Am I living out God's
purpose in my life?
"What do you want to be when you grow up?" we ask children. As if we can choose whatever we want, and through strong ambition, we can make it happen.
We can choose, because God has given us free choice. But He has also given us a specific, custom-fitted plan for our lives. His plan for your life is different than His plan for mine. If I go on to do "great" things that I wasn't called to do, I will impress many people, but I will sadden my Father. Jesus could have done far greater miracles on this earth, but He was not interested in greatness; He was only interested in obedience to the One He loves. Jesus is the Son of God, perfect and without sin, and when He lived as a man, He only did what He saw the Father doing. We are called to do the same.
The book of Jude says that there will be "godless" people in the last days. It's tempting to think he is talking about non Christians. But a "godless" person is simply one who is not living under the Lordship of God. They may be following all the rules and living a moral life, they may be doing wonderful things for God's sake, but they are not under God's daily direction. Instead they do what they want. They call the shots. They may seem godly, except God has no direct input in their lives. They are godless.
Jude compares these people to trees that are "without fruit and uprooted." I believe that describes many Christians, and too often, that describes me. "Uprooted," meaning I have left the fertile soil of constant fellowship with God, and I've started running my own Christianity. I stay a Christian, but I sever the partnership and become an independent contractor. "Without fruit," meaning my efforts are not bringing about eternal value, because I am out of sync with God.
Jude also says that in the last days, men will "follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit." That goes for many of us believers! We let our fleshly nature take charge of our faith walk, instead of letting the Holy Spirit have his way with us. On the average day, who is deciding how you live your life: a moral you, or the Holy Spirit?
God has a purpose for your life. He will not shout that purpose to you. He will wait until you ask Him, and He will wait until you get quiet before Him, then He will begin to whisper to you what He has called you to. In some ways, that calling may seem right up your alley. It may be the very thing you want to do. Remember, He gave you the desires of your heart!
So the first step is asking and waiting on God. Do this, and He will show you your calling. Next comes obedience. You will never be happy unless you are living in obedience to your calling. The "greatest" job or marriage in the world will not satisfy you, if it is not the one God has called you to. Ambition is a trap; it will tempt you to go beyond your calling. Likewise, self defeat is a trap; it will tempt you to stop short of your calling. The most fulfilled person on earth is not the one who has done the most, but he who has been true to his calling.
The next step takes the most wisdom of all: finding God's timing. Say you've heard what God has called you to. And He has given you an incredible desire to do this thing. That means go run and do it immediately, right? Too many people mistake the call of God for the timing of God. Moses was called to set the Jews free long before he was given the go-ahead. His first attempt, on his own, failed miserably as he killed an Egyptian who was beating a Jew. But in God's timing, through many years and much refining, Moses was prepared.
If you are wise, you will use this time to prepare for what God has called you to. Learn as much as you can about the area of your calling. Seek others who are gifted in that area, especially those who have had successes and failures. Search for wisdom. The gifting and the anointing will come, that's God's responsibility. What you bring to the table are wisdom, humility and obedience.
One of the biggest tests that you will need to pass in this stage is the test of being able to sit on the bench. This accomplishes one very important thing: death to your self. As long as your sense of importance and value is tied to your calling, you are operating in the flesh and are not ready to give the Holy Spirit His proper lead role. Can you die to your own ambition?
It's so easy for pride to seep in to the person called by God. We start thinking that we are deserving of this high calling. We start thinking that He needs us. We think He picked us because He wanted the best. But check His prior selections. God has a track record of "choosing the weak and foolish things of this world" to confound the wise. God picked you because there's no way you could pull this off without some serious help from heaven. He wants to show all of creation how much He can do with so little.
Wouldn't Paul have been the perfect theologian to preach Christ to the Jews? And Peter the fisherman would have fared far better with the Gentiles. But God played Freaky Friday and flip-flopped their work assignments, just so no one could chalk up their successes to human gifting.
If God has picked you to do something great, you can be sure that you are perfectly incapable of doing it short of God's grace. That's the point.
Okay, say you have heard God's calling, and you've made it through that wilderness stage. You finally realize that it's not about you, it's about Him. Now He's drawing you into the action. You're walking in your calling. All clear? Be careful. Too often we get careless and assume that God is now on our side, and we get presumptuous. God wouldn't let me fail, He wouldn't let me get into trouble. When we are called by God, we assume we have a guided escort who keeps us out of all danger.
But the truth is that God requires more from those who have been given more. If you have been given a high calling, then God holds you more accountable than most. God called Moses to go and speak to Pharoah, and while Moses was on the way, God was going to kill Moses. Why? Somehow Moses' wife was given discernment, and she saw that he needed to be circumcised before he went any further. Because Moses was given an incredibly high calling, there was an incredibly high standard of obedience that he was called to. We don't get away with more, we get away with less. Presumption becomes your greatest enemy.
One last thing on
purpose. It's so easy to forget that our greatest calling of all is to
be in love and stay in love with God. If we put anything else first, even
ministry, we fall short and we set ourselves up for all kinds of traps.
Keep Him first, and those traps are easy to spot and step over.
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