What a fitting word for God to bring to me today, as just yesterday my friend D and I were talking about God's purposes for each of our lives, and His plans for our children.
Only 5 minutes....GO!
Two portions of Scripture come to mind when I hear the word Purpose:
Ecclesiastes 3:1
To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven
Romans 8:28-29
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
The first is a call to the goings on of the natural world, and how our lives intersect with the natural world in light of God's overall plan.
The second is a reminder that God is working His plan out in My life because of my submission to Christ as my Lord and Savior. God's plans for my good are not about meeting all my perceived needs and desires, but about my deep need to be refined and remade into the image of His Son Jesus Christ.
Too often as Christians we focus on verse 28 and forget verse 29 and the reason for His purposes. My life was redeemed from the pit. I think living in America, where even what is thought of as a "hard life" is pretty easy to conquer in relationship to how many other people in the world exist on a daily basis, we forget how needy we truly are before God. If we struggled to find fresh clean water for our children every day, instead of just turning on the tap, we might be inclined to think more about God's plans for our days and less about our plans for the day. Regardless of what struggles we face daily, are we seeking His purposes?
My life is not my own, it is Hidden in Christ, therefore Christ's purposes have become my purpose. In the Gospels we read Christ's words "I have come for this purpose" (John 12:27, Luke 4:43, Mark 1:38-39.) What was His purpose? To lay down His daily life to draw others to God, to give His life as a ransom for many.
So what is My purpose? To give my life as an offering to God, to serve my family by laying down my own desires, and to follow God wherever and however He leads me. Sometimes that is one of those "scary prayers" because I know from the past that God often refines me in ways I do not initially wish to go, and yet, looking back, I see that His plan was the perfect thing for me.
So whatever His purpose is for me, may I accept it and use it to point others to Christ!
Stop.
Click on over to Kate's blog for more 5 minute thoughts on Purpose.
Accepting that he has a purpose for us is inspiring to me. You wrote vey convincingly.
ReplyDeleteUse it to point others to Christ! Amen! And I love the verse from Romans... teaches me to look for His purpose rather than my own. Glad we were neighbours today at #fmf!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about God's purpose being scary, yet always the best for us in retrospect. It's not easy to be sure of that in the day-to-day, so we need to encourage each other along.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's hard to remember that His purpose isn't always ours!
ReplyDeleteVery good.
ReplyDelete