Happy New Week! We are officially in the twenties of October, and we can’t believe how quickly this month has flown by!
Last Sunday, we met for Heal Our Land and discussed Purpose. It’s fitting that the focus of our discussions as a church family has transitioned from power to purpose. After all, the motive behind the display of God’s power is the fulfillment of His purpose.
The yearning for purpose and the understanding of it in our lives is not independent of God’s design for humanity. The knowledge and desire to fulfill purpose are embedded in man, but like every human desire, it can become corrupted if it is not submitted to God’s design and way.
“He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart—a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God—yet man cannot fully comprehend what God has done from beginning to end.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11 (AMP)
Our Purpose in Christ
When we look at Ephesians 1:3–14, our purpose — our “why” — is revealed: the praise of God’s glory through Christ.
When we put our faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, accepting Him not only as Savior but also as Lord, we are called according to God’s purpose — to be vessels of His glory upon the earth. You are Christ’s fragrance in the world.
“But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume.”
“For as the waters fill the sea, the earth will be filled with an awareness of the glory of the Lord.”
2 Corinthians 2:14 (NLT)
Saying Yes to God
Every time we say Yes to God, we are fulfilling purpose.
Sometimes we try to measure purpose using standards created by worldly culture. But whether something fulfills its purpose can only be determined by its creator. Only God knows His purposes for you; therefore, only God — not the world — should define whether you are fulfilling your purpose.
When impact becomes our measurement of purpose, it becomes difficult to discern God’s will for each season. True impact is simply saying Yes to God.
“Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, which is your rational act of worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is — that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans 12:1-2 (AMP)
A Purposeful Existence
God has called us through Christ to a purposeful existence, and only through Him are we able to daily fulfill His purpose for our lives.
The revelation of God’s purposes is not always linear or straightforward. Consider the lives of Joseph, David, and Job. Scripture shows us repeatedly that in Him and through Him we live, move, and have our being.
The gift of the Holy Spirit is a gift that keeps giving — working within us to fulfill the Father’s good pleasure and purpose. He cultivates faithfulness in our lives so we can remain steadfast and see God’s purposes fulfilled in the end.
“Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.”
James 5:11 (NKJV)
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)
God Works All Things for Good
“But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.”
Genesis 50:20 (NKJV)
God continually desires to fulfill His purpose through our lives. Through Christ, He has made us the light and salt of the earth.
Our prayer for you this new week is that in every way God has called you into His purposes, great grace will flow toward you to remain faithful.
We pray that the Holy Spirit comforts and encourages you through every season, bringing you into safe delivery and new birth. You shall see the goodness of the Lord, and His purpose will prevail in and through your life!
“Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?’”
“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!”
John 11:40 (NKJV)