The Pursuit of Purpose

In the 15th chapter of Romans, Paul wrote these words to encourage the people there to pursue God's purpose for their lives:
13Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.14Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.15Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God,16that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
I think a key word for this passage is "confidence".   The apostle Paul wanted to instill in the hearts of his readers, by the power of the Holy Spirit, a sense of trust in God, giving them the confidence to walk in the goodness and knowledge of God.  He reminded them of the grace that had been given to him as a minister, and recognized that it was the accomplishment of Christ through him.  

We can be confident in God - that He sent His only Son, so that we might have new and eternal life through salvation.  That can bring great confidence to us!   We can know that He has loved us and continues to love us - greatly.   We can be confident that He has created us in a unique way, with special talent, in order to be used by Him and to fulfill His purpose for our lives.   When we encounter barriers rooted in fear or inadequacy, we can think about God's call to us and be encouraged in His power and grace.

The prophet Jeremiah felt inadequate to fulfill what God had called Him to do, and the Lord provided these words of encouragement in the 1st chapter of the book of Jeremiah:
4Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:5"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations."6Then said I: "Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth."7But the Lord said to me: "Do not say, 'I am a youth,' For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak.8Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you," says the Lord.

Jaylen Bledsoe is a 15-year-old high school student from Missouri who started a tech company when he was 12, took it global and now employs more than 100 people three years later. The company is reportedly worth $3.5 million, and Jaylen is giving God the all the glory for his success. The Christian Post featured him in a recent piece and referred readers to a post on his blog entitled, "Blessing to Motivate."

Jaylen writes: "In light of recent media attention, I’ve been so busy speaking on the company and not thanking someone who should be thanked. I’d like to thank my Lord and Savior. Without him, I would be no where. He’s given me the blessing to have the company and profound success, but to also be a motivation to others."

He goes on to say that:

Over the last few years, I’ve been able to motivate that kid,
who smokes weed all day, to go and learn about entrepreneurship.
who plays video games all day, to go and learn how to develop his own video game.
who’s considered a nerd at school, and is bullied.

He also leaves the reader with some motivational thoughts:

Age is nothing but a number, don’t let this prolong your dreams

Your past does not limit your future, but expands your knowledge on how to make your future great.

Success is not calculated on the amount of likes you receive on an Instagram picture, but is defined by the amount of internal pride created by your accomplishments.

Find a skill of yours, and go master it!

Wisdom beyond his years, you might say.   This is a teenager who demonstrates that age should not be a factor in your usefulness to God - youth and inexperience or an abundance of years shouldn't necessarily be deterrents in our effectiveness for the Lord.    Now, the inexperienced definitely needs to learn and grow and the experienced needs to put what they have learned to good use.

I think of the words of the Lord to Jeremiah, who cautioned him not to be held back by his youth.   And, Moses tried to reason with the Lord that he didn't speak well, so he could not be used of God.   King Saul hid among the cargo because he didn't have the confidence initially to be king.

So - what's holding you back in your pursuit of God's purpose?  Does your youth or inexperience become a barrier rather than a motivator to gain more knowledge?   Or perhaps you feel you have aged out of your prime?   Is it fear of failure?   Perhaps lack of confidence?   Maybe you feel there is nothing you do well?   God can give us confidence to step out in faith and trust in His love and power, no matter how we may feel restricted from becoming who He has intended us to be.