Have you ever found yourself taking a step back to re-evaluate the true purpose, mission and direction of your life?
I’ve known Jesus for a large period of my life, but I’ve found myself drifting away, at various times, from the purpose of knowing Jesus. Generally speaking, I am a relatively laid back guy, and while that has its pros, I can also easily coast through life with little resistance. Lately, God has given me a new and fresh sense of calling and urgency. He has woken me up to my purpose and mission again. I needed to be woken up! Through this process, I have felt the Lord be very near to me, even when it’s been painful. Through the darkness, I have had to be resolved to seek Him with all my heart, knowing that He wanted to refine and strengthen me.
For me, this wake up call and fresh life purpose is what I am hanging onto for 2020 and beyond. This purpose can be summed up in the following three simple, yet powerful, sentences:
- Know and love Jesus.
At our core, we were created for relationship. We were created for relationship with people around us, but more importantly, with Jesus Christ.
The first question I have to ask is, do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Have you given your life to Jesus? That is the most key foundational relationship a person can have.
If so, are you loving Him? Are you spending time with Him, going to Him, seeking Him more, putting Him first, and desiring Him? If you love someone, you pursue them. Jesus is the same way. If we know Him, we are drawn to love and pursue Him. When we do this, everything else falls into place.
- Share Jesus with others.
If the first point is happening, this second one must be occurring in tandem, as well, but it can be all to easy for it not to. We cannot forget that we have the gift of eternal life. We have true peace and a lasting purpose. We have salvation! If you had the cure to cancer, surely you would tell everyone who had cancer. The truth is, you have the cure to our sin and the keys to eternal life that others do not have.
I’ve been convicted of not sharing Jesus with others enough lately. The other day I was in a grocery store, and I began to feel a strong weight and sense of burden for the people around me. The Lord opened my eyes in that moment to the truth that every single person in the store with me either knew Christ or did not know him. We need to live with a sense of urgency.
Lord, help us to share you with others!
- Expect Him to do great things.
The God we serve will do great things in us and through us. He wants us to accomplish much for His kingdom. Nothing is impossible with Him. The goal and purpose is for us to seek and trust Him with our lives, until our race is complete. We must dream big dreams and believe big things! We should live with a sense of great expectation and anticipation for what God will do. We should set goals in our lives, but also leave room for Jesus to adjust our goals and exceed our goals. With Jesus in our lives, the future is bright and the possibilities are endless!
Ephesians 3:20-21
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
I hope that what God has been teaching me encouraged you, too. May we know and love Jesus, share Him with others, and expect Him to do great things!
Matthew Weaver 