Clear Sense of Purpose...

Ha.. I am back so soon.. Ya.. coz I really want to share on this daily devotion that I read this morning from the Vine... Amazing stuff here..

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Building Strong Character (2)

God determined... the way to bring out His best in us. 1 Corinthians 2:7

Building strong character requires having a clear sense of purpose. Paul writes: "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord… [for] appointing me to His service" (1 Timothy 1:12NIV).

So, what do you see as your life's purpose? You have only two options: (a) Speculation. Dr Hugh Moorhead, a philosophy professor at North Western Illinois University, wrote to 250 of the best known philosophers, scientists, writers and intellectuals, asking them, "What is the meaning of life?" He then published their responses in a book. Some offered their best guesses, some admitted that they had just made up a purpose for life, and others were honest enough to say they were clueless. In fact, a number of famous intellectuals asked Professor Moorhead to write back and tell them if he discovered the purpose of life! Fortunately, there is an alternative to speculation about the meaning and purpose of life.

(b) Revelation. We can turn to what God has revealed about life in His Word. It is our Owner's Manual explaining why we are alive, how life works, what to avoid, and what to expect in the future. It explains what no self-help or philosophy book could know. The Bible says, "God's wisdom… goes deep into the interior of his purposes… It's not the latest message, but more like the oldest - what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us" (1 Corinthians 2:7 TM). God is not just the starting point of your life, He is the source of it. To discover His purpose for your life you must turn to God's Word, not the world's wisdom. You must build your life on eternal truths, not "pop psychology", success, motivation, or inspirational stories.

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Guess talking about purpose of life again.. We are all searching for that whether we like it or not. There is that deep down desire to want to have that sense of purpose in life. Ask anyone and you will catch that "longing" somewhere along their lines of thoughts and words. My prayer is that I would do my little part as the Lord leads; to walk alongside with few or many. In the earlier years, I have this thought saying, "Vivien, who are you to be able to make any impact?" But the Lord told me this, "It is not the quantity. It is the heart of wanting to impact. When you have the heart, I will do the rest. Just trust My Guiding." The Lord also said, even if it is just one life that I can touch and encourage, it is good enough because we are all given different purpose of life and He handles the details. So, let Him worry about the details.. We just need to trust Him and walk where He leads.. Psalm 119:105 says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." His Word is a lamp to our feet and a light for our path.. Isn't that comforting and assuring? I always like this verse...

In that sense, there is no striving and there is no need to have that sense of "I must do this", "I must do that" and be so caught up with it.. We always love to plan. Well, I am in particularly "guilty" as charged for that throughout my life even till now. But time after time, again and again, the Lord patiently says to me in His Word... (mm.. let His Word speaks to you here...)

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13

God never gives up on me and He definitely would not give up on you too! Anyway, there are many more verses that talks about "planning"... But the above three are my favorites and they have been my reminders.. Each season of life that I go through, God will bring different lights to the meaning of these verses to me.. I would be like, "WOW".. and "ok, God.. " Ya.. so, as the Lord leads, we follow... "End Result" is His Thing... We be obedient and follow.. and that is why we are called His sheep.. ever wonder why we are called "sheep"?

Well, leaving you with some thoughts to think about... as I get ready for work... hehe..