God's Purpose

“When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13).

We know Jesus was utterly dependent on the Father, and he is our example of yielding and trusting. Indeed, he makes clear that such a life is possible for us. If we actually lived this, God should be the captain of our souls by now. But is he? Too often, as soon as our next crisis arises, we question God’s faithfulness and give in to doubt and fear, relying on our wits to find an escape.

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you” (John 15:16). 

I am convinced by Scripture there is only one core purpose for all believers. Our specific callings are gathered up in this single purpose, and every gift springs from it. If we miss this purpose, all our desires and pursuits will be in vain. This purpose is simply this: we are all called and chosen to bear fruit.

The Lord touches every servant who is faithful in prayer. He seeks out those who are willing to discipline themselves in order to hear his voice. The Bible calls this attitude “setting the heart.” Daniel writes, “Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes” (Daniel 9:3).

When the lost souls of this world face serious life crises and have no source of hope, Christ’s church is meant to embody the difference they are looking for. Our lives are to be distinguished by hope, joy, peace, love and giving. But a lot of followers today have erased those distinctions by creeping toward a line of compromise and even crossing it. As a result, the lost and hurting see Christians’ lives as no different from their own.

God desires every believer to be involved in full-time ministry — but what is full-time ministry? It doesn’t simply mean pastoring a church, traveling as an evangelist or going to a foreign land as a missionary. Scripture says we are all called as priests unto the Lord; in the Lord’s eyes, full time ministry is ministry unto him.

“Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge” (Psalm 16:1, NIV).

The Lord is with us wherever we are: at home, at work, at church, while we’re shopping. He’s with us in our cars, on planes, on subways. David says that God is preserving us from evil, keeping us safe from attacks and disease — in short, God has promised to thwart every possible weapon formed against his children.