As a young Christian, I had a great hunger to do the will of God for my life. I was constantly praying about it. I wanted to pursue God with all my heart. I loved the book God Chasers by Tommy Tenney. I loved to study about vision and the lives of people who sought and did great things for God. Vision is a powerful thing. A revelation of God is life-changing ( Prov. 29:18, Hab. 2:2-3). To see something better. A more preferable future. What do you see from day to day? What do you see for your life in five years? Visionaries are seen throughout history. People who invented things that we enjoy today did so because they had a vision of something better. People who saw themselves excelling in different fields because they had a vision of what could be. People who have done great things that have helped people had a vision. God has a purpose and a destiny for our lives that He wants us to fulfill. If life is mundane, unfruitful, and stagnant, maybe we need a new and fresh vision. Is there more to life than working and paying our bills? God’s will is not automatic. We have to cooperate with God and the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
God saw the earth was without form and void. Maybe we see life the same way. God did something about it( so can we).The Holy Spirit was moving. He saw something different and spoke! “Let there be light, and there was light.”( Gen.1:1-3). God had a better vision of what could be. He had a vision of man and created him( Gen.1:26-27). Here is the amazing thing. God knew you before you were born and what your purpose in life would be. I never understood my purpose until I came into a relationship with the creator, God. Even then, I worried that I wasn’t in His will. I would get frustrated and afraid if I were missing it. Apostle Paul’s testimony is recorded in Acts as he traveled on the road to Damascus. He was on the road to persecute Christians, but God had a different purpose. Acts 26:15-16 (NKJV)-15 So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. He also writes this in the book of Galatians: Galatians 1:15-16 (NKJV)-15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace,16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles. Paul received a new vision for his life. Notice that God’s first purpose for Paul was to reveal Christ in him, to make him a minister, and then preach the Word. This would be a work of God’s grace in his life( 1 Cor. 15:10). Thank God he was obedient to that vision. He got on the right road. We wouldn’t have his writings today, if he had been disobedient to that heavenly vision( Acts 26:19).
We have a choice whether to obey God’s plan or purpose. God will not violate our will. I believe in our spirit, we want and hunger for what God wants ( Phil. 2:13, Heb 13:20-21). It’s our carnal flesh and unrenewed mind that gets in the way. We get into pride and self-promotion. We will never be truly fulfilled unless we are seeking to do the will of God. His will is always good, acceptable, and perfect or complete (Rom. 12:2). In simplest terms, God’s Word is His will( 3 John 2). The cry of our heart should be to fulfill our destiny. Everyone has a picture of what life should look like to some degree. A good family, a good marriage, a fruitful single life, and a successful job. To live the American dream. These are good things. What about God’s dream for you? Isn’t that something we should pray and seek Him about? Apostle Paul shares this verse in Ephesians: Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV)-10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Here’s another translation: Ephesians 2:10 (PassionNTPsa)-We have become his poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny he has given each of us, for we are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. Even before we were born, God planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it! We are not saved by good works but for good works( John 14:12, Eph. 2:8, Heb. 10:24). God will always do good works through your life. The first work is to be more like Christ! Romans 8:29 (NKJV)-29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
The Greek word workmanship is poiēma, that which is made. This is where we get the word poem. This poem was created or fabricated in Christ. This first speaks of our Born Again spirit. We are a new creation in Christ( 2 Cor. 5:17). He is the author and finisher of our faith( Hebrews 12:2). The Psalmist declares this: Psalm 139:16-17 (NKJV)-16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! Do you see how special you are to God! You are a poem written by God. A poem, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, is a piece of writing in which the words are arranged in separate lines, often ending in rhyme, and are chosen for their sound and for the images and ideas they suggest: Your life is unique! Your rhyme, sound, and image are not like anyone else’s. God created you to be who you are in Him. You are His work of art. That is a beautiful thing.
You were created for a purpose. God has good works for you to do. We see this in the lives of Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Paul, and Jesus. This is what was written about Jeremiah: Jeremiah 1:4-5 (NKJV)4 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah had to agree with what God’s purpose was for him. Again, this is not automatic. Apostle Paul prayed for believers that their eyes of their hearts would be opened to the hope of their calling in Christ( Eph. 1:17-18). Our first calling or purpose is fellowship with God the Father and Christ. ( 1Cor. 1:9, John 17:3)Paul speaks of communion with the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in our purposes( 2 Cor. 13:14). God doesn’t want us to be in the dark in what He has for our lives. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (NKJV)-9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,Nor have entered into the heart of manThe things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. This is why communion with the Holy Spirit is so important. Praying in the Ho,y Spirit, in tongues, can reveal the mysteries of God for your life (1 Cor. 14:2,1 Cor. 14:13-14, Gal. 1:12, Gal. 2:2).
In the gospel of John, we read this account of Jesus: John 5:19-20 (NKJV)-19 Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.20 For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. Love is a strong motivation for the will of God. ( 2 Cor. 5:14). Does what we focus on continually become our reality? Jesus only did what He saw the Father do (Acts 10:38). What does the Father do? He loves! He forgives, He is merciful. He restores and heals( John 3:16)! Romans 5:8 (NKJV)-8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We can also demonstrate the love of God to the world around us! To reveal His goodness, to reveal His forgiveness and mercy. This is being true salt and light( Matt. 5:13-14). This requires a death to our self-centeredness, to our pride, and our own way( 1John 2:15-16).
Do you see your life fulfilling God’s plan for you? Do you see His goodness, forgiveness, mercy, and love for you? Do you see only what the Devil is doing? Do you only see your fears, shortcomings, failures, and imperfections? Do you only see your challenges in life? Do you only see emotional and physical difficulties? This was Job’s testimony: Job 3:25 (NKJV)-25 For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, And what I dreaded has happened to me. Will you see His promises or your problems? What is your vision? What inspires you? Is it God who is inspiring you? This seeing is what faith is all about. Seeing with your heart, fulfilling God’s heart.
In closing, Ephesians 3:20 (NKJV)-20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. It is according to the power that works in us. The power of seeing is our choice. To be consecrated and committed to the will of God. This power is dunamis in the Greek, miraculous power. The supernatural power of the Holy Spirit to equip us and anoint us for God’s purposes. Only through fellowship and intimacy with God can we see and fulfill His purpose for our lives. It is never too late. You can change course. You can begin by praying and seeking God with all your heart. As the hymn goes, ” Be thou my vision, O Lord my heart.” Let’s have the heart that imitates Jesus, “not my will but yours be done.” Our foundation in everything we do starts with fellowship with God. Every other purpose will flow from that( Psalm 1:1-3, John 7:38). Let us grow in our relationship with God, be more like Christ, walk in love, and be salt and light! Don’t worry or be anxious about missing God’s will for your life! Start with the basics. God will take care of the rest!
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 (NKJV)-11 Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power,12 that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Colossians 1:10-12 (NKJV)-10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.
In Christ’s love;
Brent and Linda Bushen
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