“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge, nor wisdom.” Ecclesiastes 9:10

The greatest purpose for living is to serve God. He has work for us to do.

“We are God’s workmanship (masterpiece) created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared (chosen) for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)

Be faithful in small things.

“No work is small when done with great love,” said Mother Teresa

Brother Lawrence, a monk who lived in France during the seventeenth century, saw His work for God as serving in the kitchen. He would stop his work and praise God for the privilege of knowing Him and serving Him this way. His book ‘The Practice of the Presence of God‘ is still being read today.

Nick Vujicic, born without arms and legs, was determined to find the purpose for his life. Against tremendous challenges, he’s become an international motivational speaker, founded his own company, and speaks about his “ridiculously good life” in his book Life Without Limits.

He writes,

“recognizing your purpose means everything. I assure you that you too have something to contribute. You may not see it now, but you would not be on this planet if that were not true. I know for certain that God does not make mistakes, but he does make miracles. I am one. You are too.’ (Life Without Limits page 31)

Father, we thank you that every life has a purpose. I want to live my life for your glory.

By Helen Lescheid
Used by Permission

FURTHER READING

God’s Purpose

Your Eternal Purpose

Purposeful Living – Lessons From the Fig Tree

The post My Life Has Purpose appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“God is working in you to help you want to do and be able to do what pleases him.” Philippians 2:13 (NCV)

What God said about Jeremiah, he said about you:

“Before I made you in your mother’ womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work” Jeremiah 1:5 (NCV).

Set apart for a special work.

God shaped you according to yours. How else can you explain yourself? Your ability to diagnose an engine problem by the noise it makes, to bake a cake without a recipe. You knew the Civil War better than your American history teacher. You know the name of every child in the orphanage. How do you explain such quirks of skill?

God. He knew young Israel would need a code, so he gave Moses a love for the law. He knew the doctrine of grace would need a fiery advocate, so he set Paul ablaze. And in your case, he knew what your generation would need and gave it. He designed you. And his design defines your destiny. Remember Peter’s admonition

“If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies”  1 Peter 4:11.

I encountered walking proof of this truth on a trip to Central America. Dave, a fellow American, was celebrating his sixty-first birthday with friends at the language school where my daughter was studying Spanish. My question “What brings you here?” opened a biographical floodgate. “Drugs, sex, divorce, jail”  Dave’s first four decades read like a gangster’s diary. But then God called him. Just as God called Moses, Paul, and millions, God called Dave.

His explanation went something like this.

‘‘I’ve always been able to fix things. All my life when stuff broke, people called me. A friend told me about poor children in Central America, so I came up with an idea. I find homes with no fathers and no plumbing. I install sinks and toilets and love kids. That’s what I do. That’s what I was made to do.“

Sounds like Dave has found the cure for the common life. He’s living in his sweet spot. What about you? What have you always done well? And what have you always loved to do?

That last question trips up a lot of well-meaning folks. God wouldn’t let me do what I like to do, would he? According to Paul, he would.

“God is working in you to help you want to do and be able to do what pleases him” Philippians 2:13 (NCV).

Your Designer couples the ‘want to‘ with the ‘be able to‘.  Desire shares the driver’s seat with ability.

“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart”  Psalm 37:4 (NIV).

Your Father is too gracious to assign you to a life of misery. As Thomas Aquinas wrote,

“Human life would seem to consist in that in which each man most delights, that for which he especially strives, and that which he particularly wishes to share with his friends.”

So go ahead; reflect on your life.

What have you always done well and loved to do?

Some find such a question too simple. Don’t we need to measure something? Aptitude or temperament? We consult teachers and tea leaves, read manuals and horoscopes. We inventory spiritual gifts and ancestors. While some of these strategies might aid us, a simpler answer lies before us. Or, better stated, lies within us.

The oak indwells the acorn. Read your life backward and check your supplies. Re-relish your moments of success and satisfaction. For in the merger of the two, you find your uniqueness.

by Max Lucado
From Cure for the Common Life
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2006)

To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
https://www.maxlucado.com/info/view/about_max_lucado/

FURTHER READING

• Who Am I? What Am I Here For? 
• We Plan – God Directs
• God’s Plan or My Plan? 

The post Read Your Life Backward appeared first on Thoughts About God.