God has a purpose for all that He does; so you need to have a purpose for your life. Have a theme or ‘a motto” for your life. What are you about? What do you hope to achieve? Why do you do what you do? When you have a purpose you have defined your life. You have set a standard and put boundaries about your life. There are certain things you will or can do and certain things you cannot do because of the purpose you have for your life.

Purpose will give you direction. It will determine your friends, what you wear, where you go, what you say etc. Purpose will put order in your life. Purpose puts definition to your life. It lifts you up.

It enables you to achieve in life. Rather than shooting aimlessly, in all directions and living a life of wastage, you begin to get defined results. It makes you live a life of targets.

Somehow God has ordained that in order to be the best we must go through challenges; for gold to be pure, it must be refined i.e. go through fire. For diamond to be valued; it must be cut and polished- sometimes the challenges we face are just cutting us to size and polishing us while some are just refining us. Jesus had to die for us to be saved. There is a price for everything.

When you begin to live a life of purpose with targets, sometimes you are able to choose your challenges. The aim of challenges is to stretch you. When God sees you are always connected, dependent on Him and stretching to achieve definite things, He knows you are already challenged. He does not allow the enemy to load you with unnecessary ones. The saying goes “the devil looks for work for idle hands.

Purpose also enables you to determine stages in your life.

When you prayerfully receive definite directions for your life and you set out to accomplish it; you’ll see a new phase start in your life. In this new phase you’ll have objectives to fulfill daily, weekly etc. When that is accomplished; you enter into another defined stage of your 

life by prayerfully seeking God again.

Sometimes, we allow the winds of life to blow us around anyhow. This does not preclude the definite stages of life but they also can be goals you set to achieve. For example, a young lady can set a goal to go to school and succeed. Then, she maps out her strategies. Afterwards, she may set out to sit for corporate examinations and pass. Again she maps out her strategies. Later on, she decides to get married; she maps out her strategies again. Then, she wants to have children; she maps out her strategies again.

You might say that’s too good to be true or it’s too easy. These have been proven to be facts of life by various experiences of people and of course, that of yours truly.

Well, purpose gives focus and precision to your life. It gives a force to your life and helps you channel the power of God into your life ahead of time. Purpose gives focus to your prayer life. It strengthens and empowers your prayer life. It channels your confessions and strengthens your faith. It’s like setting out to pass an exam. You give your purpose all it takes.

When I was a young lady, I couldn’t get married until it became a need, because it was getting late. You know what I did? I simply focused on getting married. I prayed, fasted, got people to fast and pray with me, confessed and God acted.

Also, just before the wedding, I began to see children as a need, so I focused and prayed ahead and when I got married, God acted.

When I ventured into business, I applied the same principles. Even, in turbulent times, the same principles will see you through.

Purpose gives you focus. You need strategies to actualize your purpose. Mike Murdock said, “When you have a goal, methods to achieve it will evolve.” Strategies are the methods to achieve your goal. Your strategies may include changing your outlook, sowing seeds in the lives of others, prayer, confession, going back to school etc. God can give you strategies for your purpose to be fulfilled. You can also study the lives of other great people or people who have accomplished what you desire. Battles are won with strategies. The Army doesn’t just go to war; they map out how they intend to win before going out there.

It is paramount that you set out time to evaluate your life, home, business. After which you need to seek God and set purposes, goals and targets for your life.

You will not live a life of failure in Jesus Name. But a life that is without a purpose and a plan is already a failure. When we fail to plan, we have already chosen to fail.

Make having peace in your home, on the job etc a purpose and have strategies to achieve it. Make a plan for raising your children and have strategies too.

You may not perfectly or totally adhere to what you have mapped out because of various factors sometimes but don’t be discouraged but be determined to get it right and done.

If it looks like it’s not coming to pass or being delayed; don’t give up. When it looks too big to achieve, break it into smaller parts and work at it, one stage at a time.

Habakkuk 2

Keep at it; sometimes, God works behind the scenes to bring the best to us. He works on us and others so that at the end, we come out victorious.

Never say it is over or I failed. If God gave you the vision or purpose, stand to see it come to pass. Stand to see it achieved. It will not fail because God does not. For your spiritual life, giving, prayer life, negative habits, time management; set goals and the Lord will help you.

This year will be a year of definite achievements for you in Jesus Name. You will look back and count your blessings; you will get the things that you set out on purpose to receive from God.

Remember, business science says your goal must be smart i.e. specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound but with God this may not be totally applicable; it’s a matter of what you have built your faith to receive from God. Miracles still happen. Get a picture of where you want to live or who you want to be and live it out.