Restarting for A Happy New Year: What’s My Purpose?

Did you make any New Year’s resolutions?

I haven’t made any for years—it’s too depressing breaking them after a week, isnt’t it?!

So, instead, how about restarting the year with the question: “God, what can I do for you this year?” It’s one of those “Big Questions.” In other words, What is my purpose here? How can I be a significant help in your Kingdom? What do you want me to do, Lord? 

Frequently, these questions are asked by overweight people as they reach 50+ years, having spent the last 20 years in the same job. Or, by the housewife who studied and gave up a career to raise the kids. Now, perhaps, the kids have left home, and she’s wondering God’s plan for her life.

The Good News is that it doesn’t matter how old or young you are,  there’s no age limit here either. There’s no legal drinking age for the Holy Spirit, and Christians don’t have a “best before” date either. God has a plan for us, and he blesses us by participating in this plan with us.

In Jeremiah 29, we’re told that God has a good plan for us, and he wants to bless us: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

In Ephesians 2:9-10 (MSG), the apostle Paul affirms this truth that not only does God have a good plan for us, but with us: “He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.”

Consider this. God has given us unique personalities and gifts, not for our own benefit, but for the benefit of those around us. God’s plan for our church isn’t to be like a bus or train, with one or two people driving and everyone else riding as passengers. Rather, it is more like a 17th- or 18th-century sailing ship, where each of us has a role to play, each with our own skills and strengths.

Paul explains at length that our gifts complement each other and that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. We’re like a mosaic of many pieces that don’t look like much on their own, but when put together, they form a brilliant, inspiring picture—like the beautiful stained-glass windows we see in some churches in Germany and England.

Similarly, on our own, with our own talents, we don’t amount to much for the Kingdom. But when God joins our gifts with others, the Holy Spirit takes our mundane, physical acts of service and turns them into spiritual ones. The real beauty is revealed. We see God shining through what we do by the power of his Holy Spirit. We form that great, brilliant picture that becomes a beacon of hope to those around us!

If we’re a Christian and we’re not serving the way God intended, then our church can’t be as impactful as it could be. If we’re serving as God has planned, it resonates with our spirits and is fun, especially when those around us are using their gifts, too.

In preparation for the “Thy Kingdom Come” event in 2017, the head of the Anglican church said:

“Without the work of the Holy Spirit, the church is no more than a club, and it’s not a very good club either. The wine is fairly indifferent, and the rows on the managing committee are terrible. And it is entirely incapable of facing the forces of darkness, the things that undermine our lives, the things that disrupt. It cannot love, it cannot act, and most of all, it is incapable of being Christ in today’s world. When the Holy Spirit comes, by contrast, the frightened will overcome their fear, the weak are strengthened, the witnesses stand up and give their testimony. The club becomes the greatest army in history. It grows into an army without weapons, an army of peace that overthrows empires and brings revolution with hope.”

So, what talents has God given you, and are you willing to share them—to pool them for the good of the Gospel? If you’re not sure what your gift is, simply try out a few things and see what gives you joy (as long as it’s moral!), because that’s a real indication of what God wants you to be doing. He doesn’t give us the gift of teaching and then make us afraid to stand up and speak (unless you’re a second Moses). In the same way, he doesn’t give us the gift of hospitality, and at the same time, a hatred for people.

So, if God is encouraging you to do something, set something up, or come alongside on a ministry, talk with Pastor John or our leadership and see how you can serve. Ask them to help you, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to discover and live out God’s wonderful plan for you.