Post by Adesanya Ayotola (@adesanya_ayotola)

If purpose originates from God, then in one sense it is never truly ours. We are stewards of it, participants in it, and beneficiaries of it, but not its ultimate owners.
The reason we often speak and act as though purpose belongs to us is that we experience life from within our own consciousness. We see our dreams, our ambitions, our gifts, our struggles. Over time, the vessel can begin to think it owns the treasure it carries.

YET THERE IS A PARADOX HERE.

A seed does not own the tree hidden within it, but it must still cooperate with the process of becoming. The farmer plants, the rain falls, the sun shines but the seed must still break open. In that sense, purpose is both given and lived. Perhaps the deeper question is not whether purpose is ours to express at will but whether we have mistaken possession for partnership.

When purpose seems delayed, altered, or redirected, we feel frustration because we unconsciously treat it as our project. We say, "My calling, my destiny, my ministry, my vision." Yet the moment we realize that purpose belongs first to God, disappointment changes its character. We stop asking, "Why is my plan not working?" and begin asking, "What is the Author writing in this chapter?"

A river may think its purpose is to reach the sea by the shortest route. The landscape has other ideas. The bends, valleys, rocks and detours are not evidence that the river has lost its purpose. They are the means by which its purpose is fulfilled. So perhaps purpose is not something we possess and deploy at will. Perhaps purpose is something we continually discover as we walk with the One who planted it.

The mystery is that God entrusts purpose to us enough that it feels like our own, yet remains sovereign enough that it never ceases to be His.
That is why we should spend less time trying to define our purpose and more time trying to discern His voice. We should understood that purpose is not merely a destination to achieve; it is a relationship to be lived.

0 likes · 0 comments · 0 shares