We Have A Purpose

     I have often wondered, what purpose does my life have? We all have a calling to do a specific work for the kingdom of God. Some people are preachers, teachers, prayers, encouragers, missionaries, worshippers, etc. I can look at this list and think to myself, "where do I fit in?" This is a problem that I still face every day. People can tell me what they think my calling is, but I only care about what God has destined me for. The only way any of us can truly know our place is to;

(1) Pray about it.

(2) Search the Scriptures

(3) Examine Ourselves

Let's talk about each one a little further:

Pray About It:

     As with everything and anything we should ALWAYS take it to God first. We all know that prayer is a conversation; a fellowship with God. I have said this repeatedly in my other posts that if anything is bothering us we should talk to God about it. Like I said before, I struggle with knowing what my purpose of being on this earth is. So I will take this need to God and pray for guidance. Why do you ask God for guidance? I ask Him because the Word says in Psalms 32:8 God tells me, "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go; I will guide thee with mine eye." This is a promise to me that my prayer is already answered. I just simple have to commit it in the hands of God and (you guessed it) LET IT GO! This is not something I need to worry about because I know that "He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). God would not start something with us and then just give up. NO! He will accomplish what He set out to do by breathing life into our lungs. So with this truth that I can find in His Word I can approach the throne of God boldly. The faith I have in His Word is my confidence. I know God will guide me in this problem I have. I know He will give me understanding and wisdom. Even if I don't know what to ask I can remember Matthew 6:8 "…for your Father knoweth what things you have need of, before ye ask Him." God knows us better than we know ourselves and I forget that all the time. He is the One who Created us, right? Everything about us such as our personality, our love, compassion, faith, etc. all of these came from God. It's by His grace that we can possess them through Christ. Another issue I have is repetition in my prayers. When I come to God I have made a bad habit of asking for the same thing in different ways to make sure God has heard me. Here's an example:

" Lord, I ask that you have mercy on my mother today. She is not feeling well and she does so much around the house. Please have mercy on her. Heal her. She sacrifices so much, Lord. Just…all I ask is that You have mercy and heal her. Please. Amen

    This prayer is just nothing but repeated words/ phrases. I get caught up in this concept that I have to feel a certain way when I pray. Like I have to work up my faith in order to "break through" to God. Let me first point out that my way of thinking is not proven in the Scriptures. It's nothing but a hinderance for me because I am listening to the devil lie to me. He whispers in my ear, "Oh, you don't mean that. You lack feeling when you're praying for that person. God won't hear such a small prayer like that. It has to be big and extravagant in order for God to find it worthy enough to answer. You don't really care about them." It goes on and on. When will I learn to stop listening to the lies and start believing the truth?! We can read in the Bible where Jesus taught us how to pray (I will go into more detail in a separate post regarding prayer). If we pay attention His prayer was very simple. It wasn't big and extravagant like we think praying should be. In Matthew  chapter 6 verse 7 Jesus says, "but when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking." Did you know that just whispering the name JESUS is more of a sincere prayer than any long repetitive prayer that we force ourselves to muster up? Prayer is one of the most important things we can do every single day. So I will take this need to God with a sincere heart and I will get myself out of the way and let His Holy Spirit lead me in the direction that I should go. "And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God" (Romans 8:27).        

Search The Scriptures:

