Purpose is one of the most difficult non-tangibles to grasp, especially if you are a woman. And for women in ministry the journey to accepting it, acknowledging it and stepping into it can be difficult. Do you ever feel like you don’t deserve to have a purpose because of your sin? Has your sin defined you in your mind? If you think your sin cancels out your purpose, all you have to do is read the Bible to find out that it does not! The Bible is full of women who sinned and still lived out the purpose God put inside of them.
The very first woman to grace this planet was made with a purpose. Even though Eve sinned, she continued on with her purpose until the day she took her last breath. She lived with the consequences of her sin all while living out her purpose.
Some ladies are uncomfortable with the fact that Eve’s purpose was to be a helper to Adam. But Eve was not uncomfortable with her purpose—the Bible never says Eve didn’t enjoy or didn’t like her role as Adam’s helper. God put a purpose in her and she lived it. He wove that purpose into the fabric of her being when He created her. Her purpose was as fixed as her height or eye color. She wasn’t resentful of it or afraid of it. She lived it because that is what God created her to be and do.
In many ways, Eve’s life doesn’t look like it should be the first example of a life of purpose lived out. Her mistake is widely known throughout the world. Her sin has literally gone viral for thousands of years. But her sin did not define her in God’s mind. He forgave her, and she continued to live out her purpose.
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life” (Ephesians 2:10 BSB).
Purpose is not given or taken away because of our sin. Like salvation and forgiveness, purpose is a free gift to all who will receive it and embrace it.
God is not required to reveal His plan to you. Your faith only requires you to believe that He has a plan and purpose for you even if you can’t see it.
There is a lady in the Bible named Sarah. She received a promise directly from God himself that she would give birth to a son, and that son would be the beginning of a lineage that makes the pedigree of the English monarchy laughable. She would give birth not just to a son, but also to a nation. Sarah laughed, smirked and doubted when God told her His purpose for her.
She laughed because she couldn’t see how God could possibly make good on His promise. She had lived a whole life waiting, making mistake after mistake, trying to make it happen. She tried her own way. She tried forcing a solution. She tried giving up. She made a mess of things, but that didn’t change God’s mind about His plan and her purpose.
Esther’s purpose was buried underneath heartache, loss and confusion and included a scary road. There was no way for her to ever know what was to come or that her trust in God would be critical to the fulfillment of her purpose. She had one choice and one choice only. Esther had to know to trust in the Lord with all her heart, to know that He is for her and not against her, to know that He has a plan and it is not to harm her, and, above all else, to know that He loved her.
If you believe that you have a God-given purpose, then you believe you have an extraordinary purpose and that God is going to use that purpose in an extraordinary way. You don’t get to call yourself a child of God who was formed in your mother’s womb with a God-given purpose, and then, in the same breath, call yourself and your purpose ordinary.
After all, nobody in their right mind would put Mary’s purpose in the “ordinary” category. It almost sounds sacrilegious—she was the mother of Jesus, for crying out loud! But I bet if we could sit down with Mary and have a conversation, she would tell us that ordinary is exactly what being the mother of Jesus felt like, all the way until His death and resurrection.
God’s plan and purpose depend on you knowing just how precious and special you are to Him. You may not be able to see how God can use you after your brokenness, hurt, bitterness, un-forgiveness, addiction, unfaithfulness and sinfulness. But God sees a lady who He created on purpose and for a purpose.
You were created for good works, which God prepared beforehand just for you so that you will accomplish them.
You have a purpose and it is good.
