“I, the Lord, have called you in
righteousness, and will hold your hand; I will keep you and give you as a
covenant to the people, as a light to the gentiles, to open blind eyes, to
bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison
house. I am the Lord, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another,
Nor my praise to graven images. Behold, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
Isaiah 42:6-9
Many
times I have thought that I have no purpose in life. I think that I exist
because of mere grace and as a useless and broken vessel. But every time I
conceive these thoughts, I hear God’s voice (through a verse I read, through
self instructions, and through preaching) confirming and assuring me that I
was not placed in this world without a reason. In fact every one of us has a
purpose in life. Not a single human being is alive in this world by mere
circumstance, because God designed us, and his designs and inventions always
come with a function.
In Jeremiah 29:11, it states that God knows
the plans he has for us and they are of peace and not of harm. This purpose, of
peace, is only entitled to the children of God. It is a gift, a part of your
inheritance from the Father. Look around you, what do you see? Disasters after
disasters, war after war, religion against religion… but do these affect our
sleep? Does the violence take away our peace? Does our relationship with
family, friends or other race change? If they do, then we need to see if we are
still in the hands of God, if we are still in the right path. Because Jesus
tells us, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world
gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
afraid” (John 14:27). When we see the destruction around us, we are not afraid
or troubled, because we are under wings of the Lord.
There is
always a time for our purpose and plans to be revealed. A coffeemaker’s purpose
is fulfilled only when you need a cup of coffee. The same way when the right
time, as said in Ecc. 3:1-8, comes for us to shine for God, we will understand
why we are put in this world.
Now coming back to the core verse in Isaiah,
we see that there is always a great purpose for those He has “called in
righteousness”. When you are called, get ready for a wild ride, because God’s
plans are not in small measurement. When He plans, He goes full-length. The
called is given the spirit of healing, is given the authority to rid of evil,
to blot out darkness and inject light, to raise His name above all else. God
does not leave the “called” alone, unattended. His reassurance is there with
his plan for you. He tells you that he will “hold your hand” and “keep you”.
What more do you need from God? He has a purpose and a plan for you, He reveals
them to you in the due season, His plans exceed our imagination, and He
promises a pillar of fire to guide us in the night and an angel “to keep you in
all your ways”. All we have to do is, make sure we have not strayed away from His
path but that we are still in the arms of God. Every one is called with a
purpose and when God reveals His purpose in our lives we must submit and do His
will. Nehemiah found his purpose and pursued to build up the broken walls of
Jerusalem. “What is God’s purpose in my life?” “What is His will for my life?” finding
the answers to these questions should push us to obey the purpose and will for
our lives.