     After I bring my need to the throne of God I should take time to read what God has already spoken. He has given us promises regarding our future already, we just have to remind ourselves of them to be encouraged when all me seem hopeless. We have a specific calling on our lives. Every one is different for we all are many members of one body (1 Corinthians 12-26). The body being Christ Himself and the church His many members. So this is proof that we as individuals have a work to do. However, "all members have not the same office," (Romans 12:4), but are all of equal importance. In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul illustrates that the foot cannot say that since it's not the hand, it's not of the body; because the hand seems to be more useful than the foot. However, if we lacked a foot the whole body would be off balance. He goes on to say that the eye cannot say to the hand I have no need of you. The eye can still fulfill its part with or without the hand, but if the body lacked a hand then it would be hindered. Verse 22 says this, "Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary." The whole point is that each part of the body whether it's a toe or the heart it all works perfectly as one. I should confess that I compare myself with others way too much. I look at how one can sing with such a powerful voice and I can't. Someone may be so selfless and doesn't mind helping someone no matter the situation, and I always complain. God says to never compare ourselves with other people. "For there is no respect of persons with God" (Romans 2:11). These scriptures remind me that I am needed and important no matter what I do for the LORD.  This is a huge challenge for me, because I don't think I have much to offer. I have a heart that desires to do something for the LORD, but I'm just not sure what that would be. I forget so easily that anything I do, even when I eat or drink I should do it to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). How amazing is that? I can bring glory to God in anything I do in my daily routine. When I look at me I see the tiniest eyelash on the body of Christ, or maybe a finger nail. I don't take what I see to heart because it's not what God sees. His plans for me are much greater than I even know, and I am no different than you. There is no greater meaning to our lives than the simple fact that it's all for the glory of God. "Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory…" (Isaiah 43:7). We are to show forth the praises of the LORD, "ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9). We are a like the moon. The moon has no light of it's own but reflects the light that is from the sun. We are the moon and Christ is the SON. He told us in Matthew 5 verse 14, "ye are the light of the world…" so we are to let are lights shine before men. Again, we are like the moon, so that means we have no light within ourselves but we reflect the light of Christ. I don't know what my specific purpose is and I don't know what your specific purpose is, but just like Ecclesiastes 3 says there is a time and season for everything; there will be a time when we will know and understand the purpose God has for us because all things are made beautiful in His time. Sometimes we have to learn some hard lessons before we can fully step into the roll we should play.

Examine Ourselves:

     I am learning that it is extremely important that we examine ourselves through the Word of God. I have to compare my heart and life to what the Bible says. Like anything else we cannot examine ourselves on our own that's why we need to pray, and search the scriptures, because only God can open our eyes to what we may be overlooking. "Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways" (Haggai 1:5). The Bible is given to us for "doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" (2 Timothy 3:16). The Word of God corrects us and shows us where we need to improve. So it's needful that we take a long time to consider the steps that we take while we pray. It's also important that we pay close attention to what God's perfect will is as we read and try to place ourselves in the Bible. We are to reflect the Word so we should learn to put ourselves in the Word when we read, because it is for us. We should never just read a verse to read it, we should put it in action. "But be ye doers of the word and not hearer's only, deceiving your own selves" (James 1:22). James also relates someone reading the Bible to someone who looks at themselves in a mirror. So let's put the whole "putting ourselves in the Scriptures" into practice. Let's say we get up in the morning and we are getting ready for work like we always do. We look at ourselves in the mirror when we are doing our normal routine, but then we turn the lights out and walk away. We forget what we saw in our reflection after hours of not being in plain view to ourselves. Yet other people will be watching because they see us all day. They ponder everything we do. Let that sink in.

     Each one of these steps go hand in hand. God uses prayer, the Word, and revealing our own weaknesses to us in order to bring us to our destined purpose. It is a beautiful journey in our life to learn and to grow every day. We strive to become better than we were yesterday. Yes, I may feel useless most of the time but I have no idea the work that God is doing behind the scenes. Like I said earlier we do not examine ourselves as we should, but other people do. Did you know that you are being watched 24/7? Don't let this scare you. This puts how important living the Word of God is into perspective. "Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart" (2 Corinthians 3:3). We are written epistles of Christ. We may be the only Bible that someone reads. So we should be careful and keep ourselves in check. If we profess to be like Christ (Christian) than we should act like it. It's not a term to be thrown around lightly, it is a serious life style that should be  embraced. I have asked so many people why they do not believe in God. Every single answer I received was the same. In their eyes Christianity was nothing but a group of hateful, judgmental people. They are nothing but hypocrites (pretenders). They tell me if that is what God is about I want nothing to do with it. That statement should wake us up and reexamine ourselves. We don't realize that we are pushing people away rather than bringing them in the truth. We should be ashamed of ourselves. That is why it is so important to live the Word "line upon line, precept upon precept" (Isaiah 28:10) and not live based on our own ideas. It could destroy someone's life without us knowing.  We may not know our purpose as some others, but we will. In the meantime we know how to live our lives, and we know that as long as we have breath in our body we have a duty to serve God.  Focus on the positive side of this difficult challenge and let God lead you to higher ground. God Bless You.