Everyone is somewhere right now. If we exist, we exist in time and space, so we are always some place at every moment. We might live in California this month but move to South Carolina next month, and then live in Tunisia three years later, but we are always somewhere. Sometimes we may wish we were somewhere other than where we are, but the question we should be asking ourselves at any given time and place is, “Why am I here right now?” Even if we wish we were somewhere else, trying to find and fulfill our purpose for our present circumstances makes sense. Maybe we won’t always live where we live now, but as long as we do, we should try to understand our purpose and seek to live our lives for that purpose.
In Acts chapter 17, Paul gives us an answer to the question we should all be asking. He is in Athens and speaks to people who knew little of the Hebrew God and nothing of Jesus. They were religious people and philosophical thinkers, but their knowledge of Judaism and Christianity was little to none. At one point, as he is speaking with them and wanting to encourage them to consider expanding their understanding of God from their pagan mythology, he says these words: “and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation.”
This says that there is the one true God of Heaven who has made all people and placed them where they live and in the season of time in which they live. He says this to get them to understand that there is a sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient God who has given them life and has orchestrated their life circumstances. This idea of a God personally involved in their lives would have been a radical concept for them to consider, but Paul did not stop there. He also told them why God had them alive at that moment and had them living in the particular place in the world where they were living. In other words, he answered for them the question they and everyone should always be asking, “Why am I here right now?”
Paul explained that God set their time and the boundaries of where they lived “that they would seek God.” This is precisely our answer to what should be the primary question on our minds. Why are you right here, right now? The answer is - to seek God.
It doesn’t matter where we live or the time we live. The answer is always the same. We are where we are to seek the Lord. God placed us in our time and place for us to seek Him. That is the starting point for all of us in life, no matter where we live or the age in which we live. Seeking God is the great purpose of our lives.
Further, this is true not only on a macro level but also on a micro level. It is a question to ask every morning, why am I here right now? It is a question of being at the job. Lord, why do You have me here right now? It is the question for every relationship, Lord, why am I in this relationship right now? Seeking the Lord extends to seeking His will for every day and everything.
Our lives are not random. Instead, they are divinely designed by God. He has a purpose for our lives and purposes for our days. Seeking Him is the beginning point for discovering why He has us where He has us, in the time He has us. As we seek God, Jesus reminds us that if we seek, we will find. And as we see God’s purpose and His purposes for our lives, we can begin to live the abundant, fulfilled lives Jesus gave us.
As Lent commences on Ash Wednesday, we are entering a time of introspection and prayer leading to Easter. Let us reflect on the significance of death preceding resurrection, urging readers to embrace a daily practice of surrendering self in preparation for our spiritual transformation.