Refocused Purpose

2 Timothy 4:17-18

But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

No matter how bad life gets, the immeasurable despair, loneliness, doubt, anxiety, fear, pain, emptiness, no matter how much addiction we have, no matter what the memories of our past may be, none of this separates us from the love of God. Life is filled with all of these things. We need to realize that God is by the side of those who truly believe in Him and seek Him. Paul was beaten, mocked, thrown in jail countless times, stoned to the point of death, yet he had joy in it all. He had peace. He had God by his side, and he embraced the King. That is how Paul got through it all, not because he was some super human or anything, but because he knew how badly he needed his Savior by his side. So often, I have let circumstances engulf God in my mind, where He is tiny compared to my problems or is too busy to help me, but this is satan telling me not to go to God. I became like Peter, walking on water in the midst of a storm, only to find myself realizing that I am in a storm and I begin to focus on that storm, while Jesus is blurred out of my vision because I am looking elsewhere. He is not blurred because he moved, but because I didn’t stay focused on Him. The problems would seem so huge and insurmountable, something I could never conquer and never would. Only to find God reaching out His hand to save me from it, but I still had to grab His hand in order to be saved. This is not just a matter of when we go through trials family, but this is EXACTLY what we did when we came to salvation. We were drowning in the world, plummeting to our deaths, only for Christ to reach out His hand to an undeserving soul, and I had to cling to Him to be brought to a place of peace. I may have still been in the storm, but I had peace in the storm, knowing that no matter how bad the situation, I have my King and Rock. He is ALL I need. Yet, I still so often attempt to take these matters into my own hands. Why? I have seen God save me time after time and bless me beyond imagination, yet I still attempt to seek my own agendas. This life is not to bring us glory, as we so commonly act, but it is our sole purpose to bring HIM glory. He has truly saved us from death, He has given of Himself for us, He blesses us when we deserve nothing, He offers us peace that surpasses understanding, yet we seek just understanding in times of trial or, even worse, we seek to find our own way out. Instead of asking god “why?” let’s ask for His peace that surpasses understanding. We don’t need to know why, just that it will be ok. God is in control. Who are we to ask why He does something in our lives? Is He not God? Is He not fully sovereign? Is He not eternal? Is He not all powerful? Did He not create us? Did not we rebel against Him? Did He not offer us forgiveness? Philippians says that God offers us this peace that transcends all understanding, but we must ask for it! God has saved us time after time again, just as this verse says that “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom.” Seek Him, no matter how bad things are. Be thankful for the good in your life, no matter how “little” it may be, remember that you were undeserving even of that! God could easily just obliterate us, but He instead loves us and allows us to find forgiveness in Him. It is grace and mercy, not necessarily punishment. You are placed in whatever position you may be in for a purpose. It is your mission field. It is to bring Him praise and glory no matter how dire the circumstance or how extravagantly and happily you may live. Your life needs to bring Him glory. As the verse ends “To him be the glory forever and ever.” Do our lives echo this? Do we understand that this life is NOT about us? This life, our purpose in this world, our part to play in the grand scheme of things, our mere existence in the grand scope of eternity, we are created to bring God the glory! If this life was about us, would not existence on this planet begin and end with us also? It is only logical. No, that is a ridiculous concept! Rather we need to spend our time serving and glorifying God with all we are and all we do.

Let God give peace to you, even when you are in the core of the storm. Don’t deny Him that. Furthermore, give Him the glory from the core of your being.

Blessings