Purpose

When we are young, we have dreams of what we want to be when we grow up.  We want to be firemen or astronauts or doctors or policemen or farmers or...  My daughter, Kimberly, wanted to be a lawyer or a ballerina - apparently both were pretty equally balanced in her eyes.  She and her best friend at the time planned to get a house together and their husbands would live in a house behind them.  Her life had purpose and her plans were set.

As we get older, those plans seldom hold up and our purpose tends to get rather murky.  Our plans often get thrown into the blender of life and we come up with something quite different.  So often, even though we make new plans, we are left wondering what is our purpose.

In my work, I talk with people who, at the end of their lives, are still wondering what God's purpose for them is.  They well say, "I know God has some purpose for me, but I just don't know what it is.  Life, as is most often the case, did not turn out the way they had thought.  And many are left feeling there is something they missed or are missing.  There must be purpose, of that they seem sure.

I agree that life has purpose, that God has purpose for our lives.  I believe that along the way, He has many things in store for us, many opportunities to fulfill his will in our lives.  We don't always see what they are at the time and often opportunities are missed.  Some feel they missed their boat entirely.

However, I just don't believe that is ever true.  I am convinced that God always has purpose for us, regardless of opportunities missed or years passed: "I know the plans I have for you.  Plans to do you good no harm.  Plans for hope and a future" (Jer 29:11).  Notice the present tense, have not had.   God has purpose still for your life.

And, while I can't tell you everything God has planned for you, I can share in a general way what His purpose was and still is.  Are you ready?  Write this down: "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thess 5:16-18).

There it is.  Take joy in life, look to God always and be grateful for what you have.  You may not have much but you have life and hope for a future.  Some of the happiest people I've ever seen were on mission efforts in third-world countries where they had little but their lives were registered with big smiles and a generous spirit.

In this country, even the poorest of us have much more than the rest of the world.  And there is always hope.  For the child of God, there is more than hope.  We have already won the victory.  We re simply on a journey home to receive the glory already purchased on the cross.  We may have some difficult miles ahead, but soon they will be behind us.  In the meantime let us rejoice, let us pray and let us be thankful.  Jus' Say'n.

Desire

When I was 17, two of my brothers and one of my best friends joined the Army.  Not wanting to be left behind, I decided to join as well.  Of course, being 17, I couldn't just sign on the dotted line, I would have to get my parents' consent.

I didn't approach my mother as I was certain that she would not be on board with another son enlisting during a time of war.  My dad, however, a retired Command Sergeant Major, should have been a pretty easy sale - Not!

My dad was having nothing of my plans to drop out of high school a year before graduating.  He told me to forget the idea and get my head back in the pursuit of finishing high school and then, at 18 and a high school graduate, I was free to join the Army.

Well, I did finish high school but I didn't join the Army.  I rebelled and joined the Air Force.  Well, it wasn't a full-on rebellion, but I did assert my independence.  Everyone else was decked in green while I was wearing blue.  OK, it wasn't a bold move on any level, however I do like blue better than green.  But, I digress.

My dad wasn't opposed to my having and achieving a dream of uniform service, but he was having nothing to do with my plan that ran counter to his knowledge of what was best for me.  He knew that finishing high school was a foundation for whatever the next step might be and he was fully behind me entering the service after that foundation plank was set in place.

Our Heavenly Father too, is in support of our hopes and dreams, but not if they run counter to His knowledge of what is good and best for us.  He is willing to give us our heart's desire, when our desire aligns with His perfect will: "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart" (Ps 37:4).

If your plans are being frustrated, perhaps you need to rethink your desire compared with God's revealed will or possibly you need to be laying it before the Lord in prayer, listening for His response.  Maybe your goal is fine but your timing is not God's timing.  That was Jesus warning to Mary when she asked him to turn water into wine, letting her know that it was too soon to reveal too much about his divine nature: “Woman, why do you involve me?  My hour has not yet come" (Jn 2:4).

God does answer prayers.  God does love you.  God wants to give you the desires of your heart.  But God will not give you want is not good and best for you as determined by His perfect will not yours; for God is good all the time and all the time, God is good.  Jus' Say'n.

The Storm

Olympic gold medalist Laura Wilkinson left a college scholarship, her friends and a life she loved to pursue her sport of platform diving at the highest level.  But shortly before the Olympic trials Laura broke her right foot in three places.

