Why Are We Here?

Why am I here? Who am I supposed to be? What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to live my life? What am I supposed to achieve? These are questions that plague all our minds from time to time. Some of us may have found answers to these questions but some of us are still struggling to find answers. On the surface, it looks like the general world order is for man to sleep, wake up, go to school, work, earn money from our work, pay bills upon bills, grow older, get married, take care of our children, grow older, and die. A series of unending tasks and burdens one after the other, year after year, stage after stage, cycle after cycle. A life that in no way looks fulfilling or purposeful.

However, I daresay that there is way more to life than the general world order. There is way more to life than the series of burdens, tasks, and troubles stage after stage and cycle after cycle especially as a child of the Most High God. As a child of God, an heir of God, and joint heir with Christ there is a God-ordained purpose for each person’s life which surpasses and is far may fulfilling than the general world order, should we find, follow, and fulfill that purpose. There is therefore a reason for our very existence, each single one of us, which would allow us to make a meaningful impact, not just in our own lives but in the lives of people around us and the world at large.

Finding our purpose, first of all, is not that simple, I believe. Neither is it impossible. There are no hard and fast rules to finding our purpose as different people are able to identify their purpose at different stages in their lives and in different circumstances. There are no written steps for finding that purpose, believe me, I have tried several of those steps from different motivational speakers and authors and they still came to nothing in my quest to identify my life’s purpose. However, the one definite, certain, and sure way of identifying our purpose is from God, only God!

Jeremiah 1:5 says ' “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” '. This scripture tells us that the one person who knows us and knew us even before we became a fetus is God and even before being a fetus, He is the one person who knew who and what we were to become and do respectively.

Psalm 139:13-16 further says, 'For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. ‘Verse 16 highlights the fact that God knows the number of days that have been formed for us. He alone knows how long we all are to live on this earth.

I cannot talk about purpose without making reference to Jeremiah 29:11, 'For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.'

The purpose of all the scriptures I have mentioned so far is to bring to our attention the fact that, when it comes to finding our purpose, who are supposed to be, what we are supposed to be, how we are supposed to live our lives, it is quite unnecessary to go searching in other places besides our Father, God because of all the reasons from the scriptures. Unfortunately and very sadly, this is not even something that most of us think about. Most of us get so consumed with the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, moving from problem to problem and trying so hard to fit into the wrong places without even a sideways glance towards the one who created, formed us, and designed specific individual purposes for our lives. So wrong!

After all my plenty talk above, my point is that it is not enough to live our lives from problem to problem, stage to stage, paycheque to paycheque without consulting and asking the one who created us and allowing Him to show us His reason and plan for creating us. Additionally, finding that purpose cannot and should not be gotten from any other source but the number one main source, God!

Over the years, from my own life and from the lives of others, another thing I noticed is that getting to find, follow, and fulfill one’s purpose is not a one–time activity. One day, you pray and ask God to show you His purpose for your life and He reveals it to you in a dream or through a prophecy or a vision, etc. Though, I have heard people say that’s how they found their purpose, none of them have been able to follow and fulfill this purpose by leaving God out of the equation and by not building a relationship with Him. I believe it is always a process with God. Some answers come quicker than others but the key to knowing who God wants you to be and being consistent in His calling upon our lives is by building and having a relationship with Him through constant devotion, fellowship, praise, worship, prayer, study of the work, all by the leader, teaching and direction of the Holy Spirit. A day-in and day-out affair, all the days of our lives is how to make it work. John 15:4 says, 'Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ' Therefore the answer to the question of why we are on earth can only be gotten from God, no one else, nowhere else.

Another important thing to mention is the fact that we all have different callings upon our lives and without a relationship with God, we might be confused and end up following the wrong calling even though it may seem right to everyone else around us. When we look through the Bible, we see so many variations of these callings at work some with multiple giftings, others with single giftings, all strategically placed by God to make an impact for His Kingdom. Joseph’s long-term purpose was to bring the Israelites to Israel, after all his struggles and alter becoming second in command to the Pharaoh of His time. Through him, His family and future generations came into the land of Egypt, all part of God’s grand plan in the journey of the Israelites. Moses, born to Israelites and eventually raised in an Egyptian home, had his purpose being, to take the Israelites to the Promised Land, amidst the demonstration of God’s power at work in him through the various signs and wonders in performed, to get the Israelites out of Egypt and even through their journey.

Daniel, Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego also known as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah stood out for their intellect and excellence in a foreign land, drawing the attention of the Babylonians to their God through the process. Daniel 1:17, 'As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. ' Daniel 1:19-20 'And the king spoke with them, and among all of them, none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom.' They were ten times better than those who were already in his Kingdom. Wherever we find ourselves, whether in school or at work, we can be used by God to let people see God more and more.

A young virgin Mary, probably not so famous to her people, was used by God to bring forth the savior of the world, Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Luke 1. Queen Esther, known for her beauty and tact was also strategically placed by God to save her people from the wickedness planned by Haman and she was able to do this by seeking God. It is so wonderful to see how different calibers of people were used by God, some who were so unassuming but through whom, a significant impact was made to affect generations and the world at large. That is what happens when we surrender our lives to God and allow God to lead every step of the way instead of us trying to figure everything out, all by ourselves.

Again, it's important to note how different all these callings were as they made a significant impact. We are not all meant to be pastors or prophets, in fact, we all cannot be, God has placed specific gifts and talents in us to enable us to impact different sectors and aspects of the world i.e. business, family, health, internet, social media, communication in general and so much more. Some people are also meant to be mothers and fathers who are to raise their children in the fear of God, children who can grow up and bear the torch for Christ, children to become Presidents and leaders of the free world who represent Christ by the global impacting positions and decisions.

We also see clearly how those who were able to follow God diligently like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Elisha, David, Paul, Mary, Queen Esther, etc. were able to make meaningful generational impacts on His people whereas others who chose to stray had their destinies and lives cut shot like Saul, Judas Iscariot, the Kings in 1st and 2nd Kings and Chronicles who also strayed from God among others. As we seek to find our purpose, why don’t we strive for diligence and consistency with God to reach our full potential in Christ, fulfill our purpose, and get to where He has destined us to be?

Another thing worth mentioning is the power of our differences. We are all created differently for a reason and our special skills, talents, intellect, ideas, looks, and colors are all for a reason. We need to seek God more to understand these differences and allow him to use our differences for His glory. People usually compete unnecessarily and feel discontent with their own lives when they don’t realize how special they are in the eyes of God. Always remember, your uniqueness can be what God uses to impact the world around you. Don’t despise it. You are different for a reason. I initially felt quite weird about being quiet and calm around people. I have even been made to feel bad about it several times but now I see that as one of my key strengths and have availed this difference for God's use regardless of what other people think. Why don't you avail your uniqueness to God for Him to use? He would use it in a way that even shocks you.

Additionally, knowing who you are in Christ and knowing your purpose allows you to discern which places are meant for you, which jobs, which relationships, which friendships, etc. we are meant to stay in. By this we know when something is not right for us and are able to move away from them and onto where God wants us to be.

We are not meant to live life, trying to figure it all out on our own, we need to seek God, build our relationship with Him, for Him to lead us to find, follow, and fulfill His purpose for our lives. He has also given us the Bible, the manual for our lives, where every scripture is God-breathed and inspired by Him for our life journey. The cherry on top is the Holy Spirit, who is to be our personal person, best friend, teacher, confident, etc. should we engage him more and more.

SEEK GOD! SEEK HIS PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE! AND LIVE A MEANINGFUL FULFILLING LIFE! GOD LOVES US SO VERY MUCH! I CAN'T SAY IT ENOUGH.