By Cornelius Bella
You want God to preserve your life. But what have you dedicated that life to?
During a pastoral counselling session, a question arose that reached beyond the circumstances we were discussing:
“Are you living for God’s purpose or your own?”
It is a question that deserves more than a quick, religious answer.
The decisions you make, the opportunities you pursue, the relationships you cultivate, and the future you are working towards—are they driven by personal desires, or have they been submitted to God’s perfect will?
It is possible to ask God to bless a decision without ever asking whether He wants us to make it. We can pray earnestly for protection along a road we have chosen without first seeking His direction.
Then, this morning, an impression settled on my heart:
You are kept and preserved to fulfil the purpose God made you for.
That thought brought me back to the question from the counselling session. If God has given me life, sustained me, and entrusted me with opportunities, what am I doing with what He has preserved?
Your Life Came from God—and Belongs to Him
Before you developed ambitions, God had a purpose.
You did not create yourself. Your gifts, your opportunities, and the very breath in your body should lead you back to the One who gave you life.
Ephesians 2:10 declares:
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
— Ephesians 2:10, KJV
We are saved by grace, not by our works. Yet the life we receive in Christ has a purpose: there are good works God intends us to walk in.
The Christian life therefore calls for a change of ownership in our thinking. We move from asking, “What do I want to do with my life?” to asking, “Lord, what would You have me do with the life that belongs to You?”
Scripture makes that ownership clear:
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
— 1 Corinthians 6:19–20, KJV
If I belong to God, His will must have the final word.
That reaches into my calling as a pastor, my responsibilities as a husband and father, my work in public health, and my writing. None of these areas should operate independently of His lordship.
God’s purpose is expressed in everyday faithfulness: how we treat people, discharge responsibilities, manage resources, and obey Him when nobody is watching.
Have You Submitted the Desire—or Only Presented the Request?
Having personal desires is not automatically wrong. The issue is whether those desires are surrendered.
Can God correct your plans?
Can He change your timing?
Can He close a door you desperately want opened?
Can He lead you towards an assignment that offers less recognition but requires greater obedience?
Romans 12:1–2 says:
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
— Romans 12:1–2, KJV
Notice where this begins: present yourself to God.
We often want clarity about His will while retaining control over the answer. But surrender means we are willing to obey before we know every detail.
A useful question to ask before a major decision is:
“If God’s answer differs from my preference, am I prepared to follow Him?”
Our honest response reveals whether we are seeking direction or simply seeking approval.
God Is Faithful to Keep What We Entrust to Him
There is deep confidence available to the person who commits their life to God.
The One who calls us is faithful. He does not give an assignment and then become indifferent to the person He has called.
Paul wrote:
“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24, KJV
Here, preservation is connected to God’s sanctifying work and the coming of Christ. His concern reaches beyond keeping us alive; He desires to keep us faithful, holy, and ready for Him.
We can bring our bodies, our minds, our needs, and our assignments under His care. We can pray confidently for health, strength, protection, and provision.
Yet we must understand that confidence correctly.
God’s faithfulness is His commitment to His own Word and character; it is not a debt we create by serving Him.
A life dedicated to God does not purchase immunity from illness, suffering, or opposition. Faithful believers can face all three. Their difficulties do not prove that they have missed God’s purpose.
Our assurance is that we can trust Him with our whole lives. He remains faithful in deliverance, faithful in sustaining grace, and faithful through circumstances we do not yet understand.
Purpose Gives Courage in the Storm
In Acts 27, Paul was travelling towards Rome when the ship carrying him encountered a violent storm.
He was walking in God’s purpose, yet the storm still came.
In the middle of that danger, Paul declared:
“For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,
Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.
Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.”
— Acts 27:23–25, KJV
Paul knew whose he was and whom he served.
He also had a specific word from God concerning what lay ahead: he would stand before Caesar. That promise gave him confidence while the storm was still raging.
This account does not give us permission to declare ourselves untouchable simply because we have unfinished plans. It teaches us to anchor our confidence in what God has actually said.
The storm did not cancel God’s word to Paul.
When your life is surrendered to God, you can face uncertainty with this settled conviction: “I belong to Him. I serve Him. I can trust Him with what comes next.”
Preservation Calls for Stewardship
If your life is dedicated to God’s purpose, care for what He has entrusted to you.
Your body matters. Your mind matters. Your spiritual life matters. Your family responsibilities matter.
Trusting God for preservation should lead us to responsible living. Rest, appropriate medical care, wise boundaries, and attention to our health are consistent with faithful stewardship.
Exhaustion is not proof of consecration. Neglecting your family is not evidence of commitment to ministry. Ignoring wise counsel does not demonstrate strong faith.
The purpose you are called to fulfil includes the manner in which you live while fulfilling it.
Ask yourself:
- Am I making this decision in obedience to Scripture, or trying to justify what I already want?
- Am I being led by faith, or driven by fear, comparison, and pressure?
- Am I caring for the people and responsibilities God has already entrusted to me?
- Am I willing to receive correction?
- Does my daily life make room to hear and obey God?
These questions help us bring surrender out of our vocabulary and into our conduct.
A Fulfilled Life Is a Life That Serves God’s Purpose
Scripture records this about David:
“For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:”
— Acts 13:36, KJV
What a testimony: he served his own generation by the will of God.
David’s life was not without failure. Yet this passage directs our attention to something greater than personal achievement: service within God’s will.
We should desire long life, pray for health, and expect God’s help. We should also ask what we are doing with the years, strength, and opportunities already given to us.
Are people being helped by our obedience?
Are our children seeing a sincere walk with God?
Are we faithful in private?
Are we doing what God has placed before us today?
A meaningful life is built through these acts of obedience.
Give God Your Yes Again
That question from the counselling session is now a question for every one of us:
Are you living for God’s purpose or your own?
Perhaps you have been asking God to preserve a life whose direction you have kept firmly in your own hands.
Today, you can surrender again.
Bring Him your ambitions. Bring Him your anxieties. Bring Him the decision you have already made but have been reluctant to let Him examine.
Jesus gave us the perfect expression of surrender:
“Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”
— Luke 22:42, KJV
Let that become the posture of your heart.
You are loved by God before you accomplish anything for Him. From that place of love, give yourself wholeheartedly to His will.
Trust Him to strengthen you for obedience, sustain you through difficulty, and accomplish His work in you.
You are kept for a purpose. Let the life He sustains be a life surrendered to Him.
Prayer
Father, thank You for the life You have given me and for Your mercy that has sustained me.
Forgive me for the times I have pursued my own desires without seeking Your will. I present myself to You again—my spirit, my soul, my body, my relationships, my work, and my future.
Let Your Word renew my mind. Expose every ambition that is pulling me away from obedience. Give me grace to accept Your direction, Your timing, and Your correction.
Preserve me in Your care. Grant me health, soundness of mind, strength, and wisdom to fulfil the responsibilities You have entrusted to me. In every trial, sustain my faith and keep me faithful.
May I serve my generation by Your will. May the life You have given me bring You glory.
Not my will, but Yours be done.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
