The Purpose of Today

Have you ever asked God what His plan is for your life?  How you fit into the bigger picture?  What He’s got in mind for you?  I certainly have.  I’ve pestered Him endlessly for an answer to those questions, asking Him what I should be doing, when He’s going to reveal it for me so that I can stop doing whatever it is I do now and start my work for God.  I’ve become frustrated that He doesn’t seem to want to reveal it to me, and I’ve felt like I’m wasting time waiting when I’m ready to make a start.  Does that sound familiar to you?

A couple of years ago, many of my walks with God would be a chance for me to berate Him for not giving me some glimpse of what He had in mind.  I was sure there was something more and I really wanted to know what that was.  But actually, I was ignoring my present day.  I couldn’t see what God was doing today because I was too busy asking Him what he’d have for me tomorrow.

At church and in our house group at the moment we’re talking about our frontline.  Where are we able to do work for God?  And it’s a really helpful concept for me.  Over time I’ve started to see that where I am today is just where God wants me to be.  I’ve started to learn that I don’t have to be doing something amazing or challenging for it to be God’s work.  It’s finally clicked that not all of us are called to go and do something in a new or different community, but that often God has ways to make use of us exactly where we are right now.

And when I realised that, I started noticing some of the ways in which God is using me and others around me, and ways in which we are all living out His plan for us today.  That’s helped to give me some contentment in my current situation, and it’s certainly taught me to look out for opportunities rather than simply assuming God will whack me over the head with His big reveal and until then I can just keep asking Him about it but doing absolutely nothing about it…

So how does God use us in our every day?  Well, have you ever offered to pray for a friend, Christian or otherwise?  How did they take it?  I’m guessing that regardless of whether or not they thought it could do them any good, it did help them to know that you were thinking of them, and that in your own way, you were trying to do something about their situation.  And you know that you really are doing something about their situation!

Have you ever offered to help out when you didn’t need to?  Or stopped what you were doing to have a chat with someone who needed a friend?  Have you ever stood up for someone, or taken time to join someone on their emotional journey through something difficult?  When you do these things, you show God’s love to others.  They might not know it, and I don’t think they really need to, but they are getting to experience some of His love.  To me, that seems like an incredible way to do His work.   God’s love is the most important thing in my life.  I cope, experience, achieve, etc. because I have His love to spur me on and to catch me when I fall.  So getting to share that love with other people is, I think, a privilege and a responsibility.

Another aspect of knowing God that I lean on frequently is His peace.  That calm that comes from knowing God is behind you and at your side, backing you up and promising you wonders ahead, can seep into everyday stresses and help you emerge more calmly.  OK, so at the moment I’m not really nailing that one I don’t think (hormones are 100% to blame), but I’ve certainly experienced the benefit of keeping a calm head and injecting some peace into others’ days.  When you can find a peaceful route through a tumultuous situation, you are bringing God’s peace to someone else.

And lastly, I think we can show God’s forgiveness in our every day.  Even those of us with the worst memories can hold a grudge.  We can experience that festering anger, resentment or upset when we know our relationship with someone is not right, whether through our own fault or theirs.  Forgiving ourselves is essential.  And forgiving others can give them a glimpse of how God sees them.  That unconditional love He has ready for each and every one of us can be seen in the moments when we forgive.

So I guess that’s my advice this week – if you want to know what God has planned for you, by all means ask, but don’t let that stop you from carrying it out!  If you’re not sure what His plan is, I’d recommend you start simply by praying for others and sharing God’s love, peace and forgiveness.  There are so many places in the Bible that remind us to do this, but I’ll leave you with one of my favourites: Ephesians 4:2.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.