“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the son of God hath not life.” 1 John 5:11 & 12
Have you ever wondered what your purpose in life is? Perhaps you have climbed the corporate ladder and find incredible self-worth and fulfillment in your career. You’re a mother, and you spend your days absorbed in providing a haven for your family. You love what you do regardless of the yardstick by which your accomplishment is measured. And what if you are single? You have freedom to choose who you spend time with and where you find your fun and satisfaction.
My life is a repertoire of all of the above, and some. As I peel back a portion of what I have learned, I want you to think on these statements;
- What is my purpose?
- If my purpose; career, child, or freedom, were to change, who am I left with?
Most recently and during one of the most difficult times in my own life, I made a decision to step up to a level of obedience, and onto ground I had never experienced prior to my decision. I have made a conscious choice that my focus must be on the great for God, not, how will I survive the Christian life?
Is that you? Are you barely surviving the Christian life? Has a hand been dealt that you are unable to come to terms with? For the most part, do you consider yourself a victim? “Life isn’t easy, but bless my socks, I’ll drag my sorry toes through this somehow!”
I want to encourage your disillusioned heart. If you can relate to this so far, your focus is funky.
You can have victory and joy regardless of the hurt! I don’t just merely talk the talk. I have a very real and present account as I walk the talk.
My husband was teaching our adult Sunday school class last week, and his lesson was entitled, “I understand, but I just don’t get it.” For the most part, Christian women spend their entire saved lives void of victory, and strumming the same sad songs. I would like to encourage you. There is hope and the key is in your willingness to get it!
What is the purpose of life?
“And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all they heart and with all thy soul.” Deuteronomy 10:12
God wants us to turn to Him and obey Him. Every thought within us must be brought down. Our thinking is stinking girls! It must be brought into obedience to God if we would walk comfortably with him. “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.” Micah 6:8
“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” Mark 12:30 This verse magnifies God as the self-existent One. The “I AM.” It is better to have one fountain than a thousand cisterns; one all-sufficient God than a thousand insufficient friends.
We all start life as “I” specialists. Our actions are governed by self-interest. But ladies, the purpose of life is to see God in everything and reflect Him in every way.
What does God require of Believers? As I have studied the verses outlined in this devotion, I have found them to be helpful in my own life. I have added a word study to each instruction:
- To fear the Lord thy God - [Hebrew; to revere Him & hate sin]
- To walk in all His ways – [Hebrew; to grow, lead, march, prosper] through constant prayer and watchfulness.
- To love Him with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength – [Hebrew; affection for Him]
- To serve with all thy heart and soul – [Hebrew; to work and labor, compel, do, execute] these all have a common thread of doing.
- To do justly – [Hebrew; determination, discretion]
- To love mercy – [Hebrew; reproof, kindness, favor] a hearty desire to do good for others.
- To walk humbly with thy God – [Hebrew; lowly] active obedience toward God.
Man was created to delight God and respond to His Divine affection. God spoke everything into existence. To live for Him and to do His will. Broken fellowship with God came through Adam and Eve. The love of God purposed man’s recovery through the Cross. Submissiveness and God-centeredness were lost in the fall. To bring us back is the one great object of all His dealings with us. “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” Romans 3:11
God, the searcher of hearts and none can escape the notice of His eye. The Hebrew explains this further; there were none that comprehended, that sought wisdom, which considered His ways and put them together for themselves. No one craved Him.
In our need we find our need for Him. It’s because I have desperate needs that I need Him desperately.
God is mainly concerned about our coldness of heart toward Him and our proud unbroken nature.
Because of a God-given influence over other women, I ought to consider the following:
- Do I give to others an answer which I have not truly and deeply found for myself?
- Am I concentrating on seeing God for myself and finding the deep answer for life in Him?
Our service of help is the direct consequence to our vision of God, and becomes incidental to this. His purpose is often far greater and different than what we think. Our service, in His mind, is to be far more the potter’s wheel on which He can mold us than the achieving of those spectacular objectives on which we set our hearts.
He sees the sharp point in our makeup that is continually wounding others. He sees within our hearts the motives of self-seeking and pride. He therefore, allows someone to come and work alongside us who will rub against that sharp point and round it off. Or, He allows someone to thwart our plans and perhaps even step into our shoes.
As a Believer, through all our endeavors, there will come a point when the spotlight will illuminate truth.
Sunday school teacher, Christian education teacher, church staff; have you entered into a deeper experience of His grace and of His power? Does He satisfy your heart with Himself alone?
The seeking for inner spiritually experiences leaves the Believer still self-centered and occupied with himself and his experiences. It can lead to much mental anguish through the confusion of our many teachings and false doctrines.
I personally have stood by a woman for well over twenty years, whose life mirrors the consequences of this particular scenario. She has never moved on in the Christian life, but rather, she is constantly seeking inner spiritual experiences. Her mental anguish grips her, sabotaging her ability to see truth.
Throughout my entire fifty-two years of living, I have never come across a woman more entangled by false-teaching and doctrines of the devil.
There is One alone who can satisfy the heart. He is by our side, longing to be known, and loved, and proved.
This, then, is the purpose of life: to see God, and to allow Him to bring us back to the old relationship of submission to Him. Clay does not argue with the potter. It knows that the potter has every right to make it into whatever shape He chooses.
Our higher good is achieved only in submitting.
It has been said that there is a God-shaped blank in every man’s heart. If we yield to this fact, some of us will have a new outlook on life. The situation may not change, but we will change. If fellowship with God is our first concern, then we can have fellowship with Him in the kitchen, in sickness, in any kind of trying and difficult situation. Whatever lies across our “to-be-done” path, even the most irksome chore, it is there to be done for God and for His glory. Gone will be the former striving, bondage, and frustration. We shall be at peace with God and with ourselves.
Even in our hardship, as a Believer, we must reach a spiritual plain of asking God daily, “What must I do Lord?” We gain confidence by following the Holy Ghost. The temptation is to argue and resist Him.
The tool that will change our life is obedience. Obedience imparts God’s power and brings understanding. Understanding never brings obedience.
Stop pushing your own agenda on others. Pray to be filled with the Holy Ghost and ask God to point out where you need to align yourself with Him. You don’t have to understand the problem to fix the problem. Time spent waiting to understand is time wasted in disobedience. By the doing of it, the understanding follows.
If God has pierced your heart during this devotion, why don't you pray with me;
O God, with every step I take today, may wisdom rise to the surface and bring glory to your name. My thoughts and the words that I use, I pray that they reflect a spirit of oneness with you. As a willing vessel, allow your love to shine through me. Let truth be my only guide, having your perfect plan fulfilled through me Lord.
Forgive me for my disobedience and for the pride that has stopped a change in my attitude, my thoughts, and my conversation.
God, I hurt deeply as only you know. I love deeper as only you know. Thank you for the pain of it all. “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
Thank you for enlightening my eyes. I could never of understood without this very present experience? Thank you that my life of faith finds food in everything. Thank you for the gift of grace and strength because of my suffering.
Your Word is sweet to me. My mouth shall praise you with joyful lips. I desire to see you today and to grow. ”I have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
I Love You – In Christ,
Deborah
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