A wonderful young believer who is deeply committed to pleasing God was feeling a little down about his life. Despite his desire to honor our Heavenly Father, he was finding it challenging to shake the feeling that his life lacked significance. He had a rough childhood, and as an adult, he’s worked tirelessly just to keep his bills paid and maintain his independence. With so much focus on survival, he couldn’t shake the thought that maybe he wasn’t fulfilling his purpose. “It’s been hard for me all my life, and I don’t think I have any special talents or abilities; I have to work hard for everything I get,” he said. He’s so caught up in the grind that he can’t yet see that serving God’s purpose is unfolding right in his life, even in the hard work and ordinary moments.
When we consider our childhoods and how difficult things were, we might find it hard to reconcile with the abundance Jesus Christ talks about in John 10:10 (NKJV). The verse tells us he said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” The wonderful truth conveys God’s Will for our lives. He wants us to have a more than abundant life, and He has made this level of life available for us through the sacrifice and resurrection of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. God’s Word is true and perfect. So, we can be confident that we can live more than abundantly in Christ. However, if we live outside of Jesus Christ and do not accept the salvation he offers, a more than abundant life will be out of our reach.
Proverbs 30:5 (NLT) reminds us, “Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.” God’s Word is infallible—perfect and unchanging. It works with mathematical precision, and He never oversteps it. The reality we all share is that we are all born into a sinful world, with sin present in our very bodies. The psalmist said in Psalm 51:1 (NLT), “For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.” Romans 3:23 (NLT) echoes that truth: “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” We don’t come into this world with a full knowledge of Christ, and many of us are born in environments of incredible dysfunction and darkness. But even so, God’s hand of protection has been upon us. We should be so thankful that even though the enemy tried to destroy us, he was not able, because God’s purpose and protection have always been with us. This is our testimony.
Even with our humble and tough beginnings, our place in God’s divine plan was never an afterthought. It was a predestined appointment, intricately woven into His perfect design. From the moment He created us, God knew the path we would walk, the challenges we would face, and the purpose we would fulfill. In Acts 17:26-27 (NLT), we read, “From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us.” This passage emphasizes that God has a purpose for everything, and nothing happens by accident. Our lives, no matter how difficult or uncertain, are part of His greater purpose and plan. Even when we couldn’t see it, God was shaping us, preparing us, and placing us exactly where we need to be to carry out His Will. Our value and purpose are anchored in His eternal plan, and nothing—no hardship, no mistake—can alter the destiny He has for us.
God has redeemed us through our beloved Savior, Jesus Christ, and in this redemption, we find not just forgiveness, but the empowerment to walk boldly in the purpose He has set before us. The very struggles and challenges we face are not random or meaningless; they are part of the refining process that equips us to fulfill God’s plan. We don’t need to know all the details of His plan and purpose, nor can we. Our privilege is to trust He’s guiding us every moment of each day. He’ll employ every experience to mold us into the person He has called us to be.
As we live in Christ, we begin to understand that our purpose is not limited to grand, visible achievements, but is often found in the everyday acts of obedience, kindness, and faithfulness. Whether in moments of quiet service or in the middle of life’s hardest battles, we are fulfilling God’s divine plan for us. Through Jesus, our lives are redeemed, and in His strength, we have everything we need to fulfill our role in His divine plan. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Our Role in God’s Divine Plan”, written for Springfield Fellowship © 2025. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.