I’ve been reading through the Old Testament, determined to read the Bible straight through this year and I have to say it is blessing me so much! To be honest, I have not been much of an “Old Testament” reader, but everything written in the Bible is there for a reason and it TRULY becomes the LIVING WORD OF GOD when we read it!
I’ve been thinking about the life of Samson, Judges Chapter 13 tells us this:
A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
As I read through Samson’s story, it occurred to me that even BEFORE we are conceived, God has a purpose for our lives. I don’t know about you, but I love that!
GOD HAS A CALLING AND A PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE!
The Bible tells us in Psalm 139:13-16 says:
For You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in Your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
Ephesians 2:10 tells us:
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
You see? You ARE special! No matter what the circumstances of your conception were, God had a plan in mind! I don’t know about you, but that makes me feel MIGHTY special and hopefully it makes YOU feel special too! 😉
But wait! There’s more! 😉
Samson had a special calling on his life, but instead of embracing it he willfully allowed his desires to override his calling. We have all been created not only with a calling on each of our lives, and gifts that God has created us to utilize, but we also have been born with free-will, which means you can either fulfill your purpose in Christ OR live a life based on fleshly and worldly desires.
Samson teeter-tottered between the two, his God-ordained calling and his desire to live according to his flesh. Tell me that is still not the SAME dilemma and choice we get to choose in the here and now. As I think about my calling to be a Scribe for the LORD, I take it very seriously and humbly, when God calls me home to Heaven I don’t want to stand before Him not having fulfilled my purpose in Him. It is not enough for me that because of Jesus and the sacrifice He made for me that I have “Heaven made” it is not by our works that we are saved. The Bible tells us in Isaiah 64:6:
“Our righteousness is as filthy rags.”
But if you are part of God’s Called Remnant, there should burn deep in the very heart of you a desire to glorify God with your WHOLE life. The One Who has given EVERYTHING for us. The One Who even at this VERY moment that you are reading these words, is seated at the right-hand of the Father interceding on YOUR behalf. We can’t “out love” God, but we CAN honor Him in our callings and with the life that we have turned over to Him. Samson regretted his actions and ended up repenting, but it cost him his eyes and his life. In the end, he fulfilled his purpose as prophesized by the angel of the LORD.
Many people don’t really think about their lives, and how they SHOULD have lived them until they reach the very end of their lives. At the end of their lives comes the realization that treasurers that have been stored up on earth, money, people, things cannot go with them. It is often at that time that the question of what happens after death occurs. My prayer is that as you read these words, Holy Spirit touches your heart and helps you think about NOW. Helps you to turn your heart and your life over to the One Who GAVE you life! He has a tremendous purpose for you that He created YOU to fulfill! And there is JOY in that purpose! There is SATISFACTION in that purpose! There is PEACE in that purpose! I write to you what I personally know! Matthew 6:19-21 tells us:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Fulfilling your God-given purpose is the BEST decision one can make. If you don’t know what that is –
ASK YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER! HE WILL CERTAINLY REVEAL IT TO YOU!
If you want to live a life well-lived, turn to the Father, live out your purpose in Him. Life is SO short, even only being in my fifties I have seen so much, I have seen people who have lived and died not realizing it until their deathbeds that life really means NOTHING without God. I have seen people who THOUGHT they were going to live to a “ripe old age” pass away young due to sickness, illness and disease. Not one of us is promised tomorrow, so what you do today matters. You may not believe or realize it until it happens, but it’s the truth. God has you reading these words for a reason, HIS reason, the BEST reason of all – that reason is YOU.
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