“Two of the most important days of your life: The day you were born, and the day you discover why.” (Author unknown)
Regardless of the author of the aforementioned quote, it is great to think about and a reminder as to why we exist on this planet. Sometimes when I’m feeling a bit lost I realize it is because I’ve become misaligned with my purpose in life. When all of the fun things aren’t as fun as we think they should be, there’s a good reason. It is because “fun” isn’t why we were made (no matter what we think our purpose should be). We will have constant disappointment and even depression if we do not embrace our true purpose, why we were born.
We can better understand our purpose when we dig into two verses from today’s reading of 2 Thessalonians 1:
To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, (2 Thessalonians 1:11)
Regarding our calling:
- We need his help (hence the prayer for God to make us worthy).
- He has called us for a reason. He is not random. NLT uses the phrase “your faith prompts you to do.” We can presume this prompting through faith comes from his Holy Spirit, the voice calling each one of us specifically.
- God’s calling is for good.
- God’s calling reveals his power (and therefore glorifies him).
From my experience reading the Bible, typically when finding the phrase “so that”, we should pay extra attention as it helps us better understand “the why”. Want to know why God does what he does? Look for this phrase and find out.
so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:12)
He calls us:
- So that Jesus may be glorified.
- So that we may be the ones glorifying him. Our lives should be a living testimony as to why we have chosen him. Through this we are honored by God, keeping in mind that he should be the only audience we should care about.
- Remember it isn’t what we do that saves us (hence the word “grace” in verse 12). Our actions should be a reflection of our heart and our gratitude for the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.
What do you pray for during hardships?
Paul was writing to people who were being persecuted because of their faith. He did not convey a message praying that the persecution would stop, rather, the message focused on encouragement, love, faith, hope and praise to God. This once again points back to our purpose to glorify God, to have relationship with Him, to share Him, and ultimately to spend eternity with Him.
Father God, forgive me for wandering, for the times when I live as though you do not exist. Further reveal to me today your purpose in my life, one of meaning. Give me courage and wisdom to respond according to your will, to share you with those who do not yet know you. Amen.