Jeremiah 29:11 ESV 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.
Romans 8:28 ESV And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Philippians 2:13 ESV For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure
Alright. It’s been a while, but let’s get straight into it.
I’ve been thinking a lot about purpose recently. Somewhat due to situations around myself, but largely due to the friends around me. I’ve heard a lot in conversation about purpose. People asking what purpose itself is. Asking how it differs from a calling. People have asked me what my purpose is. How I reached that conclusion.
And I feel like my answers seems to always change.
So today, I’ve got another answer.
Let’s start with purpose.
What is purpose?
I was listening to a sermon and this caught my ear.
“Purpose is always the answer to a problem.”
I like that.
There is a problem, in which our purpose is the answer for.
We were created to present a solution to a problem.
We were created because there was something that needed to be fixed.
That may be the first step for someone reading this to go “discover” their purpose.
What problem in the world calls out to you?
See there’s a story:
1920s, Garrett Morgan, the first black man in Ohio to own a automobile, was on the road. Morgan witnessed a ridiculous accident at a supposedly regulated corner and was so impacted by it that he could not get it off of his mind. He recognised the problem, and it seemed to call out to him.
He later had an idea:
If he designed an automated signal with an interim “warning” position—the ancestor of today’s yellow light—drivers would have time to clear the intersection before crossing traffic entered it.
The signal Morgan patented was a T-shaped pole with three settings. At night, when traffic was light, it could be set at half-mast (like a blinking yellow light today), warning drivers to proceed carefully through the intersection.
Out of that accident. Out of that issue. Out of that problem. Came purpose.
I do need to highlight this though:
Morgan didn’t have just one singular purpose. His purpose was not to just solve this one specific problem.
Morgan also invented numerous other products. For example, in 1916, he patented his version of the gas mask. Morgan demonstrated his superior design when a group of miners were trapped in a shaft under Lake Erie. He immediately received orders for his product from fire departments and mine owners across the United States and Europe.
Though purpose may be described as the answer to a problem, our purpose is not to just solve one singular purpose.
It’s not a matter of checking it off, and then saying life is complete.
But back to the beginning.
Purpose = Problem +
Let’s build on that.
Purpose is God’s invitation to His creation for their participation in the eradication of a certain problem.
That’s one of those phrases that the pastor says and has everyone ooo-ing and aaah-ing but it’s true.
You might say it like this:
“God has seen a problem on Earth, and He’s willing to bring you in on His plan to solve it.”
Hold on.
This just came to mind.
For every problem that I see is consistently not being addressed or solved, am I seeing a person who is consistently working out of purpose?
See God is not a passive God.
God is not just sitting on the side-lines letting things burn.
He has created people who hold the solutions to these problems.
Sometimes I see things and I ask God, “Why?” But maybe I should be asking God, “What can I do to help?”
Allow me to be part of your plan.
Purpose = Problem + Plan +
God plans for our participation. In the same way we know God is not just sitting on the side-lines, I’m confident He is not going to let us just sit on the side-line either.
I recall a man named Jonah, who attempted to stay on the side-lines. In fact, he even ran away. But God planned for His participation, and so He prepared a way to get him involved and in purpose.
So, to you who feels out of purpose, as if you do not know what you need to do, or like you’re wasting your life, and not doing anything of meaning, know that God has a plan, and with every plan there’s a purpose.
But a plan requires participation.
Purpose = Problem + Plan + Participation +
Let’s quickly talk about participatory deliverance.
See so often we pray for God to help us deal with things. We say our prayers, but don’t listen for a response. We act as if we don’t want to be involved in the solution. But this is where the concept of participatory deliverance comes in. This is where you’ve got to participate in the solution to your problem.
We often go to God for answers, but sometimes He wants to guide us. He wants to teach us. He wants to bring us along, so that we know how to work it out.
And these days I’ve got to ask myself: Am I ready to work for what I prayed for?
See that already sounds weird to some of us. Working for what we prayed for?
Why would we pray for it, if we can just work it out?
And maybe, just maybe, we are not completely walking in purpose because we are praying for God to do something, or solve an issue, and truly, He wants to use you to do it.
See God will do things for us.
But sometimes, He wants to do things through us.
And a lot of us are missing opportunities to be used, because when we pray, we are only thinking of for, and not through.
God has seen the problem. He’s revealed it to you. He has a plan.
You need to participate to be in purpose, but you are currently waiting for God to do it.
Let’s bring back that definition from earlier.
Purpose is God’s invitation to His creation for their participation in the eradication of a certain problem.
Maybe we just are not participating.
Maybe we are just talking to God, but not listening, and hence just missing the invitation.
Maybe we are so caught up in ourselves and satisfying our own pleasures that we cannot see the problems that have been revealed to us.
Maybe.
But I’d like to encourage you, to be the problem solver you were meant to be.
To participate when invited.
And yes, you have already been invited.
There is always a role to play.
It may not be the crazy big one that will dominate your life.
But it will contribute to solving a problem.
We’ll pause here for today.
Do share with your friends and family.
And stay in the word.
My Sunday Skl 
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