God has a purpose for our lives and who can stop God other than ourselves? That doesn’t mean others won’t try but ultimately it is our choice. Can anyone stop God from blessing us? I believe God blessed me a number of times prior to my becoming a Christian. God foreknew long before I was conceived that I would eventually be obedient to His will.

A few weeks back I wrote “Our purpose in life”. It was about our God-given spiritual purpose for which we were created. Today, I want to point out that we can have secular purposes and if we become passionate enough, it can change the direction of our lives forever. These purposes can change many times throughout our life-time provided that we follow the Holy Spirit’s directions. I believe God is continually preparing us for a greater purpose and enhanced challenges.

Four years in the navy as an enlisted man and I knew I would never come back, in case of a war, except as an officer. How you were treated and one’s lifestyle was very contrasting. I had developed a new purpose and it changed my future direction. I knew I had to get a college education. Until then I had never dreamed of going to college. The only thing that kept me from dropping out of high school was sports.

The next time my purpose changed was when I accepted Christ as my Savior. As my purpose in life completely changed it also changed my direction. Previously, I was going to attend the University of Washington but ended up going to a Christian college.

I needed a couple of easy credits and joined the school band. My background was playing the drums. I played the snare drum and met my future wife who played the bass drum. She was two years ahead of me and her major was violin and vocal. My purpose in life changed when we were married. It totally changed our direction. I became more accountable and much more responsible.

It was during my junior year that our daughter was born. My marriage and my daughter changed my direction. I went from being a C plus student to an A minus. Greater responsibilities made other changes in direction.

I was asked to teach a Bible class of 5th and 6th grade boys. It was one of the more exciting experiences and I believed that being a teacher might be my purpose in life. I took some education courses and upon graduation, the first two years I was head coach at a Christian high school.

An opportunity to go into business with a greater financial future became available. My purpose changed and it changed my direction. That change in purpose and direction eventually led us to Las Vegas. Every time my purpose changed I fully believed I was being led by the Holy Spirit.

My grandson was 10 yrs old and was riding in the car with his mother. He heard a Christian song being played on the radio and he told his mother that he was going to play that song on the drums in church one day. He had never played the drums before. He started taking lessons and found that he had a God-given gift for playing the drums. He believed his purpose was to be a musician and it gave him life’s direction. He came home and told his mother that high school was going to be taking over the services and he was going to play the drums in “Big Church”. When she found out what song he would be playing she was completely amazed. It was the song he had told his mother years before that he would play someday in church. He had forgotten but she hadn’t. He is now playing weekly on the worship team.

Previously, I emphasized the importance of praying that God would give to each of us a purpose in life. Too many Christians apparently are unaware that God has a plan for them. They seem to lack a passion for what it is they are doing. Or, they have a passion but have not developed enough trust in God to follow the Holy Spirit’s direction. Negative fear is the Devil’s greatest weapon. How often have you wanted to do something but were afraid to try?

I know a lady who dropped out of high school and took a job hoping to make a living. Her dream was to become a nurse. How could she become a nurse when she didn’t even have a high school education? Her husband encouraged her to go back to school and she did. She was then accepted into the nursing program and later became a nurse. She is now a supervising nurse. Her purpose in life changed and it changed her direction completely. She is my daughter-in-law.

We would all be remiss if we did not emphasize that had we not trusted God, followed the Holy Spirit’s guidance we could not tell of these experiences. If you as a Christian want to live life to the fullest, pray that God gives you a purpose. You may now be exactly where God can use you. If so, you probably are passionate about what you are doing and feeling that you are achieving your goals. If not, trust in God and ask the Holy Spirit to give you purpose which may change your direction completely. Age or security should not matter. Your passion must become your purpose.

In 1987 I started a new career that paid zero to start. It changed my whole life. I am continually teaching, my original purpose and desire, but to older people and about a different subject. Thank God I was able to trust Him. We all must!

Philippians 4:6 & 7 – “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” NLT