How Do I Find My Purpose? | Rise Church | Chattanooga, TN

Proverbs 2 gives permission for honest questions that build faith instead of tearing it down. Wisdom calls people to search like silver and hidden treasure, and God promises to give knowledge, understanding, protection, and direction to those who seek him. Purpose begins there, not with self-invention, but with God giving wisdom from his mouth.

The inner tube image makes purpose plain. An inner tube can be used for other things, but when it is blown up, tied to a boat, and flying across the water, it is doing what it was made to do. Purpose works that way in a person’s life. The sweet spot comes when what God made someone to be lines up with what God made that person to do.

Peter’s life shows that purpose is not reserved for polished people. Simon, son of John, was ordinary, unschooled, impulsive, and prone to failure. Yet Jesus renamed him Peter, “rock,” and said that upon this rock he would build his church. The unstable one became the rock because Jesus saw more than Peter’s track record.

The purpose formula keeps it simple: who made a person plus how that person was made equals why that person is here. God made every person, and God did a good job. Psalm 139 says God created the inmost being and knit a person together in the womb. Ephesians 2:10 says that God’s people are his masterpiece, created anew in Christ Jesus for good things he planned long ago.

Purpose may show up as a dream that will not go away, a gift that meets someone else’s need, or a story that helps somebody else live. Purpose will also be bigger than the person carrying it, because God must be involved. The call may come like a simple post-it note that says, “go,” not like a full road map.

Purpose should not wait for provision, protection, comfort, ability, validation, or perfect clarity. The first step usually creates the clarity. God uses shepherd boys, runners like Jonah, tongue-tied leaders like Moses, and ordinary disciples with no special training. The mark that matters is that a person has been with Jesus.

Purpose is seized by boldly taking the first step, keeping an outward focus, and living empowered by the Holy Spirit. Peter’s transformation in Acts 2 shows the difference the Spirit makes: Simon the unstable preached, and 3,000 people were added that day. Purpose is found when God’s purpose is accepted, and the purpose giver is known through Jesus.

##

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Purpose starts with the Maker. God does not leave purpose floating in the air as a guessing game. The question “why am I here?” begins with “who made me?” because identity comes before assignment. When God is the Maker, purpose is not self-created pressure, but a received calling from the one who already knows the whole life. [13:18]
• 2. Ordinary people carry holy calling. Peter’s failures did not cancel Jesus’ word over him. The name “rock” landed on a man who would still sink, deny, and stumble, which means calling rests on Christ’s authority more than human stability. God’s purpose often begins where a person feels most ordinary, because the point is not natural greatness but being with Jesus. [12:19]
• 3. Clarity comes after obedience. Purpose rarely arrives as a full road map with every turn marked out. God often gives just enough direction for the next faithful step, and that step becomes the place where more light appears. Waiting for perfect clarity can sound wise, but it may quietly become a way to avoid trust. [23:37]
• 4. Gifts are meant to serve others. A gift is not merely personal decoration or private satisfaction. First Peter frames gifts as stewardship, meaning God’s grace is placed in a person so it can pass through that person to somebody else. When what a person does lines up with who God made that person to be, helping others becomes the natural overflow. [34:11]
• 5. The Spirit turns unstable into rock. Peter did not become extraordinary by finally getting his act together. The Holy Spirit empowered an ordinary fisherman until his life carried supernatural weight. Acts 2 shows that purpose becomes legacy when the Spirit fills weakness with boldness and turns a surrendered life outward.
  
  ## [36:47]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [05:45] - Proverbs 2 and Permission to Ask
• [06:51] - Inner Tubes and Purpose
• [09:38] - Finding Purpose Through Peter
• [12:19] - Ordinary Peter, Chosen Rock
• [13:18] - Who Made You?
• [14:20] - Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
• [16:31] - Looking for Purpose
• [20:40] - A Simple Word From God
• [22:09] - Don’t Wait to Go
• [25:05] - God Uses Ordinary People
• [29:15] - Boldly Take the First Step
• [31:12] - Keep an Outward Focus
• [36:01] - Empowered by the Holy Spirit
• [38:22] - Carmen’s Story of Purpose

Bible Reading

Proverbs 2:1-8
“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.” [05:45]

Matthew 16:13-18
“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, 'Who do people say that the Son of Man is?' And they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.' He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' Simon Peter replied, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' And Jesus answered him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.'” [09:38]

Ephesians 2:10
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” [16:31]

Observation questions

1. In Proverbs 2:1-8, what actions are a person told to take in seeking wisdom, and what does God promise to give and do for those who seek him that way? [05:45]
2. In Matthew 16:13-18, what question does Jesus ask Peter, what answer does Peter give, and what new name and promise does Jesus speak over him? [09:38]
3. Ephesians 2:10 says believers are God’s workmanship, created for good works prepared beforehand. What does that verse say about both identity and purpose? [16:31]
4. The inner tube picture shows that something can be used in many ways, but it has a “sweet spot” where it does what it was made to do. What details from that picture help make purpose easier to understand? [06:51]

Interpretation questions

1. Proverbs 2 connects honest seeking with receiving wisdom from God. What is the difference between questions that build faith and questions that slowly pull a person away from trust in God? [05:45]
2. Jesus called Simon “Peter,” or “rock,” before Peter looked especially steady. What does that reveal about the way Jesus sees a person’s calling compared to the way people often judge by track record or weakness? [12:19]
3. If purpose begins with the Maker rather than self-invention, how does that challenge the common idea that a person must create their own identity and meaning from scratch? [13:18]
4. Clarity often comes after obedience instead of before it. Why can waiting for perfect provision, comfort, validation, or certainty become a subtle way of avoiding trust? [23:37]

Application questions

1. When questions about calling, identity, or direction come up, where does the search usually begin: with personal pressure to figure everything out, or with seeking God for wisdom? What would it look like this week to seek wisdom like hidden treasure? [05:45]
2. The sweet spot of purpose is where who God made a person to be lines up with what God made that person to do. Where does life feel most alive, most fruitful, or most useful to others right now? What might that reveal about purpose? [06:51]
3. God often calls ordinary, imperfect people. Where is there still a tendency to disqualify oneself because of weakness, past failure, lack of training, or instability? What would it mean to believe that Jesus sees more than the record so far? [12:19]
4. Some purpose shows up as a dream that will not go away, a gift that meets someone’s need, or a story that helps somebody else live. Which of those feels most familiar right now, and how might God be using it for someone beyond the self? [16:31]
5. Sometimes the call comes more like a simple “go” than a full road map. Is there any next step that already seems clear, even if the full picture does not? What has been making that step hard to take? [20:40]
6. Purpose should not wait for perfect ability, comfort, protection, or validation. Which one of those delays is most tempting right now, and what would one small act of obedience look like in that exact area? [22:09]
7. Gifts are meant to serve others, and the Holy Spirit gives power for that service. Where could an outward focus grow stronger right now: at home, at work, in the church, or with a neighbor? What would it look like to depend on the Holy Spirit there instead of just trying harder? [31:12]