In Ephesians, chapter 2, verse 10, Paul tells us we have each been created to do the specific work God designed us to do. Have you ever paused to think how amazing this is? Each person in history, in every country, and in every time, has been born with a God-ordained purpose for their lives. When each of us fulfills our purpose, it becomes part of the greater whole. It’s another brick in the massive Kingdom of God.
When we fail to do the work He designed us to do, there is something missing. There’s a gap which must be filled. It’s an awesome responsibility. I can’t believe the privilege of doing work God designed me to do. How amazing is that? We must never forget the magnitude of the honor, or the obligation to fulfill it.
Now, I don’t believe in the myth of a blueprint for our lives. I do not for one second think God has preordained our every thought, action, and result of those thoughts and actions. Not only is this inconsistent with the message of freewill woven throughout Scripture, but it flies in the face of passages where God is surprised by the actions of His people (Isaiah 5:3–7; Jeremiah 3:6-7; Jeremiah 3:19–20). There is no blueprint, but there is a plan. When God created us, He designed into our beings a unique blend of gifts, talents, and passions. Looking at our exclusive blend, He imagined work only our combination of skills and passions could accomplish. He delighted in thinking how we might use our gifts to further His Kingdom and bring glory to Himself.
In a perfect world, things would unfurl according exactly to the wonder of the moment God imagined all the possibilities of our life. But this is not a perfect world. It’s a world full of sin, selfishness, pride, and evil. Satan has polluted all the goodness God designed into our universe. We have taken the gift of freewill and used it to distort and even subvert the wonderful things God designed for us. We have neglected our part in building His Kingdom. Our potential remains untapped and unfulfilled. We’re no longer doing the work He created us to do.
This is where many get twisted up in trying to determine God’s will for their lives. It’s not so mysterious as some try to make it. God’s will for your life is to obey His Word and to walk as Jesus walked. God’s will for your life is to love God and love people (Matthew 22:36-40). That’s all there is to it! Do these things and I guarantee you will be fulfilling God’s will for your life.
Doing the work Jesus created you to do will happen naturally when you are fulfilling His will for your life. When you love others as yourself, you will find your hands actively engaged in what He designed for you. When we have Christ as our entire focus, He will take care of the rest. God will bring into our lives the work He designed us to do when we are ready and willing to do it. Our job is to love Him first. His is to take our love, magnify it, multiply it, and create more of His Kingdom through it. He has equipped us for the task at hand. Now we must begin doing the work.