What is our ultimate goal in this life? Do you know why you're here?
The answer is actually found in the chapters we were to read today. The Bible has made it abundantly clear that God created us and that we were created for His glory (Isaiah 43:7). Therefore, our ultimate purpose is simply to glorify God. But that's just the beginning...
The answer is actually found in the chapters we were to read today. The Bible has made it abundantly clear that God created us and that we were created for His glory (Isaiah 43:7). Therefore, our ultimate purpose is simply to glorify God. But that's just the beginning...
Romans 9:23 puts it a bit differently, “He does this to make
the riches of His glory shine even brighter on those to whom He shows mercy,
who were prepared in advance for glory.” This means that if you are His and can
call yourself a Christian — if you’ve
confessed with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believed in our heart that God
raised Him from the dead (Rom 10:9-10) —you are His child of mercy, prepared
ahead of time to know the riches of the His glory. Can you imagine? But it gets
even better,
We didn’t deserve to be chosen, or called by God. We did
absolutely nothing to deserve being saved, transformed and heaven-bound!
(Eph 2:8-9). It was all because of His mercy. Nothing in us ever influenced God to make it
happen, and nothing could ever make Him change His mind! This is what it means
to be a child of mercy. It means we can say as David said, “Surely goodness and
mercy will follow me all the days of my life…”(Psalm 23:6) , for there will never be
a day when The Lord in His mercy does not track us down and make us a vessel of His blessing…
That very thought humbles me, but I must admit there are
still days where I feel like this boat:
Barely able to keep afloat. Doing all I can to simply keep my head above the water. In
fact, I shared a few weeks ago on Women in the Word that I’ve felt this way
pretty much all year! Each time I thought I was beginning to get ahead and come out from all that was pressing in around me another wave would wash over me, and I was sunk again! The very next morning after I shared my woes on WitW this poster below arrived on my Facebook page to assure me that He's got this and together we are much more than conquerors! The first thing I noticed after the verse was the water --- there aren't any WAVES!
But why is it we must often become desperate for Him before God steps in to help His children? Notice Isaiah 43:1-7,
But now, thus says the Lord, your creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; ... Since you are precious in My sight, since you are honored and I love you... Do not fear, for I am with you...
Isaiah 41:13, also arrived that morning and I began to wonder what exactly was The Lord trying to tell me just then.
Can you hear Him speaking to you? Does all this humble you as well? The sad truth is when things are going well, or when I'm busy and distracted with a mounting "to-do" list, I often forget The Lord is right there with me. I forget to call on Him so we may share our day together. Did you see His heart in these verses, for one can't possible read them with out sensing God's love for His own? The answer to my question as to why He waits until I become desperate, isn't because He has moved, it's only because I've finally begun to call out to Him. I'm not proud to admit it, only being honest.
So I asked Him if my goal is to bring Him glory, how I could best do that and here's a few ideas I received:
• Live right before Him, free from sin. Confessing right away when we fall short. 1John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
• Be Content with all God has already done and given us rather than longing for more. .
Paul testified, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am...I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:11,13).
• Give Praise to God. Psalm 50:23, “He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me.” Praise honors our Lord and one way to praise God is to give Him credit for EVERYTHING!
• Bear Fruit. Jesus told us in John 15:8 “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit.”Also Colossians 1:10 says, “Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work.” Good works = fruit. .”
• Pray without ceasing. (1Thesalonians 5:18) Talk to Him throughout your day, thereby including Him in everything!
• Tell others about Jesus! Share God’s Word with others, and tell them all He has done for you! We always want to talk about the ones we love so that they will love Him too!
BUT most importantly, ENJOY Him! Be filled with joy in the midst of everything going on around you! I believe that when we live to glorify God, He responds by giving us overwhelming joy! Our joy in Jesus should act as our barometer as to whether we're living to bring Him glory or not! And if there ever comes a time when there is no longer any joy, I think we only need to go back to the verses on this post and so many, many others that speak of His love for you!