Laura was devastated and felt her world was crashing down around her.  One day she dropped to her knees, letting her crutches fall to the floor as she cried out in tears, "Why?  How can this be good for me?"  Her emotions pouring out through her tears, Laura began thanking God - not because she was feeling happy but because she began to feel His presence in the middle of the storm.

She later reflected, "He never left me.  That is joy.  Choosing God is choosing joy.  He took me broken and tattered physically, mentally and emotionally.  He loved me 'as is.'  He carried me through the storm.  Joy in God, hope in God and love because of God is not fleeting.  It will never leave you, no matter what dreams are broken....No matter what you face, He has overcome the world.  Jesus said, 'In the world, you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world'"  (Jn 16:33).

Whether your storm is a fractured foot, a broken heart, a busted bank account, a derailed career or a shattered dream of any stripe, in Christ you are not alone and Christ is the Master of the storm.  Do you recall the biblical narrative of the disciples navigating a storm in a boat?  "Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, 'Lord, save us! We're going to drown!'  He replied, 'You of little faith, why are you so afraid?'  Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm"(Matt 8:24-26).

The point is that Jesus doesn't promise to take us out of the storm, he promises that he will go with us through the storm.  And as he is the Master of the storm and our lives, we need not be afraid but only trust in him to the end.  We may not be able to see how any good can come of our current situation or how we possibly make it but he promises "I will never leave you" (Jn 14:18) "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Rom 8:28).

Don't focus on the storm.  Focus on the Master of the storm.  Keep your eyes on Jesus and trust in him to see you through.  He is faithful, even when we are struggling in our faith.  Jus' Say'n.

Eureka

Eureka, a word attributed to the Ancient Greek Scholar, Archimedes, who noticed when stepping in his bath one day that the water level rose and instantly understood the concept of displaced volume and was able to apply that principle to determine the volume of irregular objects, is not a word we use much anymore unless we're talking about a particular place (Eureka Springs or Eureka, CA) or perhaps a vacuum cleaner.

The word means, "I found it!"  And it is properly used as an exclamation not just a statement as it suggests you have found something you have been searching for and are excited to have done so.

I don't think that Olympic Gold Snowboarder, Kelly Clark, joined Archimedes in yelling, "Eureka, eureka!" But she nonetheless had that experience, which came after being overwhelmed with a feeling of emptiness: "I had money, I had fame, I had an Olympic gold medal" but, she went on to say, "If this is what life is, if this is everything; I don't want to do it anymore."

This feeling set her on a search for God and the meaning of life that lasted four months at which point she realized that she didn't want to go another day without God in her life.  On that day she invited Jesus into her life and everything changed when she found what her soul was searching for: "That was a huge shifting point for me where my snowboarding became this amazing expression and fun thing, rather than this thing that I had to do.  It became this thing that I was made to do and I could actually enjoy."

What Kelly found, her "Eureka!" moment was discovering the path of life and the joy that is found in living before God and walking with the Lord on that path.  While her life did not change, her reason and purpose for living did making everything different - fulfilling her spirit within.  It was then she found  her "joy in the Lord, [that] cause[d] [her] to ride in triumph on the heights" (Isa 58:14).

Have you reached the point in which you wonder "is this all there is to life?"  Are you so ready for your "Eureka!" moment?  Is your should aching within you for something, someone?  Perhaps it is time or time once again to invite Jesus into your life, to give reason and purpose for what you do.  Perhaps you need to find your joy in the Lord.  Jus' Say'n.

Strength For The Journey

The thing about the journey of life is that it is not a sprint.  While their will be moments when we will need a burst of strength to get to a certain goal or through a particular event, life is transversed over the long haul.  And there will be times when it just seems you can't find the strength to go on.  As you look down the road at what you have to face, already feeling road-weary, you may say to yourself, "I just don't know how I can make it."

Triathlete Hunter Kemper had reached such a point in his life but rather than give in to despair, he turned to the Source of strength: "I knelt down before Him in the bedroom of my rental home and confessed to him that I could no longer do it on my own.  I cried a lot that day; to because I was sad but because I felt free."

Hunter has found that this strength even applies to his life as a triathlete: "On the days when I don't think I can run another mile, or when I don't think I'm able to cross the finish line, I always remember that God does not grow tired or weary.  Anything is possible with God."

Hunter is not confused, thinking that he personally has the strength to face anything, he is clear in understanding that it is God who does not wear down or out, and that it is God, who lends him the strength.  Everyone, in their human frame grows weary, but God's children have a reserve that allows them to "do all things through Christ who give [them] strength" (Phil 4:13).

