God Calls You for a Purpose

Dear Friends,

The God who created the world and everything in it desires to have a relationship with you and me.  Do you know that he knows you by name?  How incredible is that? There are around 7 billion people on this earth and God knows you by name.  God is calling us into a relationship with him.

Isaiah 43:1 says “But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.  O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.  I have called you by name; you are mine.”  (NLT)

God created us first, and foremost, for a relationship with him; a relationship with him is the most fulfilling one we can ever experience.  God knows us better than we know ourselves and he loves us unconditionally.  He is the source of all that we need; a relationship with him brings us peace, hope, joy, love and fulfilment.  No other relationship can meet all our needs, if we look to others to supply our needs we will end up disappointed.  In the past I have looked to others to fulfil my needs, I’ve looked to them for security, for self-worth, for approval etc but this has only led to disappointment for me as they have never been able to measure up, (who could possibly measure up to God?) and for them, the pressure or burden has just been too great, because they were never created to be the one to meet my every need.  I am learning to look to God as the source of all I need.  I say learning, rather than learnt, as I still sometimes fall back into the mistake of looking to others.  We need one another but our primary relationship is with God, our relationships with others will flow out of our relationship with God.

Not only does God call us to a relationship with him, he also calls us for a purpose.  When we are secure in our relationship with him, when he is first in our lives then we can trust in his purpose for us. God has a plan for your life that only you can fulfil.  You will experience such joy, pleasure and peace when you live out God’s plan for you.  You will know the assurance of doing what God has called you to do.  It has brought me so much joy and peace doing what he’s called me to and also released me from having to do things which he has not called me to do.  I get excited when I'm living out God's purpose for me, knowing that this is what I was made for.

God’s calling on your life doesn’t change; however, the expression of that calling may change in a new season.  For example, I believe God has called me to teach and share the truths of his word. I believe he has been preparing me for this all my life.  The expression of this calling has changed over time from teaching in small groups, to being a part of our church’s preaching team, to sharing God’s word in my blog.

God called Jeremiah to a relationship with him and to serve him: “The Lord gave me this message: ‘I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.’” Jeremiah 1:4-5 (NLT)

In Jill Briscoe’s book “Faith Enough To Finish” she writes “God has appointed you to a task that he has anointed you to perform.  God never calls without equipping!  Someone has said, ‘God doesn’t call the equipped, he equips the called.’  As far as I can see, ‘anointing’, means that you are in the midst of a duty, somewhere in the depths of your being comes a great shout of ‘God confidence’ – an ‘I can do this’ sound.  ‘This is possible,’ you realise, where before it looked impossible.  In fact, God is a God of the possible, and being anointed means living in the good of the possibilities of God!  We receive this anointing from the Holy Spirit.”

To Think About:

Is there any relationship that takes God’s place in your life?

Do you need to rearrange the relationships in your life so that God takes priority?

Spend some time considering the purpose God has called you to.

Do you rely on the Holy Spirit’s anointing to equip you for that purpose?

 

 

Vicki