What is the meaning of life? Why am I here? What is my purpose? What am I supposed to be doing?

These are questions that we all ask ourselves at some point in our lives. Often it is late in high school or early in our college years. So many doors stand wide open and the possibilities are endless. There are so many different things one can do, so many paths that could be followed, and each one forks off in different directions at various key points in our lives.

It isn’t unusual to completely change direction from one goal to another. Sometimes these changes are forced upon us, other times, it is completely voluntary.

When I was very, very young, my father worked in middle management for the Dana corporation in Ecorse, Michigan. They made steel frames for GM cars. When his position was eliminated and he was laid off, he was forced to find another path. He went to work in the real estate market where he stayed through my eighth grade year. We lived all around the Detroit area and moved frequently.

From there he chose to go in a radically different, entirely unexpected direction. He packed us up and moved us to Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he attended Concordia University and became a Lay Minister for the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. We ended up in Brawley, California where he assumed the pastoral role at Trinity Lutheran Church. We landed about as far away as you can get from Milwaukee and still be in the continental US.

I don’t see the connections between the jobs my father had that took him from where he began to where he ended up. I don’t have to. God knew the path. He knows what options we will face and which ones we will choose. This does not take away our free will, God just knows what we will do. God does not make us do anything. If, however, we do not follow His path, there will likely be consequences. But there will always be a path we can take that will set us back on the course He laid out.

It isn’t always easy to follow God’s path. Changes will come, and they are not always going to be pleasant. Things are going to happen that are completely beyond your control. The path curves ahead and you can’t see around the bend or over the hill until you get there. The only thing that you can do is react, and how you react to these situations is all that you can control. But sometimes you just don’t know what you should do or where you should go. These decisions aren’t always easy.

It is during these times that we often seek advice from friends and family. That is wise.

Proverbs 11:14 “For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war
: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.”

Find people that you can trust. People who know you well and really have your best interests at heart. Consider well what they tell you, but don’t forget to ask the One who initially set you on your path.

Proverbs 3:6 “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct they paths.”

Ask God for his guidance. He is the only one who knows the path and the goal.

There are people who will tell you that they know God’s purpose for your life. The people who were told by God and truly know are extremely rare. While their guidance may be invaluable, be wary of those who will tell you that they know the mind of God.

There is a destiny for each of us that God has already determined and set into motion. All we have to do is follow His leading. The end game isn’t always evident, and the path is often difficult, but if you stay the course, the rewards are beyond your wildest dreams.

Does God have a purpose for the bum on the street, the single mother, or the orphaned child? The short answer is yes, He does.

The fact of the matter is that person you see walking down the street, pushing a shopping cart filled with everything they own, may be in that state for a reason that has nothing to do with him or her. That person may be there solely for your benefit. Will you be compassionate or derisive? Will you extend a helping hand or ignore them as though they are not there? What will you do or say? What will you not do or say?

Or you may endure something for no other reason than God requires it for someone else to continue down his or her path.

I came to this realization several years ago. I had a blown disc in my neck that was pushing against a nerve that made every movement a new adventure in pain. It was excruciating. The strongest drugs only took the barest edge off the pain. While I was helping a friend with a Power Point presentation, although I didn’t complain, she knew me and knew I was in distress.

I went to bed later that night and woke up the next morning feeling a whole lot better than a I had in many weeks. God told me, “Susan prayed for you.” It was that simple and that clear. I was also told that I had to tell her. I was compelled to tell her. I knew that it was necessary and that she needed to hear it. And when I did, I knew why. Susan needed to know that God was still there and was still listening to her.

A few months later I had a surgery that completely fixed everything that was wrong.

I was certainly blessed in having my pain relieved, but I believe that what I was going through had nothing to do with me; I was only the vehicle God used to give Susan what she needed to continue on the path God had set before her. Once that was accomplished, God arranged for the complete healing of my injury. I was at once both honored and humbled to be used of God in that way.

How do you know what God’s path is for you when the signs are not obvious and you don’t know what to do or where to go? How do you know what God wants?

Whenever I hear these questions, I always think of the same thing –

Micah 6:8 “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good;
and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly,
and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”

That is all God wants. If you do that, you will naturally follow His path and accomplish the purpose He has for you.