will say,
“This is the way you should go,”
    whether to the right or to the left.

So, God shapes us into the person He has made us to be, both in character and in ability, for the purpose He has for us. He also gives us the direction we need.

Learn more at Who is the Holy Spirit?

Know Yourself
As I prayed for God to reveal His purposes for me, I used the guidelines found in this letter written by Dr. Bill Bright, The Paul Brown Letter. It’s quite lengthy, but I recommend you set aside several mornings and work through this process of discerning God’s will on a pro and con chart. It’s obviously worth the time you’ll invest in this.

Rather than repeat what’s in the letter, I’d like to add some of my thoughts. As you look at God’s purpose for your life, you’ll probably want to include some of these considerations:

• What is my background (experiences, education, …)?
• What do I love doing? What am I good at?
• What Scripture verses support this decision?
• Has God brought circumstances that spoke to me or given me some kind of direction? 
• Who am I? What character or personality traits fit well with this?
• Who can I ask to pray with me and advise me?

It’s been rewarding to me to see where God has placed me and how He’s shaped me for what I do. I’d love for you to have a life rich with purpose, too, as you follow after God. What is He calling you to do?

About Sus

Sus Schmitt serves as a Technology Ministry Developer for Women’s Resources at Cru. Her goal is to equip Campus Crusade for Christ staff to have more effective ministries through learning technological skills. Her main medium to do this is through her blog, eQuipping for eMinistry.  Sus also maintains a personal site, Mike and Sus.org and an evangelistic site, The Sovereign.  You can find her on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest. Sus is enjoying her new role as a “nana” to a cute, little boy.

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