The prophet Isaiah puts it this way: "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" (40:30-31).

What about you?  Are you feeling weary, wondering how you will finish the race or complete the journey?  Are you wondering where you will find the strength?  It is no secret.  God is the Source and he will supply, not always in a sprint because the journey is long and while we will fly with God-given bursts at times and we will run for a distance too; in the long run, we will have the strength to continue the walk to the journey's end.  Jus' Say'n.

For His Glory

Olympic volleyball player, David Smith, was highly involved in church activities growing up.  He was in to "everything I could get my hands on..." church on Sunday, Bible studies, youth group...whatever was going on at church, David was there.

In time, David became very involved in sports - to the point that it became an idol of sorts: "I had a lot of distractions; for me, sports was my biggest rival with God."

For most, the distraction of sports participation begins to vanish after high school but for David it had only begun as he was awarded a scholarship to play volleyball at UC Irvine, which could have led him down a path further from God.  However, David made an important discovery: "I didn't understand that God made sports - not as a rival with Him but something I could use to glorify Him."

Rather than rivaling his relationship with Christ, he learned that volleyball was something he could do with God to glorify Him in the way he played and conducted himself both on and off the court: "I just can't check Christ at the door; He wanted to be in there with me.  He created me to be a volleyball player so He can play with me."

Whether we're playing volleyball or working at the office or hitting the books at school; there never is a time when we should put our relationship with Christ on hold.  Christianity is not a compartment of our lives, it is our life - everything else is a compartment of our faith.

When we understand that, it changes how and why we do everything.  Nothing we do is just about ourselves, it is a part of our witness, our service to God and mankind.  The biblical mandate is this, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Cor 10:31). Rain

And, when we do all for the glory of God, there is a secondary effect upon mankind that works to their glory as well: "Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God--- even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved" (vv. 32-33).

Life is not about me, it is about Him and His concern is for all His children.  Everything I do, therefore, is of great importance to God as each encounter a Christian has with another individual will either draw that person closer or push them further away from God.

So, what about you?  Do you live, work and play for the glory of God and the salvation of mankind.  Or, do are you in it just to win it for yourself?  Jus' Ask'n.

Not Mine

One group of unnamed characters in the animated film, "Finding Nemo," that stands out in my memory is the seagulls.  Whenever a food source, like the little crab, would appear, all of them would begin squawking "Mine, mine!"  And then each would take out after it, determined to secure the meal for himself and only for himself.

Perhaps it is so memorable because it is so true to human nature, this desire to look out for number one or as the old Schlitz Beer commercials used to put it, "Grab all the gusto you can."  There is this selfish streak in us that want what we want, without regard to how it might impact others.

It is fashionable in counseling individuals to say that "you can't do this for anyone else, you have to do it for yourself as if it is only real, only lasting, only true if one works to overcome addictions or change behavior for self.  It would seem that self is the one that should receive top billing, that working to serve self is the highest calling.

But is that really true?  Is it true that we cannot make changes and overcome addiction or improve our lives with others primarily in mind?  Can individuals make changes when they become a parent that puts the child first?  Can a husband begin going to opera just for his wife's sake?  Can a wife take up fishing just to support her husband?  Is it true that doing something primarily for someone else is not as real or beneficial as doing it for one's self?  No, it is not true.

In fact, truly great things are done with others in mind.  Our Founding Fathers pledged and risked their personal wealth and safety for the good of the colonies.   Our bravest heroes in battle give up their lives protecting others, even jumping on top of gernades or otherwise putting themselves in harm's way for their buddies.

Employees get up earlier than they would for themselves to get to work on time, teammates actually do "take one for the team" when necessary, parents and grandparents sit through shows like "Finding Nemo" when they would rather be just about anywhere else.  The fact is that doing for self is anything but the highest calling.  While necessary at times to attend to self, if it is the driving force in your life, you will end up on a a very lonely path indeed.

Here's the truth of the matter: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others" (Phil 2:3-4).  Serving others is our true calling, it is in fact why Jesus came to this earth and we are charged to "have this same attitude of Christ" (v. 5).

Life would truly be better for everyone if we all would shift from seeing everything in the lens of "mine" to regarding things as "not mine."  If we all were given to share and do for others, all would have enough, all would be taken care of, all would benefit - even self.  Jus' Say'n.