Its been a minute, but God has been really digging in my heart. If you have time take a minute to hear what the Lord has been teaching me.
A heart to run. To run the race that the Lord has placed in front of me. O how I see your mercies, O how your grace washes over me. Purpose I shout with Joy. The passions you have placed in front of me Jesus have shown me that Purpose is what you have for me.
Purpose. Thats been a constant for me lately. Might sound kind of weird but its something the Lord has placed on my heart to wrestle with. So often I tell myself I need to find my purpose, my niche, where I am suppose to be, the thing that drives me and brings me joy. Truth is I don’t necessarily think finding your purpose can be an easy thing or something that happens overnight. It unique, its deep, its timely, and it can be hidden. But you know whose hands your purpose is hidden in? The Fathers, the scared hands of the Father that took your place on the cross so that you could have purpose only found in Him. My sweet friend gifted my a devotional by Rick Warren called “The Purpose Driven Life”. If you know me I am an absolute junkie for devotionals. (I don’t know what it is but I am a sucker for good devotional and even if it just has a cute front on it, you best know I will buy it). Hmm just another devotional to dig into! But wow I didn’t know how much I needed that devotional until I began to read the words on Day 1. Purpose. What is your Purpose? For me, I thought I had found mine. You see my Purpose is found in Jesus Christ and when I think of my purpose in Him I think of the gifts that He has given me to share his love with those around me. Yes, that might be part of the purpose God has for me, but it is also much bigger than that. Purpose starts with relationship. You see, God is not just the starting point of your life, He is just the start of it and there is PURPOSE for that. Here are some thoughts I began to ponder as I read. Purpose starts with a relationship with Jesus Christ. A deep and intimate relationship with Jesus. Giving Him your all and being all in. Purpose is knowing that it is chosen by God, it is understanding that the purpose of your life fits into a large purpose that God has created for you for eternity (a pretty cool picture, right?). Your life has purpose. We are reminded of this in Colossians 1:16, ” Everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him”. Listen to that. I read that verse multiple times and each time it still gives me chills. To think that everything started with Him. Each thing created, THAT MEANS YOU has purpose. I love the comparison that Rick Warren gave in this devotional, he said, “If you are handed an invention that you had never see before, you wouldn’t know its purpose, and the invention itself wouldn’t be able to tell you either. Only the creator or the owners manual could reveal its purpose.” Wow, right? Something I never really even thought about. We are all created by God and He is the only one who knows our purpose. Before we were even formed He knew YOUR PURPOSE. So, stop trying to search for your purpose through earthly things, you won’t ever find it. Turn to the only one that knows. I think this starts by taking the focus off of yourself and beginning with placing your focus on God, your creator, the one that knows you the best and has your purpose chosen for you. It is only in God that we discover our identity, our meaning, and our purpose. Life is about letting go of the past and letting God use you for his purposes, not you using him for your own purposes. Gods purpose is not limited by your past. We were all made to live for him, that’s a PURPOSE. But what is your deep purpose that is found only in Him. His purpose that is chosen specifically for you. I encourage you this week to dig into that and spend time asking the Lord where your purposes is and what that might look like? Maybe you might have to change some things. I know that I did. It takes courage to find your purpose and live it. But take heart and know that your purpose is rooted in God alone.
A question to think on: Are you living your life with purpose for yourself, or are you living your life with purpose for God?
Prayer Request: July first is when my squad find out if our trip is still on or cancelled due to COVID. Please join my squad in I in praying that God’s will be done. Pray for peace with whatever the decision is. I also ask for prayers of guidance if my trip does get canceled. Prayers that God will lead me to something even greater.
