What is My Purpose? Why Should I Live?

Many people ask, “What is my purpose?’” Some go so far as to think, “Why should I live?”

The truth is: God can use YOU to touch the lives of others, no matter how old you are, or how disabled.

What happens when your kids are grown and gone, your spouse has passed on, and you are old?

Several of my dearest friends are in this group and some have contemplated suicide because they feel they have outlived their purpose.

My Dad and Step-mom live in an assisted living facility. Their neighbor was in the center of her church’s activity in another state for decades. A recent widow, her family moved her closer to them. She shared with me that she sees no point in going on.

After that dinner conversation, I prayed about how to respond. Before I left my folks apartment to head over the mountain the next morning, I popped up to her apartment to share my thoughts.

As a child, I had a favorite Great Auntie Zorah. She was dear to me. What an amazing faith she had. When my parents divorced she took me under her wing and saved me.

When I went off to college, she moved closer to my Aunt’s place, much further from my college and home. I was young and busy with my studies but she wrote to me on a regular basis. I’ve kept her letters all these years. She has long since gone home to glory. I’ve read and reread them. Her letters were like an anchor in the storms for me. I encouraged my Dad’s friend to write to her many grandchildren.

This story may help you see a little more clearly:

Another friend of mine was at a nursing home visiting her grandmother. Her cousin was there visiting as well.

He leaned over, and said:“If I ever have to come here just shoot me. What is the purpose of living like this? Look at all these oldsters drooling on themselves.”

Char looked at him and said, “My dear cousin, every day the Lord gives you on this planet has a purpose.”

He wrinkled his brow, “Like what?”

At that moment, an elderly gentleman rolled up in his wheel chair and addressed the grandma, “Elaine you look like you are hurting today.”

Elaine nodded in reply.

“Well, let me just pray for you, would that be OK?”

She again nodded a reply. He grabbed her hands and launched into a heartfelt prayer for “relief from the pain, peace that passes understanding, and a good visit with her family.” Then as soon as he had appeared, he was gone.

Char couldn’t have planned it better. She looked at her cousin, “That is what.”

One of the best, most helpful, things to do when you feel depressed is to look for opportunities to minister to others.

No matter our circumstance, there is always someone we can minister to. A kind word, a letter of encouragement, a prayer lifted up on their behalf. So don’t loose heart. While the circumstances may have changed, and you may feel like there is no purpose, if you are still on the planet He has a purpose. Ask the Lord to show you your new purpose, a new reason for being here. Then look for opportunities to live it. That is after you get some exercise. See this article on how exercise helps combat depression from Harvard Medical School: Exercise and Depression.

If you can’t find a place to be used of God try these links: