Originally published Tuesday, 19 April 2016.
Life has a way of rolling along. Like a waterfall rolls into a river that rolls into a lake. One issue touches another, one thing propels various parts of us forward or backward, or perhaps holds us stagnant.
One of these “propelling” issues in life seems to be our concept of origin. If we are an accident, then our life and our choices hold only the value we assign to them. If our life was designed and created, then it holds a purpose that is beyond us, and therefore our life choices hold a significance that requires an anchor weightier than our momentary perspective provides.
Personally, I believe every life has been uniquely created by our loving heavenly Father and holds an eternal purpose. My life might not be “amazing” by the world’s standards and no one is going to write a memoir about me, but each day has been written in a book.
For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. Psalms 139:16-18 NASB (emphasis added)
While nothing about me is fascinating enough to capture headlines, the Lord has caught each tear I ever cried and knows the number of hairs on my head (Psalm 56:8 and Matthew 10:30)
Knowing that my life was created and has a design changes the way I think about how I should live my life. Knowing that my Creator watches over me with more loving attention than anyone else spurs me on to devote my life to loving Him and His people. Ultimately, living our life out of the motivation of loving is obedience.
“The most important one (commandment),” answered Jesus, “is this:‘Hear, O Israel:The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this:‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these. Mark 12:29-31 NIV
A life of purity and obedience is hard to obtain without first having a sense that your life has a divine purpose.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 NASB
A deep part of discovering God’s best for your life and living out your full potential is being dedicated to living obediently.
Time and time again, when I have sought to align my heart with the Lord’s agenda and followed Him, He has surprised me with blessings, beauty, hope, encouragement, love, and provision. But in the seasons when my identity and sense of purpose in Him were clouded, my steps lacked faith and my journey suffered.
Today, I have a squirming toddler on my lap. I thought I’d write before he got up. But here we all are and there’s joy in it for me. We couldn’t have children for nearly a decade. His life is a precious, surprising, miracle. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt his life holds a special purpose. Serving his growing up is now part of my special purpose. When he had tummy troubles early on in his little life, neither of us got very much sleep. My mind felt like it had been plunged into a permanent fog. Much of life just stopped. We were simply putting one foot in front of the other. But even in that, I knew God had called me to that season. There was purpose in it. And even in the most mundane tasks of washing diapers and getting up for the umpteenth time, I knew I was doing what the Lord had placed in front of me. And because His hand had placed it there, it mattered.
His hand has fashioned your frame. You matter. Your life matters. Your choices and obedience matter. I am praying that in all the little moments of your day the Lord would grace you with a sense of His purpose and calling.
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 NASB
SHARE
