The next major factor we will cover that is essential for us to find and walk in our purpose the following:

Beholding the glory of the Lord—Why is this important for us to walk in our purpose? We are changed into who we must be to fulfill our purposes as we are told in II Corinthians 3:18:   
 

Seeing His glory is more than just seeing the beautiful colors and majesty of His person. The glory of the Lord is described in a number of ways in Scripture, such as His works, His nature, and His power. By seeing His nature, we are transformed into the same nature. By seeing His works, we are empowered to do His work, and it is by seeing His power that we grow in the faith that releases His power. Now let’s look at how this practically transforms us.

If we are called to be a pastor or shepherd, we will perceive His glory as the Good Shepherd. A shepherd will tend to see Jesus’ shepherding nature in everything Jesus did and will be transformed into that aspect of His glory by this. Likewise, someone who is called to be a teacher will see Jesus’ glory as the Teacher in everything He did, and this will transform and impart to them His teaching nature. An evangelist will tend to see Jesus’ glory as the Evangelist in all that He did, and they will be likewise transformed into that part of His nature.

The same is true of the gifts of the Spirit. Those who begin to see the glory of the Lord in healing and start to especially love His healing nature will likely be called to have this gift. If you are drawn to a certain part of the Lord’s nature like this, pursue it. We are told in I Corinthians14:1, “Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts.” It is not enough to just be open for the Lord to use us. If we do not value His gifts enough to earnestly desire and pursue them, then we are not likely to ever walk in them.   

I have often heard people say that we should not pursue the gifts but the giver; however, that is not biblical but humanistic idealism and probably robs many people of walking in their purposes and the spiritual gifts they are called to have. One way that we pursue the Giver is by pursuing His gifts. These “gifts” are not prizes for us, but they are tools for doing the work that He has called us to do, which all true pursuers of God should be devoted to.

As the Scriptures verify, we were known by God and called by Him before the foundation of the world. When He made us, He made us with a purpose, and that purpose is the deepest desire of our hearts. When we are doing what we were created for, it will be what satisfies us the most. If we are called to a teaching ministry, few things will be as rewarding as seeing people receive understanding about the Lord and His ways. If we are called to a healing ministry, few things will be as rewarding as seeing someone healed. If we are called to prophetic ministry, receiving revelation from the Lord will be one of the most fulfilling things that can happen to us, and so on.

Nothing will be as fulfilling as fulfilling our purpose. We will never know true peace or true satisfaction until we are doing what we were created to do. One of the main reasons for much of the discouragement and things such as church splits is rooted in the frustration of people not knowing or being able to fulfill their callings in the Lord. That is why “equipping the saints” so that they can do the work of the ministry is fundamental to building the church. True apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers are equipping others to do the work that they are doing.

To apply this personally, what is it about Jesus that attracts you to Him the most? What is it that He did that you would love to be able to do the most? Pursue a deeper understanding of that aspect of His nature. Seeing more of His glory will change us more into His image.

The Lord is also the King of kings, and as we behold Him, there is a transformation and impartation that releases His authority in us. More will be said about this in later studies, but some are called especially to manifest that aspect of His glory, and all are called to manifest some. He is also the ultimate Administrator who upholds the universe with His Word. Those who are called to the ministry of administration will behold His glory there, and there will be an impartation. Some are called to be elders, who are also judges in the church. They will begin to see the glory of the Judge and the glory of His devotion to people being treated fairly, and it will transform them into the judges they are called to be.

Our basic purpose as human beings is to love God, become like Him, and to do the works that He did. This is what we were created for, and nothing else will ever satisfy us. Therefore, this should be the chief pursuit of our lives. All of this will be accomplished by knowing Him, beholding Him, and following Him.