I recently got this question from one of the women in the Super Working Mum Facebook community: “Can I have more than one purpose in life? If yes, must they “match” or be related?”

What a fantastic and relevant question.  Many people have this question on their mind and in this blog post I will try and answer to the best of my abilities, as simple as possible and within the context of this question (there is so much to the topic called purpose)

Firstly let’s establish the definition of Purpose.

What does purpose mean?

According to the dictionary it means: “the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.” It also means “determination or a feeling of having a reason for what you do”

Based on this definition it means there is a purpose for which you were created or why you exist. We can infer that your purpose gives you a reason or a determination to follow a particular path or paths in life. If you are observant, you may discover that the different circumstances or situations you encounter, your experiences, likes, dislikes tend to have a similar pattern.

As a child of God, our definition and the way we think about purpose will differ from how the world views it so please bear with me as I lay some foundation to answer this question.

Now I am assuming you know about the story of creation, the fall of man, Jesus coming to die for our sins and redeeming us back to God. So we won’t go into all of that.  All of these is part of God’s purpose for us.

Your first purpose is to make Jesus the Lord of your life. Remember when Adam fell, we lost fellowship with God. His plan was to redeem us back to Him, so that the fellowship that existed before the fall can be restored. (John 3:16)

Your second purpose is have an intimate relationship with God the Father, Son and Holyspirit when you become born again. It is to experience eternal life here on earth. Most people think eternal life exists when we die. However it starts as soon as we give our lives to Christ.  John 17:3 tells us what eternal life is: And this is the way to have eternal life–to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.

Your third purpose is that as you experience eternal life and the love of God, you tell others of the love of Jesus so they can also experience eternal life. Matthew 28:19.

How does this apply to my individual life’s purpose(s)?

Ok so you may ask me, “what does this look like on a daily basis? How does this apply to my individual life’s purpose(s)?”

Psalms 139:16 says: “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”

This means everything pertaining to your life already exists and you have a unique path to follow in life. Whether this translates to just ONE thing or more than one thing is something you discover as you walk on your life’s journey with God.

For some people, it is discovered from a young age what their individual purpose is through prophecies or other means. While for some, it takes them going through some situations, or a life defining moment for their individual purpose to be revealed. However as you take one step in trust and obedience, He reveals more.

Don’t get bogged down

A lot of people get bogged down with the details of “is my life’s purpose one thing?, if so how do I know I haven’t missed that one thing?” and that causes fear which stops them from making any move in life.

When you give your life to Jesus you are already working in purpose. Isn’t that amazing to know? Then once you begin to develop an intimate relationship with the Trinity, your days recorded in God’s book will begin to unfold.

He doesn’t always give us the full picture…maybe not to scare us of how BIG His plans are for us… Also I believe it is because He wants to give us a chance to develop our faith and trust him and that we are willing to go where He leads us since we have the gift of free will.

Will your life purposes match or be related?

You may be called to be a Doctor and then find out that you enjoy writing as well. Are those two related? Do they match?… I don’t know… however what I know is God can use your skills as a doctor to save “the body” and your writing talent to encourage and save “souls”. It doesn’t matter if your life purposes match or are related human speaking. In the eyes of God, the master planner they all drive towards one goal which is to redeem lost souls back to Him.

Do you love God?

God already told us in Romans 8:28 that “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them”

The key points here are that if you love God, He is orchestrating everything to work for your good because you are called according to His purpose. So do not allow fear to stop you from exploring options that life presents to you. As you listen for his voices, he will begin to open doors to confirm what you were created to do.

I hope this has helped shed more light on the question- can I have more than one purpose in life.

Let me know your thoughts or your answer to the above question.