Your Purpose & God’s Promise
by Nichole J Suvar
In the garden, God gave humans their first directive about their purpose.
“Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground” (Genesis 1:28 NLT).
A common interpretation of that verse is that we were commanded to procreate and fill the earth with people. Along with that, we were given dominion over all of the animals. Seems pretty simple, huh? But we know that if that is all we did with our life—procreate and rule over animals, we would quickly feel purposeless. Which means we need to look into this a bit deeper.
When you read a little further, you see where God created Adam and then gave him the directive of tending to the garden:
The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it (Gen. 2:15 NLT).
So, now man’s purpose is to procreate, rule over the animals, and tend to the garden. Part of his ruling was naming all of the animals. God saw that, despite being surrounded by all of the creatures, Adam was alone, so He created Eve. The woman was created so that man wouldn’t be alone, and because God knew it would be better if both male and female were image bearers of Him.
A Broader Focus
Most of what you know about struggling with purpose comes from after the exile from Eden. You struggle with wondering if you make a difference, if your work matters, or if you should do something different. Do you find yourself feeling like your work has no meaning beyond earning a paycheck? Have you been in a spot where you tediously do your work day in and day out, all while your mental health takes a steady climb downward? What was it about the exile that shifted our purpose, and what do we need to connect to in the garden to help us find our purpose today?
“Be fruitful and multiply” is often understood as a call to have children and grow families. There is a sense of purpose in raising our children and impacting the next generation. But in a broader biblical sense, it’s about so much more. When God gave humans the directive to be fruitful and multiply, He was inviting them into a life of purpose and significance. Think of the times when you felt most purposeful. Most likely, it was when you were spreading goodness, building or connecting with community, or leaving a meaningful impact on a place or person. Being fruitful is about bearing good fruit in all areas of our lives, whether nurturing relationships, sharing inspiring ideas, or using our gifts to bless others.
Being fruitful is about bearing good fruit in all areas of our lives, whether nurturing relationships, sharing inspiring ideas, or using our gifts to bless others.
Nichole J Suvar
Defining “Fruit”
Scripture uses the word ‘fruit’ in a few different ways. Fruit can be actual food (“You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die” [Gen. 2:16–17 NLT]), the symbol for offspring (“Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb” [Luke 1:42 KJV]), and a description of what we produce in the way we live (“Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit” [Matt. 7:17 KJV]).
If you start to look at God’s directive to “be fruitful and multiply” as more than increasing the population, then you can start to envision what God’s desire for you is.
What do we know about the physical kind of fruit? It’s sweet, nourishing, grows on a plant, and produces seeds so that more plants with fruit of the same kind can grow. This same kind of fruit can be found in our lives. Our actions toward others—and ourselves—can be sweet and nourishing to our souls and minds. Allowing the Holy Spirit to take over our lives will produce fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22–23 NIV). When this kind of fruit is shown in us and then shared with those around us, we are planting seeds that can go on to create more healthy spiritual fruit. We are producing fruit and multiplying it.
Finding Purpose
When you think about your purpose and what you are supposed to be doing on this planet and what you were made for, you cannot overlook what God told humans from the beginning: care for the animals, tend to the plants, and be fruitful and multiply. You are responsible for representing Him in how you care for living things and bear fruit in your words and actions. But with this directive, you are given a choice. You can choose your way of ruling over animals, deciding what is worth growing or destroying, and producing the fruit of your own making. Or you can choose the way of caring, tending, and multiplying the fruit of the Spirit. One will leave you feeling purposeless, the other will be life-giving.
The Old Testament records the time that the Israelites were taken into captivity. They were exiled from their homes and were living in a foreign land. God gave the words to the prophet Jeremiah to share with His people. These words remain applicable today, as you live in exile from Eden too:
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper” (Jer. 29:4–7 NIV).
Isn’t that beautiful? The message to the exiled Israelites living in Babylon is one for us today. Babylon, whenever spoken of in Scripture, is often synonymous with sin. God knows you are living outside the original perfection of Eden. He’s not expecting you to do it alone or have it all figured out. Instead, He calls you to settle down and plant gardens, grow families that love Jesus, and seek after the peace and prosperity of the town or city you have settled in. It’s your purpose to bear fruit and multiply. And He’s gone before you, to hold it all together.
Excerpt from I Don’t Have to Hold it All Together: Cultivating the Peace of Eden When Feeling Overwhelmed by Nichole J Suvar
About Nichole
Nichole J Suvar is an author and speaker who knows what it feels like to live overwhelmed, rushed, and stretched thin by anxiety. Now, through her books, devotions, podcast, and speaking, she helps women slow down, understand what’s beneath the overwhelm, and step into a more grounded, purposeful life—one that reflects the peace God designed for them. She has published five books, her latest being I Don’t Have to Hold it All Together, Cultivating the Peace of Eden When Feeling Overwhelmed.
Nichole lives with her family in Northern Indiana. She collects chairs – the more colorful, the better – thinks all the best food is in sandwich form, and will stop everything to read a map. She’s a fan of hiking, cozy cardigans, and Earl Grey Tea, and she’s learning that life unfolds better with open hands instead of tightly held fists. You can connect with her at nicholejsuvar.com or on Instagram @nicholejsuvar.