Blog – January 20, 2012
Created With A PurposeDiscussion
Like many hundreds of thousands of people living in Northern Virginia, I’m an early morning commuter. This has turned out to be both a burden and a blessing. It is a burden when I’m stuck in four-lane wide traffic, barely moving forward (if at all), and worried about how long it will be until I’m actually at my destination. The "not knowing" part really kills me. However, it is now also a blessing, in that God has shown me how to use these commutes to have some quality time with Him. I listen to the Bible on CD and reflect both on what the Lord is doing in my life that day as well as what He has already done.
It was on such a heavy-traffic morning, as I questioned my sanity making this painful drive each day to get work, that I realized that it was the work that drove me. God showed me that we are indeed created with a purpose, noting Jeremiah 1:5a "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you." [NIV] I wonder — have you ever considered that? Have you ever considered that perhaps that job, church duty, household chore, or volunteer position you currently have is God’s intended purpose for your life at this very moment? Ephesians 1:11 states, "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will:" [KJV]
God created mankind to be active, to be productive, and to have a purpose. Fellowship with God being our top priority, it is that fellowship which we find so rewarding and yet so easy to push off as we get caught up in the daily work that God has provided us to do. I then realized during that drive that I was headed to a job that God had provided me, to work with people that God wanted me to interact with on His behalf, and to spend another day in this great creation He made for us. So now, traffic or no traffic, I rejoice that God created me, that He’s included me in His eternal plan through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus, and that I have a purpose. If you don’t know how important knowing that is, try to reach out to someone lost. You will typically find a lack of direction and the lack of a sense of purpose in their lives. Point out to them that Christ will provide both of these for them, and that the Bible tells us He will provide it "abundantly".
Rejoice with me this morning that God has given you a life with purpose, and celebrate with me that God has included us in His Eternal Kingdom. Take time today and reach out to someone lost or searching for direction. Perhaps Christ will use you in a mighty way as we build His kingdom together.
Serving Christ with you,
Wes
January 20, 2012