be you for a purpose

A Screwtape Perspective

So, if you are unaware, we are living in the final days. Now to give you a time frame or a IMAG1165-1-1date, by no means will I attempt to do so, but I will just say, open your eyes. Jesus laid it out flat when the disciples asked him for the sign of his return in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. For some time I wondered why such bad things foreshadowed his return, but if you haven’t read either of those passages, here are a few things: wars and rumors of wars, nations against nations, weird weather in random places, lack of love, children going against their parents to the extreme, brothers fighting each other, Christian persecution, pestilence, fearful events, and increase in natural disasters or events (famines and earthquakes).

Now if you just watch the news or read through Facebook, you can see the truth of each of these happenings, whether a random shooting, children killing their parents, parents killing their kids, monsoons, earthquakes, diseases and sicknesses, or wars and tension between nations (ie Russian, Ukraine, US, Iraq, Egypt, Liberia, Libya, etc). It’s heartbreaking to be honest and it again just makes me wonder why things are getting so ridiculous. I understand God is sovereign, but it’s like seriously. Then I think well, many of our problems are a result of our desire to not want anything to do with Him or His Word, just in the US alone, not to mention the persecution of Christians around the world.

Besides all that, I have been reading C.S. Lewis’ “The Screwtape Letters.” So far the book has blown my mind to get a further glimpse into the mind of Satan and the tactics of him and his counterparts. Nonetheless, in one of the letters, Uncle was speaking on how the idea that war or pestilence are a shoe in for attacking the faith alone is an exaggeration and can actually hinder the Enemy’s desire for people to undermine their faith and keep people from turning to God. The reasoning is that in the midst of things like war and pestilence, people tend to call out and seek redemption from a higher power, the Enemy of the Enemy.

To bring it all together, through all the terrible things that are happening in the world we live in, God is getting our attention so that we can get right with Him before it is too late. If Jesus would come back when the world was all honky dory, there would be no incentive to get right, and more people would be lost. With all that is going on, people are seeking help and an answer for what is happening. I am hear to say Jesus is that answer an he is on his way back, and with everything occurring, he is providing more and more opportunities for people to come to a saving knowledge of His love, mercy, grace, power, and redemption and salvation. Uncle Screwtape (a high ranking demon in the book) even said so Himself, it’s through the suffering that people turn to God, and the Devil and his demons don’t like that; misery loves company and they will do all in their power to bring as many people to Hell with them.

Open your eyes. Your God-given purpose, your destiny, your calling is so pertinent to giving and or providing an answer to the struggles of so many others. By choosing to be all that God made you to be, being you for a purpose, you will help usher in the coming of the Lord Jesus, in a way that only you can, providing hope to those that need to hear and know that a better day is coming.

Time & Trouble

time

To write on the Book of Psalms, there isn’t enough years in a lifetime or enough pages to be printed to adequately express the intent of every author and the meaning and significance of each verse written in this beautiful piece of literature. Nevertheless, for the sake of this post, I want to focus on one chapter, 90. As it happens with many passages, I have read it several times before, but it wasn’t until this last time it clicked, and two verses specifically stood out.

It is in verse four that we gain some insight to God’s time table; a thousand years to us, is one day to Him. Hold up. That has to be one of the least rationale or explainable verses in the Bible. I mean seriously. one millennia versus one day? When I read that it reminds me of what the prophet Isaiah told the people, His ways are not our ways. You know what that means? His time is not our time, not even close. There are many Scriptures in the OT and NT that talk about the right time (Ecclesiastes 3:1; Habakkuk 2:3; Galatians 6:9; 2 Thessalonians 2:6).

Living a life of purpose, we have to understand God’s time means that what we want to happen in one year may no manifest itself until five years later. Does that mean you did something wrong? No. God’s timing is just different and it’s not until those five years or some more time after that you begin to really understand why God took that much time; maybe you weren’t ready or as ready as you thought you were and or needed to be, or the situation just wasn’t right, or God was working something else out entirely. I say all that to say something I have said before, waiting is not for the weak; patience is not easy. Nevertheless, the more we grow in Christ, the more we understand that we don’t understand and that He is sovereign and knows best. The quicker we learn that, the less worried, anxious, and frustrated we become. Now does that mean God likes to drag and string us along? Absolutely not. God is not about that life. He has a purpose in His perfect timing and the more intimate we are with Him, the more He begins to reveal those certain mysteries with us. In the same breath, if you are waiting for God, don’t ever rush Him. I did and well, I got myself in a situation I shouldn’t have been in. He can see the future, we can’t. On the flip side, don’t slow God down, which means if you are waiting on God and have been for some time now, make sure it’s not Him that’s waiting on you. I learned that too, not good. Bottom line, don’t get pushy and aggressive and don’t get passive and lazy with God’s timing. Just do what you know He want you to do when He wants you to do it and in due time…

Unfortunately, there is also verse 10 in this chapter. This verse talk more about time, but specifically our time. The average time we have on earth, give or take, is 70-80 years. The sad part, as it goes on further to say, is that life though short, is but trouble and sorrow. Job and Matthew said the same thing (Job 14:1; Matthew 6:34). You know what that says to me, after we have clarity that God is infinite and time is in His hands and understand that we are finite and time slips through our fingers, that gives the push to live a life of purpose even more. Why? Our days though short, we are promised to have trouble and sorrow and pain and disappointment, but we shouldn’t live a sheltered life that seeks to block out all the trouble. It’s impossible. We have no control. Likewise, we shouldn’t get so bent out of shape when troubles come, because we should expect them, or otherwise, ever get to the point we feel invincible as if nothing can touch us, giving the enemy a rather large foot hole, and often times God will have to humble us.

A life of purpose is living as a solution to the problems we face everyday. We can’t run from the trouble, no matter how bad it is, whether its our fault or not. Consequently, purpose-filled living means attempting to not create our own problems as much as we are able, because that only means we are adding more trouble to what was promised to us. That’s why it is imperative to be mindful of what you say, what you do, and what you think. Life is short and there is sorrow and trouble on every side, so don’t waste your time holding grudges, being angry and bitter, and not forgiving. Not only are you adding on to your trouble, wasting more time, but you are also causing trouble for other people as well, wasting their time.

Being you for a purpose, you understand that time is short and you were created to help fix the trouble we were promised. So in whatever ways God has chosen you to be a solution, don’t waste time, because after a short time, we will fly away. So I ask, what solutions have you come up with?? Have you added to the trouble or have you reduced it?? Your time will quickly pass, but there is so much you can do, after all Jesus changed the world forever in a matter of 12 hours. Even if all you have is one day left, your solution to one person’s problem, big or small can change the world forever, whether you write it, speak it, or do it.