Your life is important! You have a special purpose!
There comes a point when you hear these sentences and you begin to believe they are for someone else. Your heart hurts – you want to belong, but that special place that only you can fit seems illusive.
Are you searching for your purpose? Here are some thoughts that will help.
- I was alone, abandoned. Widow of Zarephath thought her life was over, and God sent her Elijah. Her calling showed up when she thought she had nothing more to give. She took a chance, gave, and found new focus.
- I was hated and overwhelmed. Elijah thought the world was against him. He thought his life was over. He ran to the Mountain of God, waited, and when God showed up, he was not only encouraged, but God gave him new vision and energy.
- I made too many mistakes. Peter was rebuked by God himself (Jesus) – he messed up and Jesus rebuked him. Then he messed up and suggested that Jesus shouldn’t wash his feet. Peter couldn’t seem to get it right. He tried to defend Jesus in the garden and Jesus corrected him again. Then, when he had a chance to stand up for Jesus in Pilate’s courtyard, he denied ever knowing Jesus. Peter made mistake after mistake and Jesus not only restored him, but anointed him. On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached to the crowds and 3,000 people were saved.
Each of these people found their ‘sweet spot’ when God met them.
- They had to step out in faith
- They were called to put God’s agenda before their own
- They had to focus on the future instead of the past
- They found that God was there to empower, provide and direct.
What has God called you to? Is He asking you to step out in faith? Are you bogged down in the past? What can you do to look toward the future?
God will show up. Your life does have a purpose. I look forward to seeing what God does next.
2 Responses
Lovely. Yes, we have a niche. But it’s surprising and confusing to peer at a muddled or unseen future. Not even a widow knew that gathering pots from neighbors and filling them with a little oil bottle would be something we oohed and aahed over nearly 3000 years later. That the death of her son would be remembered as encouragement to pray and believe throughout millennia.
I suppose Elijah wasn’t feeling like a world-changer when ravens were dropping leftovers near him as God’s brook of provision began to run dry. Nor was Peter proud as his peers recorded his indiscretions and bumbling remarks.
Their stories are part of what makes scripture so raw and believable — and God’s love and direction seem accessible. Onward ho. Trip. Fall. Get up. Move on. Onward …
So we take one day at a time. Knowing it must be possible to grope in the dark and see a perfectly-laid-out path in retrospect.
Yeah. Don’t you wish some days that we could have a few moments of hindsight? The problem is that when we look into the future, we look for problems to avoid instead of adversity that brings opportunity.