I wonder how many of you that are reading this, were drawn into the message by the title alone. Do you think you are here for a reason? I wonder if you’re feeling small and insignificant as if God has a huge agenda for the world in general, but nothing personal for you. If you’re not a believer, I wonder if the universe sustains and satisfies you. Do the temporary fixes of new clothes, new car, new job or new lover keep your mind at peace and help you sleep at night? How’s life working out for you-- do you have purpose?
When I clicked on the internet this morning, MSN greeted me with some information:
- spanking your child could lead to a low IQ
- Tom Cruise’s wife and daughter are playing dress-up
- who is still alive on Grey’s Anatomy
I want to share just one biblical verse that I hope might ignite some curiosity on your purpose in life. “For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation he fell asleep”—Acts 13:36. In other words, our Old Testament King David, described as a man after God’s heart, died after he had served God’s purpose. More than anything in the world, I want to serve God’s purpose for my life in my generation. Not anyone else’s life or anyone else’s generation--or anyone else’s purpose.
Some of you may be thinking, “So what’s God’s purpose for me?”, and an even bigger question is, “How can I find out what it is?” Maybe first for some, you need to believe that a loving God has:
- An individual predestined, well planned purpose for you. You may need to remember that his thoughts of you are more numerous than the grains of sand on the earth. He’s thinking about you on an intimate level and cares for you.
- In your own generation He’s got something huge for you to do. In order to do much with His plan you’re going to have to take the garbage out first. Examples of this garbage might be workaholism, escape routes of substance abuse that feed numerous addictions, the “me, myself and I” syndrome, which is pride. The pivotal moment arrives when we’ve emptied out our junk and moved God’s grace in.
- A prayerful life is a powerful life! We don’t become marathon runners overnight, it takes practice and discipline. Our prayer life takes time to become powerful. Spiritual muscles take time to grow.
I used to struggle with prayer, thinking that my circumstances had to be ideal before I could effectively communicate with God. I thought that I should be alone, no distractions such the TV or my cell phone. I’d put a few pillows on the floor and kneel down on them, lean up against the bed and start my prayer. Within minutes I was almost falling asleep! Obviously I was in such a comfy position, that I missed my whole purpose for prayer.
It wasn’t until I got absolutely desperate for God’s help and needed him, that I snapped to attention. Nothing else brought me to my knees faster than the terror of a panic attack. The kind of attack that tricks your mind into thinking, “This is it, I’m dying!” And the weird thing about it is that my body feels like it’s shutting down, I can’t feel my hands or control my breathing. I am totally out of control and seem to be going momentarily insane.
