Paths to Purpose

I’m one of those people who is directionally challenged when it comes to traveling. If you give me an address, don’t bother telling me north, south, east, or west. I need landmarks and the number of stoplights, with right and left turns. If it’s somewhere that I’m totally unfamiliar with, I might even send out a dove to see if it comes back with an olive branch! When I first started working for my boss, I would dread whenever I had to run an errand for her because 99.99% of the time, it was someplace I’d never been before. Since I couldn’t get out of going, in lieu of the dove, I would enter the address into MapQuest, print out my directions, and be on my way.

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I knew the purpose for my trip and my destination. What I didn’t know was how to get there. The problem with my printed directions was that I had no assurance or guarantee that they would put me on the right path. Historically, when I tried to follow my printed directions, they were wrong. I would either be expecting to turn on a street that didn’t exist or I would be taken out of the way because unnecessary streets were added to the route, making my trip longer than it needed to be. There was nothing I could do to change the printed directions once I figured out that the information was wrong. I’ve had to pull into a gas station to ask another source for help, hoping that what I was told was right. But I was still lost. Sometimes, I had to go back the way I came and start all over again.

With my printed directions, I was never able to foresee traffic jams, detours, accidents, or anything else that could hinder me from reaching my destination. Not having a clear direction definitely slowed down my progress.

I was so happy to discover Google Maps because it took control of my reaching my destination. All I had to do was cooperate with the process by providing my destination, and it did the rest.  As long as my destination remained the same, it would make a clear pathway, making the necessary adjustments along the way.  

God has given us our own GPS system for discovering our purpose in this life.

Ephesians 2:10 (AMP) says:

“For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].”

From this Scripture, we can see the value God has placed upon us. He calls us HIS HANDIWORK! We weren’t mass-produced by a machine. We were lovingly fashioned by God’s very own hands. He has ownership of us as our Maker. By right of this ownership, our purpose (and destiny) was established. Jeremiah 29:11 (MSG)  “I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.”  God’s blueprint for us is to be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29) and to do what He did: “good works.” Because I am employed by my boss, she had the right to have me run errands for her. Why? Because it’s part of my job description, which was written before I was hired. Being able to successfully complete an errand is always a “good work.”

God is so committed to our success that He prepared paths for us to take ahead of time. In other words, He decided our course of life and then planned how we would walk it out. According to Psalm 139:16, every single day of our lives was written in God’s book before one day came to be. He laid out the path and then provided the directions for us to follow. When I would run errands for my boss, I didn’t always know how to get there because my path was never prepared ahead of time. Once I printed my directions from MapQuest, I was completely disconnected from the source that provided the information. Therefore, I could never be sure that I was taking the right path. When I used Google Maps, it only required that I acknowledge its ability by entering the address. From that point on, it made my path straight, and I was able to enjoy the journey.

We don’t have to try and figure out how to get where we need to go. God has given us our own personal GPS to help us navigate life. Proverbs 3:6 (NIV) tells us exactly how to get our GPS to work: “in all your ways submit to him and…” We submit to God by allowing His Word and Holy Spirit to guide us. The way you know the GPS is functioning properly, “He will make your paths straight.”

If we go back to the beginning, we can see God’s blueprint for His people. God created the Garden of Eden with Adam in mind. He created the Garden of Eden first. Eden means “pleasurable and delightful.” Some theologians say that Eden was “a place of abundance” or “a place of voluptuous living.”  Next, God put everything in the garden that would bring Adam (and Eve) pleasure and delight. Once complete, God placed Adam in the garden. God decided how Adam should live. Genesis 1:31 says that God’s rating for all his creation was “very good.” The bar had been set for all the work of His hands, including us.

Finally, the last part of Ephesians 2:10 reveals the purpose for the paths that God ordained for us to take. “That we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].” Read that again… Now say it out loud. I dare you. God has created paths for our lives that will lead us to a destination of “GOOD LIFE.”  Before we were formed in our mother’s womb, God’s vision for us was to be recreated in Christ Jesus so that we would do Good Works and live the Good Life!

I prophesy that 2020 will be your year to get on your pathway to purpose. Don’t waste another year making New Year’s resolutions that you end up not keeping. Good intentions don’t apply in God’s Kingdom. Make one commitment: to spend more time with God in His Word each day. As you draw closer to God, He will draw closer to you. As you do, the eyes of your heart will be flooded with light, and God will begin to set you on your paths to purpose. If you notice, the Scripture said “paths,” plural; and not “path” singular, which means that no matter where you are on your journey, God has so many more places to take you, and He has provided the very best GPS to get you there!

 

Denise Carlie is a Native Chicagoan and a graduate of Living Word Christian Center School of Ministry and Robert Morris College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. She has been married for thirty-eight years and has two children and four grandchildren. Denise is a Seer, Intercessor, and Teacher with a ministerial license through the Faith Ministries Alliance. It is her desire to be remembered as “A woman after God’s own Heart.”

DENISE CARLIE

 

 

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