the greenest grass around

Do you wonder if you are living out your true purpose in life? Do you ask God to guide and direct your path for his glory? Do you question your calling? I know I do. It is usual for us to examine, especially when God is silent. So let’s look at how we can be sure we are living out God’s calling.

 Psalm 138:8 “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.”

Each of us are here for a purpose. Yes, that purpose is to glorify God and to reach more people for His kingdom. But it is also more than that. 

Giving up that control of our lives may be the hardest thing we do. Accepting Jesus’ love and mercy is one thing, but genuinely letting him be the Lord of our lives is another. 

The only way to truly live our purpose is to TRUST in him.

“In him we were chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, so that we… might be for the praise of his glor”.” Ephesians 1:11-12

 At the end of the dayit’s’God’s’s plan, not ours. 

God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He knew us before he created us, on Earth and in our future. God has a divine plan to glorify His name and expand His kingdom. 

Take Proverbs 16:4, for example” “The Lord has made everything for his own purposes, even the wicked, for a day of disaste”   EVERYTHING. He has created everything for his purpose. Your good days, your bad days, your pay raise, your unexpected promotions, your excellent health news, your demotion, your job loss, the unexpected death, all of it he knew yesterday. He planned for it and prepared (or tried to) prepare you for it. 

TRUSTING iGod’s’s plan is hard. But TRUSTING that God has a plan is the only way. The Bible talks about purpose 80 times and specifically abouGod’s’s purpose 50 times. 

Accepting thit’stGod’sd’s plan and not ours is the first step to ultimately allowing God to be the Lord of your life. 

The world does not revolve around us 

Shocking, I know. 

I read an article the other day stating that we are the most self-absorbed generation ever. Period. EVER. 

We have multiple social media pages dedicated to ourselves and how great we are. We loved to talk about our accomplishments or problems. Generally, nothing is our fault, and we see a major disaster on the news, and five seconds later, we watch cat videos. 

Let that sink in…

Everything comes from him, exists by his power, and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Romans 11:36

Nothing can stGod’sd’s purpose or plans.

Thankfully we cannot mess God’sd’s plans. Because Lord knows I would have messed it up on a Marvel movie level mess up, catastrophic. 

And I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ. ~ Philippians 1:6 ES

Yes, God wants to use you for his plans and purpose. You have a purpose. But he also gave us free will. So even if we choose not to, God will make a way. 

Remember Jonah? 

To summarize: 

(Jonah 1) God commands Jonah to travel to Nineveh and preach repentance to the people. Jonah disagrees with God. doesn’tn’t believe that the Ninevites are worthy of salvation because Nineveh wIsrael’sl’s enemy. They were also an evil city at this time. Jonah instead decides to disobey God and travels in the opposite direction, where he boards a boat. A wave almost capsizes the ship, and the rest of the people discover Jonah disobeyed God. So they tossed him overboard. A colossal fish swallowed Jonah, and he was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. During that time, Jonah prayed for forgiveness. The fi”h “threw him”up” on land. Jonah travels to Nineveh and warns tcity’sy’s inhabitants to repent or risk having their city destroyed in 40 days. The King of Nineveh heeJonah’sh’s warning and immediately dons sackcloth and ashes, instructing the Ninevites to do the same. They follow suit and show repentance to God. God sees the repentance of the Ninevites and spares them from destruction. 

To recaGod’sd’s plan will prevail. 

For a personal example, When son’sn’s accident happened. I would have done anything humanly possible to stop that from happening. Anything. I would not have cared one bit aboGod’sd’s plan then. I only wanted my baby to be alive. 

But Gdidn’tn’t ask me what I wanted. God knew what he was doing. He knew this before he was born. 

I am sure there have been times when you ran from God or begged him to do something different. He might have allowed it. But he also may not have. It is hard to comprehend these things. But, like the old hymn says, trust and obey. 

So again, the only way to truly live our purpose is to TRUST in him. Here are three ways you can do that; 

#1 Pray

How do you get to know someone? You talk to them. It is a fantastic opportunity to be able to speak to the creator of the universe. 

 If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 chronicles 4:14

God invites us to pray to him, look to him, call to him, and even cry out to him. How can you trust someone you do not speak to? Ycan’tn’t. 

Then you will call on me, come and pray to me, and I will listen. Jeremiah 29:12

I encourage you to pray. Just ask God to open your heart and mind this week. Ask him to allow you to feel his presence and see the Holy Spirit at work. 

#2 Read your bible 

Again, how do you trust someone you only speak to occasionally? You build a deeper relationship with them. Praying is only one side of the coin. Reading your Bible is one of the main ways God speaks to you. It is also a way to know the true character of God. 

Isaiah 40:8 “Grass dries up, and flowers wither, but our God’s word will last forever.”

The Bible is God in word. God can use it to teach us, correct us, speak to us, train us, and many other ways. God wants us to use the Bible daily to get to know and grow closer to him. The closer we grow to him and grow in our faith, the more mature we will become in Christ. 

I know that getting into the Bible can be intimidating. Start with the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). They are easy to read, and you get to experience Jesus from a first-hand point of view. You will not be disappointed. God’s word never returns void.

#3 Know you are loved 

God will always love us. We are his children. Like parents, sometimes we must be stern, lay down rules, and redirect. When we do not follow the path God has laid out for us, God has to do the same thing. (Think about Jonah.) But nothing we do will ever take God’s love away. He cares for us more than the lilies of the valley, the birds of the sky, and the fish in the sea. We are his children. 

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, sorrow, or crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 24:4

In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may also be.” John 14:2-3

It is hard to trust when bad things happen to us every day. It is hard to give up that control. Ask God to help you trust him. Ask him to give you renewed faith and trust each morning. He will just ask and seek his face.