Our Purpose Revealed

Jun 14, 2024 | by Anthony Wade

Good afternoon, FBC Family! I had you all on my heart today, and I want to encourage you about something that we all seem to wrestle with from time to time. It’s a subject that is there in each of our lives, if only seemingly in the background. It’s a subject that many of us may want to suppress because it seems too difficult to confront head on. And sadly, it is a subject that some may feel has eluded them. That subject is purpose.

We have all had dreams in life. When we were young, each of the boys had dreams of being a superhero of some sort, and the girls dreamed of meeting her prince and riding off to her castle. By the time we reach our thirties, somehow the men have traded in the superhero cape for a lifetime subscription to normalcy, and the women have forgotten all about the castle, settling for an overpriced mortgage instead. Now, I’m not throwing stones here. After all, I will be turning 47 on Sunday, and I get that people struggle with these things. In fact, I have struggled with them through different seasons of life. But why do we do that? Where did those dreams go? How can we get back that purpose that seemed to drive us into our future? I believe the answer is found in Christ.

If you feel like this at all, please don’t be discouraged or feel like you are alone. In fact, some of the greatest and most influential people who have ever walked this earth have felt this way. Just about every hero in the Old Testament had to receive new vision and purpose. God never chose to just conform His plan to a man or woman, rather He always would help conform that man or woman to His plan. Look no further than to Noah, Abraham, Moses, or David if you think I’m joking. Every person of significance in history has had to learn how to derive purpose from their Creator.

Peter had an identity crisis, too. Don’t forget that he had his life planned out, and everything was just fine as far as he was concerned. He had his fishing business, and he was content. But then Jesus walked into his life one day and he quickly discovered that he wasn’t just fine. In fact, the Lord blessed him so much that he had to fall at Jesus’ knees and repent, asking Him to forgive him for he was a sinful man. The goodness of God led Peter to repentance that day and started him on a path that would forever change him and the course of his Kingdom journey.

When I look at Peter’s life, I can identify with his struggles, growing pains, and his passion. He was a businessman called into ministry. Before that call, he had it all figured out, but he soon realized that his “figuring out” couldn’t hold a candle to the wisdom and understanding of the Father. Jesus said that He would make Peter a fisher of men, and I cannot imagine what that must have done to him. The initial call was surely exciting, but as we all know, excitement soon fades, leaving us with some decisions to make. Peter had to decide if he was going to trust Jesus, and that decision is not a one-time thing. It is a daily decision that he would make for the rest of his life.

He didn’t get it at first. He didn’t get it half-way through Jesus’ earthly ministry, for we see him suffer with anxiety over the Kingdom mandate on his life. When Jesus said He would give him the keys to the Kingdom, Peter was elated. Yet, he changed course just moments later when he heard there would be tribulation. And to be honest, he didn’t even get it at the end of Jesus’ ministry, cutting an ear off of one guy and lying about his relationship with Jesus to three others.

But he eventually got it as Jesus lovingly went back after him on a beach one morning after His resurrection. Once and for all, Peter saw that his purpose was all about the “people fish” and not the “fish fish” in life. He learned that if he would just cast his care over on the Lord, he would have grace to walk out everything else he was called to do. In fact, he wrote that in a letter several years later, saying, “God gives grace to the humble… so humble yourselves… cast all your care upon the Father and He will care for you.”

Wherever you are in life, take solace in knowing that you are not alone. And as Jesus compassionately kept pursuing after Peter, He is also pursuing your heart. Let Him capture it and download everything He has for you. Your purpose is found only in Christ Jesus. There is an amazing reason that you were born. Let Him show it to you and bring out His plan for using you to show your world just how amazing He is.

I love you and am so thankful for you.

Pastor Anthony