Lately I have been thinking a lot about life's purpose. I have been thinking about the many reasons God has created us. The many gifts he has given each and everyone of us and the thousands of reasons we are here on this Earth, but then I am reminded, that really, all of those reasons boil down to one ultimate purpose, and that is, to bring God glory. In all that we say and in all that we do, we were created to worship him.
This whole thought process was spurred on because of the pain I have seen around me. A boy from a local high school, that some of my students attend, committed suicide last week. A man from a recovery ministry in our church took his own life yesterday. Several people around me are feeling so deep and low in despair that they feel there is no way out. Pain, it literally is all around us. Its a part of all our lives at one point or another. But you see, there was something more, at some point, these people had reached a point of no more hope. They had decided that life was no longer worth living, and they ended it. I dont know what kind of support systems they had in their lives, I dont know what thoughts went through their heads that led them to this point, but they got there. You see, they had decided that life no longer had a purpose or at the very least, that there was no purpose left for them to live. They had forgotten the reason they were created to live.
Last Christmas, I got the chance to sing a song in our service. Is called, "Born In Me". There are some powerful words in this song, but the bridge, it has some of the most powerful words a song has ever spoken to me. The song is written from Mary's perspective, she is crying out to God, and she says these words, "I am not brave, Ill never be, The only thing my heart can offer is a vacancy, Im just a girl, nothing more, but I am willing, and I am yours." You see, Mary, she got it, she remembered her purpose. She didnt see a lot in herself at all, in fact, she probably thought that God had gotten the wrong girl. But God had a plan, he had a purpose, and he chose Mary to be his servant. "I am willing, and I am yours". Those are the words that Mary so beautifully speaks to her savior.
You see, many of us, we dont feel very big. We may not even feel that we can be used. There is another song I love sing, Its called "Do they see Jesus in Me?" In one of the verses the composer writes these words, "Its amazing that youd ever use me, but use me the way you will". You see for many of us, we are amazed that God would even take the time to look at us. We are amazed that he would choose to use us for his glory. And for others, well, we may be walking through life unsure that God even has a purpose or plan at all.
One of my favorite phrases to use is this, "God Never Wastes a Hurt". In our lives, there WILL be trouble. In fact, as Christians, we see it all over. Isaiah 43:2- WHEN you walk through the fire, WHEN you pass through the waters" God promises that these things WILL happen, but at the end of that passage he says, he will always stand by our side, we will not go through these things without him by our side. John 16:33- "In this World you WILL have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the World". and in 2 Timothy 3:12 he states, " In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus, will be persecuted.
I dont know where you are at in life today. I dont know if you are living a life to follow Christ or if you are still deciding what you believe about God. Or maybe you have decided he is not real at all. I dont know, as I stated, where any of you are at. But what I know for me is that God has made it abundantly clear that he has a plan for me. He has promised me that it will not be easy once I say yes to living a life for him. But he has promised that he will never leave my side, that he will always give my life purpose and that each and everyday I have a reason to live. And you want to know a secret.....he is saying all of the same things to you. He loves you.
If you are going through life and you are hurting, suffering, thinking thoughts of suicide, feeling alone, abusing drugs or alcohol, PLEASE STOP. You dont have to go through these things alone. There are people that love you. There are places that you can get help. Life, though it can be VERY DIFFICULT sometimes, is better when we are connected, its better when we dont have to go through it alone. Were all in this together!
