The Process to Purpose: 4 Steps To Revealing God’s Purpose For Your Life
For those looking to know God’s purpose for their life, there is a process you must go through before it is revealed. Follow me into the book of Isaiah, chapter 6, to see this process. It’s convicting and painful. But it is worth it. When God asks, “who shall I send?” will you jump up and accept the assignment before knowing what it is? Prepare your heart and mind from now to do so because there is a process to the purpose.
“Then one of the seraphim flew to me with burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed and your sins are forgiven.” Isaiah 6:6-7
- You must see God. (Isaiah 6:1-3)
Isaiah saw God in a vision sitting on a throne, and the train of his robe filled the temple. We could only hope to see God this way, seated on His throne, with seraphim (angels) around him singing holy, holy, holy.
You may not have had the experience of seeing God the way Isaiah did in this vision. However, you can “see” Him when reading His word. You can “see” Him when in worship or when in prayer. Seeing God is experiencing his presence; however, He chooses to reveal Himself.
You could even see God through other people. God has revealed himself to me numerous times through fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. They would send me a word they didn’t even know I needed, but God used them so I could see Him.
Don’t get me wrong, God can and will send you visions and dreams meant to give you warnings or direct your path. Overall, it’s about having a supernatural encounter with Him that makes it undoubtedly sure that you are indeed “seeing” God.
Ask Him to reveal himself to you if you have yet to see God’s face. Tell him you are ready for what is next. Spend more time reading His word because it is alive, and He is waiting to speak to you.
2. Acknowledge and confess your sins. (Isaiah 6:5)
After seeing God and the singing angels, Isaiah realized he was not worthy to be in the presence of such holiness. He claims, “woe is me, for I am undone.” When Isaiah saw the Lord, he completely fell apart.
Being in the presence of such purity made him realize just how impure he was, “I am a man of unclean lips.” Isaiah was acknowledging that he is a sinful man and not worthy of being in the presence of such holiness.
Your first encounter with God will be similar. He will bring you to your knees and into a place of repentance. You will immediately recognize every sinful thing you have thought, said, or done. And you will have a strong desire to rid yourself of it all.
Don’t allow this moment to fill you will shame or guilt. That is not the purpose. You will have the desire to be cleansed and purified. Allow His presence to refine you, which brings me to my next point.
3. Purification. (Isaiah 6:6-7)
Once you admit you are unclean, you have created the space and opportunity for God to cleanse you, or in Isaiah’s case, an angel. “Then one of the seraphim flew to me with burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed and your sins are forgiven.”
This demonstrated Isaiah being cleansed from his “unclean lips” or rather his sins. This process had to be a painful time. Imagine how sensitive the skin is on your lips and then being touched by hot burning coal.
This illustration tells us that the purification process will be painful; maybe not physically, but emotionally and spiritually. Being cleansed from your sinful ways is never a pretty process. God will show you yourself. All the ugly things about yourself that you didn’t even know was there; He will bring to the surface.
It will be hard to face and accept. But all your impurities must come to the surface so God can remove them. Similar to the process of refining gold. Gold is put through fire for all the impurities to be removed. The contaminated parts float to the surface to then be separated from the pure gold. Your sins need to be separated from the parts of you God wants to use.
You can only speak for Him and be used by Him if you are washed clean and forgiven for your sins. What comes from the cleansing is the readiness for service, which comes from a purged heart.
The purification process is never a one-and-done deal. You may need to be purified numerous times while on your journey with Christ. Once your relationship has begun, He will continuously purify you if you let Him.
4. Hear God’s Calling. (Isaiah 6:8)
You are now cleansed. You can hear Him more precisely and see Him moving more in your life. It’s like cleaning out a junky closet. You can see and find things easier once you remove all the unnecessary clutter.
Now God can use you, and you will be called. The only problem is God may not reveal where He is sending you right away. I’ve learned in my journey that God only shares pieces to the puzzle one piece at a time. He wants to see your willingness to trust Him and obedience to His call.
Would you jump up and say “send me” if you had no idea where God was sending you? After the process, you will feel eager to please God. The fullness and the satisfaction of being purified by God almighty will make you feel like you can do anything. And with Him by your side, you can.
The previous step of purification will allow you to hear His voice and answer quickly. The instructions He gives you towards the assignment He wants you to complete may not make sense at first. However, it may not be for you to understand but to obey.
In the verses to follow, God gives Isaiah his next steps, “Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing.” (Isaiah 6:9 NLT)
God tells him to listen but try not to understand. Our calling and purpose for God’s assignment may not make sense. Spending too much time trying to understand the call may deter or delay us from being obedient.
God is a God of mystery. He may not reveal the answers until He sees our obedience first. So move when He says move. Volunteer yourself when He asks, “who shall I send?” Do not let the lack of information hinder your steps. He moves when we move.
Allow yourself to go through each step without rushing through them. It is not always about the destination but the journey to get there. During the purification process, be prepared to see yourself in new ways (good and bad). It’s not easy to face all your flaws; however, they must be removed for the Kingdom assignment on your life.
Once your purpose is revealed, you will realize the things you were holding on to were useless. Therefore, I encourage you to let go and let God.
Yours Truly Moe
