God's purpose or mine?

He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side . . . —Mark 6:45

We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself.

What is my vision of God’s purpose for me? Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish— His purpose is the process itself. What He desires for me is that I see “Him walking on the sea” with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see “Him walking on the sea” (Mark 6:49). It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God.

God’s training is for now, not later. His purpose is for this very minute, not for sometime in the future. We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern ourselves with it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself.

God’s purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present time. However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment as it comes is precious.

-Utmost for His Highest

Comments

Issues of the mom-heart

I've read somewhere that everyone's miserable. They're just good at hiding it. I have been trying to find out why this new season seems to be a burden to me. Don't get me wrong -- I enjoy motherhood and I love my little one but something seems to be blocking my view of experiencing it joyfully. Callie's already 10 months and everything just dawned on me -- why I was struggling, why I can't see things the way it should be, why I felt ineffective and frustrated and depressed. I think I just had post-partum depression. I just got back from my US business trip and I just bursted into tears a few days after while singing Jesus loves me -- as if I'm telling that to myself. I'm grateful that I have a husband who listens and understands and encourages me that I can do it! I just realized the root cause(s) of what's going on after that incident. I was too attached to Callie that I don't want her to leave my site when I'm with her. I

Maturity

I was reading a long-overdue-book and I bumped into this: I have been married for almost two years now and I suddenly reminisced my late teenage years... It was in those years when God made me realize that maturity doesn't come with age... I was younger then, when I understood this very excerpt from the book Let Me Be a Woman (funny how everything He taught me is already in this book had I not stopped reading it! Indeed His humor is amazing). I started reading this way back 2007 or 2008 only to continue it now and read this now. I stopped reading it way back then because I don't have plans of getting married yet... little did I know that He will make me understand this in His own personal way. And right now, I was like, "So Lord, You must be saying, 'I told you so..' right?" haha! ... The key to meeting your better half starts with maturity. And maturity comes from God. To those who are still searching for their better half, don't. Don&#

Thoughts

Exodus Moses brought Joseph's bones out of Egypt when God freed them. Joseph made his family swear under oath that when God pays them a visit, they have to carry his bones with them. Joseph mentioned that surely, God will take them to the land He promised Abraham, Isaac & Jacob. Maybe, Joseph's brothers tell this to their sons & daughters so even after x number of years, they are still reminded of Joseph's request. The Israelites know that the time will come when God will take them out of Egypt but maybe they just didn't believe so He needed Moses to perform the miracles, that they might know Him, trust Him and believe in Him. Sometimes, we know what God said and what God promised us... but when it's already in front of us, it's hard to determine that God is already moving. Why? Because we are comfortable with the misery that we are in to. It dulls our senses and makes us forget the promise of God. Be careful with where you are right now.

Livin' only by Grace

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