Are you happy 2020 is over? Are you prepared for what 2021 might bring? In this post and video, I share what God has put on my heart for His people in 2021, specifically how to live with greater purpose! God is doing a new thing and He is inviting people to break out of the status quo of their Christian life and join Him in His work. But, will you respond to His call? In this short video and post, I share how you can prepare your heart for all God has in store for you and live with greater purpose in 2021!
A Word To Christians For 2021
If there is anything we take away from 2020 it should be that things don’t always work out the way we think they will. They could be much better, but they might not be. As you seek to put 2020 in your rearview mirror I must ask… are you assuming 2021 will be easier? Better?
Are you prepared if things stay the same or get more difficult?
In Isaiah 43: 18-19 God says not to look at the former things because He is doing a NEW thing. Then He asks the question… DO YOU NOT PERCEIVE IT?
While I know this isn’t a direct word for us today, it reveals an important principle and lesson for us… There are times and seasons when God begins to do a new thing among us.
The question we must each answer is, “do we perceive it”? Are we walking close enough to the Lord to perceive when He begins doing a new thing, going in a new direction in order to accomplish His work on the earth?
Many people will miss what God wants to do in their life and in His church because they are too preoccupied doing THEIR OWN THING or maintaining the status quo.
As 2020 has ended and now 2021 begins, are you ready to just get on with your life or are you watching, waiting, and seeking God’s purpose for your life this year?
To be clear, this is not intended to sound doom and gloom for 2021. I do believe THE BEST IS YET TO COME. However, I’ve also learned that it might not look at all like we thought. 2020 was a good year, even great when I look at it through the proper lens, one that has removed my preconceived expectations first.
This is why Proverbs 3:5 warns us to Trust IN THE LORD and to NOT lean on our own understanding!
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5 (ESV)
One of the primary lessons we should take into 2021 with us is this: We need to be seeking and walking with God each day!! If we are going to live with greater purpose in 2021, then it’s not enough to just check in with God occasionally. We won’t get where God wants to lead us by just doing the status quo! We live in perilous times and we don’t know what the future holds… but we do know WHO holds the future!
I believe Romans 13:11-12is a word for us today, and it tells us to BE READY!
11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Romans 13:11-12 (ESV) – Emphasis mine
The return of Christ is drawing near and God has a purpose He wants to accomplish in and through your life! But you can not fulfill your true purpose outside of God.
So what is God’s Purpose for your life? How can you live with greater purpose in 2021?
You find it in God’s Word…
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
2 Corinthians 5: 17-19 (ESV)
How To Live With Greater Purpose in 2021
God’s Purpose for your life is summed up as two things in this passage: Knowing God and Making Him Known
The First and Primary purpose of God for your life is to KNOW GOD!
God created you to KNOW HIM personally and deeply. He invites you into a loving relationship with Him in which you can experience His Rest, Joy, Power, and Freedom!
In order to know God, You must turn to Jesus Christ in faith, repent of your sins, and surrender to Him as your Lord. If you do this, you will be saved and enter into an eternal relationship with God!
When you do this, He makes you His child and you are now a member of His family.
The Second purpose of God for your life must flow out of the first. It is to MAKE GOD KNOWN!
God created you with unique gifts that allow you to MAKE HIM KNOWN among the nations. To tell those who are lost that He loves them and is seeking them!
When you are serving God in this way, from a place of knowing Him deeply and using the gifts He has given you, you will find deeper joy and greater purpose!
Take Action
So as you head into 2021, making your plans for the future, let me ask: Have you made seeking the Lord and Knowing Him deeply your primary focus for 2021? Is accomplishing the work God created you to do your primary agenda for 2021?
If not, I challenge you to make these things your top priority in 2021! When you do, you will live with greater purpose and find 2021 is the best year of your life!
Leave a comment below and let me know one step you will take to make seeking the Lord your primary focus in 2021!
