"You were created for greatness."
"You are a warrior for Christ."
"You are going to advance His kingdom."
"I can't wait to see the purpose He has for your life."
"You are a light in a dark world."
"He is going to use you in amazing ways."
I tell these things to my kids daily.
Whether they understand these truths or not, they hear me speak it over them so much that I believe one day they will KNOW these truths.
My 8 year old sometimes rolls his eyes and says, "I know, I know...I'm a light in a dark world." And my 5 year old says, "I don't want to be a warrior, I want to be a princess!"
And she is...God's Princess.
I believe these truths for my children's lives, yet, I wonder...do I believe the same for my life?
Was I created for greatness? Was I created for more?
Will He use me to advance His kingdom?
The answer is that yes, we, " who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28) were created for greatness. Ephesians 2:10 says that, "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."
We are His "masterpiece" or His greatest work.
The God who created the majesty of the stars,
who created rainbows and butterfly's and jewels of every color
considers us as His greatest creation.
He didn't just make us without purpose;
He created each of us with different gifts, talents, personalities and He planned
great works for each of us to do in order to bring glory to Him, our creator.
Each of our lives, our gifts and callings are unique and His desire
is that we use all of who we are and what He has given us for greatness.
He desires that we will put to work
each of our talents for His glory.
That was His entire reason for creating you and I.
Jesus understood the Father's purpose.
He understood God's plan was to bring salvation so that
"[none] shall perish but have eternal life" John. 3:16 NIV.
He understood He was going to die a brutal death on the cross to accomplish God's plan.
He also knew that in the short time that He was given on the earth,
He had to work in order to bring God glory,
"As long as it is day, I
must do the works of Him who sent me...while I am in the world I am the light of the world." John 9:4 -5, NIV.
If we are to be like Jesus, we too must understand and believe
that we were created for a purpose which will accomplish God's great plan;
and, we are to work at what God has planned for us so that we can bring glory to Him,
the One who sent us.
What is God's plan?
Salvation for the world.
What is His purpose for us?
To use our unique personalities and gifts as lights in this world,
like Jesus, so that those who are lost will be saved.
"Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: 'I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you. And I will will appoint you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. I am the LORD; that is my name, my glory I give to no other...'" Isaiah 42:5-8 ESV.
He has called us, He guides us, He gave all of us the covenant or promise of Jesus,
so that we can be a light to those in darkness.
ALL FOR HIS GLORY.
It all seems rather simple, doesn't it?
Yet, despite the simplicity, somehow many of us get tangled in the work of our calling.
We complicate God's purpose for our lives because we let go of the hand that leads us
to make our own way, for our own glory;
only to find ourselves fallen into traps the enemy has set out for us.
I'm guilty of that. How about you?
A few weeks ago we celebrated my sons birthday at the downtown Aquarium.
He had invited a couple of friends and of course, his cousins and little sister
(tiny sister stayed with the grands for the day
to free us up from chasing after a toddler as well!)
We of course had instructed the children to stay with us and not wander away.
The girls were each holding hands and giggling,
as the boys took the lead and my husband and I walked behind
to keep them all in view.
As we were walking, my Emma got distracted by something and let go of her cousins hand.
She took just a few steps toward whatever had pulled her attention and then,
just a quickly turned back and took hold of another little girls hand.
Of course, the hand that she held did not belong to any of our girls!
Emma quickly realized this and let go of the hand and looked around;
disoriented by the crowd, she couldn't see where she needed to go
or who to turn to.
She became distressed and fearful.
Luckily, I had kept my eye on her and saw the entire ordeal.
I quickly found my way towards her and took her hand in mine
as we continued on to the next ride.
In my life, I was like my Emma.
I had a hold of God's hand and was walking along,
being led by Him and secure in His hand.
But, I got distracted.
I pulled away to look for something else...something more.
That moment of distraction caused me to be disoriented and led me to a path of distress and despair.
For years I forgot my purpose in the callings and gifts He had blessed me with.
Somewhere along the path of my life,
I let go of His hand and I couldn't get a hold of the same grip I had before.
Even though I lost my way and couldn't see Him,
He never took His eyes off of me.
I wasn't completely off the path.
He called out to me and I tried to get closer to Him.
I recognized His voice.
I knew His call.
The problem wasn't that I was lost.
The problem was that I was disconnected.
Disconnected from the source of my life, my purpose and my guide.
He has created each of you for greatness, but unfortunately, many of us become:
Distracted from His purpose.
Disoriented by the world that surrounds us.
Distressed from the lack of vision.
Disconnected from the One who positioned us.
We must keep our focus on He who sent us and our hand in His that leads us.
if we lose sight of the work we are to accomplish for His glory.
We can not be faithful to what He has called us to
if what we are working for is not the work He has planned for us.
He created you for greatness;
Not because you are great,
but because He who lives in you is
"great..and greatly to be praise"
Psalms 48:1 KJV.
Come back tomorrow as I talk about my distractions that caused disconnect.
You are His beloved,
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