Acts 20:24 NKJV
But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
It is said that when you do not know and understand the purpose of something, then abuse is inevitable. Many people end up wasting their lives because they do not understand the purpose for which God created them.
Paul was a man on a mission. He was a passionate man who was able to focus and get the job done no matter what. Before his conversion on the road to Damascus, we see the zeal he had to persecute the Christians. Though he was lost, he had a zeal and a purpose that drove him and directed his life. It took God to stop him and redirect him.
After his conversion, we see the same zeal and passion now connected to the right purpose and heading in the right direction. Nothing could stop him once he connected with the reason God created him. He had a reason to a wake-up every morning, he had a reason to keep going even after being stoned and left for dead. This man was shipwrecked, imprisoned, bitten by a snake, whipped and all manner of things, but he kept going. He understood his race and he finished it. Paul’s purpose for living was greater than any adversity that came in his way, and that is why he kept going.
Why do you wake up every morning? Why do you do the things you do?
Some people come up with their purpose and things they live for, but that will only get you so far. That will still leave you empty and unfulfilled. It is when we connect with God first to know him and to have a relationship with him, then he reveals to us the reason he created us, then our lives have meaning, and we find fulfilment through our relationship with him and the purpose he created us for. It is in knowing him and walking in obedience to his ways that we find our true purpose in life. As King Solomon said;
Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NKJV.
Reflections
What is one item in your house that you always use for something it was not created for?
What do you wake up every morning, and what keeps you going?
As a believer, what are some things you know God expects you to do, but you are not doing them? How will you change this?
