“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, so that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).
I have been walking with the Lord for over 40 years, and in that journey, He has given me both specific tasks to fulfill—divine assignments—and an over-arching destiny. Regardless of the season I’ve been in, He has been faithful to lead me on the path.
Here are three foundations that will help you pursue His purpose for you with security and peace, knowing His will for you is not a burden but a joy! When you walk with God daily, you are daily in the will of God.
Know Your Identity
“Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen. 1:28).
Understanding your identity and what God has given you through Jesus is foundational to knowing His will for your life. God’s first mandate to mankind was to increase in number and to rule over the earth. Because of sin, we lost the right to exercise dominion the way He originally intended us to. Instead of ruling, we became ruled by our flesh.
Thank God for new life in Jesus! Through the death and resurrection of Christ, we have been re-born into new purpose and new identity. According to Romans 5:17, we get to “reign in life” through Jesus. We are given authority to glorify God, to do good works and to walk, think act and love like His Son did.
Listen to the Voice of God
“For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God” (1 Cor. 2:10b).
Now that you know that you were made with a purpose and given the authority to fulfill that purpose, you’ll want to explore the specifics of God’s plans for your life. Here are three foundations of prayer that will help you to dialogue with your heavenly Father, to listen to His voice and receive His guidance for your life.
- Speak to God and listen for His voice in response, whether that comes through a sense of urging through His Spirit, through the “still, small voice” or through some other way.
- Start with a clean slate. If you feel far from God and unable to communicate with Him because of sin in your life, run to God, not from Him. Confess your sin to God, knowing you can approach Him confidently.
- Pray in the Spirit. One of the ways the Holy Spirit gives you counsel and guidance about what and how to pray is through the gift of tongues. If you have yet to receive this gift, keep asking God for it and expect to get it.
Destiny and Divine Assignments
God has a destiny for your life, and He also has specific divine assignments. These assignments can seem unrelated to your destiny, but they are the good works that God has put in place for you to complete. Not long after I got saved in 1973, I began attending the University of Maryland, where I began a student Bible study. My overall destiny is to reach the nations, specifically in Asia. However, God had a divine assignment for me for a season: to bring Him glory among college students.
Regardless of what season you are in, know that your purpose will always line up with the Great Commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20a).
God’s desire for your life to is that you walk in communion with Him, making disciples and seeing His kingdom come. When you pursue His presence, stay grounded in His word and allow Him to develop godly character in you, you will remain in the center of His will!
Ché Ahn and his wife, Sue, are the founding pastors of HRock Church in Pasadena, California. Ché serves as the founder and president of Harvest International Ministry (HIM) and the international chancellor of Wagner Leadership Institute (WLI). With a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary, he has played a key role in many strategic outreaches on local, national and international levels. He has written more than a dozen books and travels extensively throughout the world, bringing apostolic insight with an impartation of renewal, healing and evangelism.
This article originally appeared at hrockchurch.com.
