Purpose is in steps...
...not in a big picture.
“What is my purpose?” is quite a popular question on the lips and minds of humans. Everyone is in search of that reason for their existence. And rightfully so. A product only gives maximum satisfaction when it functions in accordance with the purpose it was created for. If we don’t ask the purpose question, we can’t hope to live the life God created us to live and please Him. But when many of us ask the question, the answer we’re expecting is usually the wrong kind.
We’re usually expecting God to show us a big picture—some flamboyant and detailed vision or dream that shows us everything God would have us do and be. But is this the answer we’ll get most times? No.
One of the biggest mistakes a person can make is to believe that purpose is only in the big picture; that if you don’t know where you’ll be in the next fifteen years, you’re not in purpose. But this isn’t the idea we see in scripture. More often than not, people in the Bible didn’t get the full picture. They only got an instruction or direction which led to another instruction or direction.
Think of Abraham; when God asked him to leave his father’s house, He didn’t show or tell Abraham where He was taking Him. Abraham didn’t see any big picture. He didn’t know where he would be in the next ten years. All he had was the one instruction God gave him. Abraham didn’t need to know where he was going or how long it would take him to get there. He didn’t need to know what path he would take. All that mattered was that there was an instruction and he had to move in line with that instruction.
That’s how purpose works. Purpose is in steps, not a big, detailed, & flashy picture. Your purpose is the culmination of the individual steps God has been guiding you through. Let’s look at Gideon as an example. Gideon knew that his purpose was to lead the Israelites to fight against the Midianites, but do you know that he didn’t start out knowing every detail of how he would do that?
The first instruction God gave Gideon was to tear down his father’s altar to Baal (Judges 6:25-26)—which seemed quite unrelated to what Gideon might have seen his purpose as. Now, Gideon was prepared to walk in his purpose but the next instruction God gave him was to reduce the number of men with him (Judges 7:2-3). As though that wasn’t enough, God gave Gideon another instruction and it was still to reduce his men (Judges 7:4-8). It wasn’t until after Gideon had obeyed this instruction that God finally showed him the actual strategy and details needed to accomplish his purpose.
It’s the same story with Joseph. He had a dream of being greater than his family but he didn’t know how that would happen. But we see God take him through steps—some of which seem unnecessary and unrelated to his purpose. First, Joseph was sold as a slave. Then, he became a prisoner. It was after these that he was elevated to Pharaoh’s second-in-command.
We walk into the fullness of our purpose step by step. Each instruction, each assignment, and each responsibility that God gives us is an important point in our journey of purpose—even when those points don’t seem so relevant. Instead of worrying so much about where exactly you’ll be in seven years, focus on pouring your all into the current assignment or instruction God has given you. It’s in being faithful with what God has already given you that you can find yourself moving to the next step of your purpose journey.
As you seek God’s face for your purpose, keep in mind that He might not answer you with an eight-hour vision showing you the call on your life. He might just give you an instruction to join a service unit in Church, to relocate, or to reach out to someone you’ve not spoken to in quite a while. Don’t be so fixated on finding your purpose that you lose sight of the journey meant to prepare you and take you there. Remember, purpose is in steps.
From Yahweh’s Grace,
M.I Writes. ✍️