A Sense of Purpose
You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16:11

If you’re experiencing tough times, you may be asking yourself “What does God want me to do next?” Perhaps you’re pondering your future, uncertain of your plans, unsure of your next step. But even if you don’t have a clear plan for your life’s journey, you may rest assured that God knows.

God has a plan for the universe, and God has a plan for you. God understands that plan as thoroughly and completely as God knows you. If you seek God’s will earnestly and prayerfully, God’s plans will be revealed in God’s own way.

Perhaps your vision of God’s purpose for your life has been clouded by a wish list that you have expected God to dutifully fulfill. Perhaps, you have fervently hoped that God would create a world that unfolds according to your wishes. If so, you have probably experienced more disappointment than satisfaction and more frustration than peace. A better strategy would be to allow your life to be a tool for God to use to help others and make the world a better place.

Sometimes, God’s plans and purposes may seem unmistakably clear. But other times, you may be lead through the wilderness before you see the Promised Land. So be patient and keep seeking God’s will for your life. When you do, you’ll be amazed at the marvelous things that an all-powerful, all-knowing God can do.

God does not discipline us to subdue us, but to condition us for a life of usefulness and blessedness.

Today’s Prayer

Dear Lord, let Your purposes be my purposes. Let Your priorities be my priorities. Let Your will be my will. Let Your Word be my guide. And, let me grow in faith and in wisdom today and every day. Amen

Train Up a Child

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6

A little boy was riding around and around the block. A man asked him, “What are you doing?”

“I’m running away from home,” he said.

“But you’re just going around and around the block,” said the man.

The little boy responded, “That’s because my mom won’t let me cross the street!”

Even in the earliest ages, there can be restraint in the heart of a child because of godly training by his or her parents.

The only way you can ever learn to play football is on the training field. The classroom isn’t enough. Parents must provide training and education for the lessons of life to be ingrained in their children.

Has God given you the divine responsibility of parenthood? Then, spend some time this week to train your child in one area of godly living.

A wise pastor once said, “Life is too short, eternity too long, souls are too precious and the gospel is too wonderful for us to take it easy.”

A Sense of Purpose

You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16:11

If you’re experiencing tough times, you may be asking yourself “What does God want me to do next?” Perhaps you’re pondering your future, uncertain of your plans, unsure of your next step. But even if you don’t have a clear plan for your life’s journey, you may rest assured that God knows.

God has a plan for the universe, and God has a plan for you. God understands that plan as thoroughly and completely as God knows you. If you seek God’s will earnestly and prayerfully, God’s plans will be revealed in God’s own way.

Perhaps your vision of God’s purpose for your life has been clouded by a wish list that you have expected God to dutifully fulfill. Perhaps, you have fervently hoped that God would create a world that unfolds according to your wishes. If so, you have probably experienced more disappointment than satisfaction and more frustration than peace. A better strategy would be to allow your life to be a tool for God to use to help others and make the world a better place.

Sometimes, God’s plans and purposes may seem unmistakably clear. But other times, you may be lead through the wilderness before you see the Promised Land. So be patient and keep seeking God’s will for your life. When you do, you’ll be amazed at the marvelous things that an all-powerful, all-knowing God can do.

God does not discipline us to subdue us, but to condition us for a life of usefulness and blessedness.

Today’s Prayer

Dear Lord, let Your purposes be my purposes. Let Your priorities be my priorities. Let Your will be my will. Let Your Word be my guide. And, let me grow in faith and in wisdom today and every day. Amen

Challenges and Rewards

Challenges and Rewards

There is an old Native American saying that goes, “The greatness of a tribe is measured by the strength of its enemies. In other words if a tribe had great enemies and was able to overcome them, it was truly a great accomplishment.

In Numbers 13:27-28 we read where the Israelites had finally reached the Promised Land, but it was not what they had expected.

“We went into the lands to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large…we cannot attack those people; they are stronger than we are.  All the people we saw are of great size.”

Some of the Israelites came to the conclusion that this could not be what God was calling them to do because this was just too hard.

Sometimes we think that when we are opposed, it must be a sign that we are not following God’s will.  We rationalize, that God’s will has to be easier than this.  The Promised Land is where the blessings are going to be and following God’s will should not be this difficult.  So when we must struggle against opposition, we take it as a sign that we are not in the right place.

Sometimes a sign of God’s will is not the ease with which it is obtained.  Sometimes, the very fact that there is opposition and conflict means that following God’s will is worth the effort.

Being in God’s will does not mean that we will have a life free of conflict or trouble.  In fact, tension may be a sign that we are following the right path.

What if we change our view and see what we are facing as a sign that we are exactly where God wants us to be.  Remember, there was opposition for the Israelites but there was also milk and honey.

A sign of God’s will may not be the opposition we face, it may be the fact that we can overcome opposition with God’s help.  The rewards we receive by sticking with God far outshine any of the trouble we may face.