Through the years of my life in counseling and just listening to others, here is another of the many things that many feel they lack....purpose.
Our words betray our core values and directional drive in our lives, even when we don't realize it, especially to those who have learned to listen for such.
The Bible, although can and does answer any and all questions that may plague a seeking soul. There is no trick to extracting from scripture whatever you may be seeking answers. It's the Spirit of the Lord who brings the word of God to life within you, only for the asking. Yes, dear one, all you have to do is ask of Him, for He is pleased to give abundantly to those who would dare ask in spite of our having to been raised in the muck and mire of self-sufficiency. (1 John 2:27...again.)
Here are some verses that, once filling your mind and heart with their content, can give Holy Spirit more substance to work with. I recommend praying through each one, and allowing the very Spirit of the Lord fill you with His wondrous Presence, and filling your mind and heart with understanding:
1 Peter 2:7-10
7 Therefore, to you who believe, [He is] precious; but to those who are disobedient, "The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,"
8 and "A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense." They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.
9 But you [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
10 who once [were] not a people but [are] now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
Let that sink in, even if it's the only one of these you work through with your Lord.
Acts 2:23-26
23 "Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;
24 "whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.
25 "For David says concerning Him: 'I foresaw the LORD always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.
Although this is speaking about Christ, it shows the grounding of purpose the Lord pushes out into not only His only begotten Son, but throughout all His creation, as we will see in subsequent verses:
Acts 13:36-37
36 "For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption;
37 "but He whom God raised up saw no corruption.
The unmistakable purposes of the Lord are without parallel. Do not exclude yourself from the directions in His purposes.
Colossians 1:15-18
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
As a part of His creation, within which, and materially formed from, purpose can be realized throughout all...even in you!
[Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
1 To everything [there is] a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:
2 A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck [what is] planted;
3 A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; 7 A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; 8 A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.
The above verses are like river of purpose flowing through all of life. Let the Lord bring this upward into a far greater reality for you.
Speaking of purpose:
Jeremiah 29:11-13
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
13 And you will seek Me and find [Me], when you search for Me with all your heart.
This reveals the Heart of the Lord, whether it be spoken to Israel or to the Church...
Jeremiah 32:19 '[You are] great in counsel and mighty in work, for Your eyes [are] open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.
To this one may also see the measure of faith one harbors. If you feel you haven't the faith necessary to know and understand His purposes for you, then, by faith, call upon Him; ask of the Lord whatever are His purposes for you. Understand that He will give to you only what you can handle, but by growing you in your spiritual stature, the purposes to which He calls you will also grow.
Finally, allow this to sink into the soils of your mind and understanding:
Job 42:2 "I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose [of Yours] can be withheld from You.
Amen
MM
Our words betray our core values and directional drive in our lives, even when we don't realize it, especially to those who have learned to listen for such.
The Bible, although can and does answer any and all questions that may plague a seeking soul. There is no trick to extracting from scripture whatever you may be seeking answers. It's the Spirit of the Lord who brings the word of God to life within you, only for the asking. Yes, dear one, all you have to do is ask of Him, for He is pleased to give abundantly to those who would dare ask in spite of our having to been raised in the muck and mire of self-sufficiency. (1 John 2:27...again.)
Here are some verses that, once filling your mind and heart with their content, can give Holy Spirit more substance to work with. I recommend praying through each one, and allowing the very Spirit of the Lord fill you with His wondrous Presence, and filling your mind and heart with understanding:
1 Peter 2:7-10
7 Therefore, to you who believe, [He is] precious; but to those who are disobedient, "The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,"
8 and "A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense." They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.
9 But you [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
10 who once [were] not a people but [are] now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
Let that sink in, even if it's the only one of these you work through with your Lord.
Acts 2:23-26
23 "Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;
24 "whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.
25 "For David says concerning Him: 'I foresaw the LORD always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.
Although this is speaking about Christ, it shows the grounding of purpose the Lord pushes out into not only His only begotten Son, but throughout all His creation, as we will see in subsequent verses:
Acts 13:36-37
36 "For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption;
37 "but He whom God raised up saw no corruption.
The unmistakable purposes of the Lord are without parallel. Do not exclude yourself from the directions in His purposes.
Colossians 1:15-18
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
As a part of His creation, within which, and materially formed from, purpose can be realized throughout all...even in you!
[Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
1 To everything [there is] a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:
2 A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck [what is] planted;
3 A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; 7 A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; 8 A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace.
The above verses are like river of purpose flowing through all of life. Let the Lord bring this upward into a far greater reality for you.
Speaking of purpose:
Jeremiah 29:11-13
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
13 And you will seek Me and find [Me], when you search for Me with all your heart.
This reveals the Heart of the Lord, whether it be spoken to Israel or to the Church...
Jeremiah 32:19 '[You are] great in counsel and mighty in work, for Your eyes [are] open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.
To this one may also see the measure of faith one harbors. If you feel you haven't the faith necessary to know and understand His purposes for you, then, by faith, call upon Him; ask of the Lord whatever are His purposes for you. Understand that He will give to you only what you can handle, but by growing you in your spiritual stature, the purposes to which He calls you will also grow.
Finally, allow this to sink into the soils of your mind and understanding:
Job 42:2 "I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose [of Yours] can be withheld from You.
Amen
MM
