Bible Verses to Help You Walk in God’s Purpose for Your Life

Do you know you are a unique part of God’s story? God has a purpose for your life, one that brings Him glory as you share His life-giving message of love and salvation with the people He brings your way.

Each one of our stories, while as individual as we are, is a message of hope to others who are feeling hopeless and lost. But knowing we have a purpose and actually living in God’s purpose for our lives can sometimes leave us confused, even frustrated. We want to hear the Lord’s voice when He speaks so we can follow Him, but we struggle with knowing if we heard Him correctly.

Recently, I entered a season of prayer and fasting. As I drew close to the Lord, He reminded me of something I previously read but gave little thought to. It was a simple truth I knew but had otherwise ignored. Before I was born, I was set apart.

While the Lord was speaking to the prophet Jeremiah in this verse, the Bible contains many verses reminding us God has chosen us to fulfill His purpose in this world. His plan for us includes doing the good works He prepared for us before we were even born. This means the Lord wove within each of us certain unique gifts and talents that empower us to walk in our callings.

Still, knowing God created us for a purpose and actually walking according to His plans can be tricky. If only He would download a daily agenda in our planners, we could just get up and get going, diligently completing the tasks at hand. There would be no room for confusion. Instead, life is full of obstacles and distractions that can cause us to question ourselves and doubt our ability to walk in God’s plans.

3 Obstacles to Walking in God’s Purpose

Because God has a purpose for our lives, it’s imperative that our plans align with His will. But what if we don’t know His will for our specific situation? How do we move forward when the Lord’s plan for us isn’t clear?

1) Disobedience—One obstacle to knowing God’s will and walking in His plan is lack of obedience on our part. When the Lord calls us, He wants us to follow Him wholeheartedly. Instead, we can doubt His directions and excuse our disobedience to His commands.

Maybe you have experienced the same feelings of self-doubt as you sought to hear the Lord’s voice in your particular situation. You might even fear stepping out in faith in your calling for fear others might reject you. But if the Lord has called you, He will equip you with the ability and the holy boldness to fulfill your calling.

Like me, do you sometimes lack holy boldness when it comes to walking in God’s will for your life? Do you doubt His voice when He leads and guides you in your purpose? If you struggle with the assurance that you are hearing the Lord correctly, I encourage you to learn to discern his voice and how He speaks to you. You do this by studying the Bible and through prayer. You may also consider reaching out to your pastor, a few trusted friends, or godly mentors who will pray for you and help you as you seek God’s plan for your life.

2) Compromise—Another obstacle in fulfilling God’s plan for my life was that of compromise. I have always desired to handle the Word of God accurately. But, when confronted with the false teachings or mishandling of the doctrine by another teacher, I would get all tongue-tied rather than speaking the truth in love and gently correcting them.

Once again, the Lord had to remind me that if I wanted to walk in His purpose and plan for my life and ministry, I would need to stop making excuses, be bold, and let the Holy Spirit speak through me without compromise. Likewise, each of us will need to know the word of truth and boldly share it as we seek to live out the Lord’s plan for our lives.

As I share some obstacles I have faced while trying to know and advance in God’s purpose and plan for my life, I encourage you to seek the Lord on this matter as well. Are you feeling frustrated? Do you pray and knock and seek, only to feel as though the Lord is not revealing His plans to you? If so, I understand. For a while, I also struggled with knowing what to do with my life, career, and ministry. Thankfully, the Lord is faithful to give us wisdom and lead us as we ask Him.

3) Confusion—Another obstacle we can run into when seeking the Lord’s will is confusion. During my fast, the Lord revealed I was being oppressed by a spirit of confusion, a hindering spirit that was harassing me. While I don’t look for a demon under every rock, I knew what He was showing me was true. I could feel the heaviness but felt powerless to get rid of the ever-present sense of self-doubt, confusion, and indecisiveness. The Lord then reminded me He has authority over evil and harassing spirits, and at His command, they must leave.

Can you imagine that? Like a military general with thousands under his command, all God had to do was speak the order “Dismissed,” and that thing was gone! After removing this dark cloud that had hung over my life, He told me it was now time to get rid of compromised thinking and walk in the holy authority and anointing He had given me.

To move forward in my mission, I would need to trust in the word of God and not be afraid to speak it with the authority God gave me as His child and as His servant. That’s where faith comes in. To walk in God’s purpose and plan, we must have faith in His word.

Confusion for you may not come in the form of a menacing spirit. It may occur when life seems out of control and chaos is all around. Perhaps you’re in the middle of a painful trial. Maybe, like me, you have experienced the heartbreak of having a loved one struggling with addiction or other life-destructive behaviors. Or maybe you are dealing with health issues that are holding you back from moving forward in your purpose. Let me assure you that nothing you are going through can hinder God’s purpose from being accomplished in you and through you. He simply asks that you be willing and obedient to do what He asks even if you are experiencing intense hardship.

Being obedient and pursuing God’s purpose for our lives doesn’t require most of us to quit our jobs, sell everything, and move to a third-world country, although it might. The Lord most often asks us to bloom where we are planted.

3 Ways to Have Faith in God’s Purpose

Why am I telling you this? Because it’s easy to become defeated and feel like we will never see God’s purpose accomplished in our lives. To walk in God’s purpose, we must have the faith to believe He has a plan for our lives. We also must believe He will reveal that plan to us and make it clear to us what we are to do next. Here are three ways to have faith in God’s purpose and plan for your life.

1) Believe—God created you intentionally and with purpose. You are not an afterthought to Him. You are not a hiccup in His plan. You are not a mistake. Your life has meaning and is of great value. God did not call you to Himself only to sideline you while the rest of the team plays in the game. You are a unique individual, gifted with strengths and talents to be used for His glory.

2) Know—God speaks to you directly. You will need to learn to recognize His voice when He speaks to you. While there is wisdom in godly counsel, are you listening to too many voices because they seem more spiritual or wiser than you are? When God speaks to you, do you back down if others oppose you? (Thus opposing His word to you?) Or, do you speak with bold confidence, knowing His word is true and does not return without accomplishing His purpose?

But how do you know if what you’re hearing is really from the Lord? Remember, the word God speaks to you will not contradict the Bible. Search the scriptures for the wisdom you need. If you are still in doubt, pray for confirmation from two or more witnesses. Once confirmed, be obedient. When the Lord speaks to you about His plans for you, it’s important you do what He says. The naysayers will say their nays, but you still need to trust His voice and obey as He leads you.

3) Trust—the Lord when He speaks to you. If life gets harder and everything seems to fall apart, it doesn’t mean you missed His voice. That’s where we get it wrong sometimes. We think if we step out in faith and things don’t work out as we planned, we didn’t hear the Lord correctly when He spoke to us. But God never promised that our obedience would come easily or painlessly. As we learn to let go of doing things our own way, we will learn to trust in the Lord and His plans, even when we don’t fully understand them.

During His ministry, Jesus demonstrated that obedience to his Father meant doing the hard things such as facing rejection, being called a liar, and being accused of blasphemy. Being obedient meant being tortured and crucified by those who hated Him. Ultimately, obedience to His Father cost Him His life.

May you know the Lord’s voice as He speaks to you directly. Don’t falter because people oppose you. Do and say what the Lord is calling you to do and say. Let Him be responsible for the outcome. No matter what, believe He speaks to you. Personally. Intimately. Cultivate an ear that listens to His still small voice. Then get up and do what He tells you to do and go where He tells you to go.

God has set you apart for His glory. You are a unique and vital part of His story. Never forget that. In doing so, you will see His plans and purpose fulfilled in your life.