Encouragement

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The promises of God are unchanging, unwavering and irrevocable. God placed us on this earth with a destiny, each and every one of us. Mistakes are not made by Him, if we are here on this earth, God already has a plan for our lives. It is up to us to make the choice to follow His call. Following His call is a difficult concept to grasp because we do not know exactly what it looks like. "For the gifts and and the calling of God are irrevocable" (Romans 11:29, NASB), which means the destiny God has in mind for us does not change, no matter how many times we fail or how far off track we get. The gifts that God has placed in us, our true identity in Him, is what will guide us and enable us to follow the call of God on our lives. "In love, He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:5-6, NASB).

As I look at my life and where I want to go with it and I see all the obstacles, or opportunities, that I face, I wonder how many people out there are just getting by in their life. We may be doing things we are good at and/or find success in, but it begs the question of whether or not what we do is something God has placed in our lives? To find out, it can be a simple two step process. 1. We have giftings and talents we are blessed with to use, and we need to acknowledge and walk in them. And then 2. we are to use those for the good purpose of His will He has in store for us.

All too often Christians mistake their calling in life. Either a person believes their calling is "ministry", which is absolutely true for any follower of Christ, but the word "calling" has been skewed to mean working in a church, in the worldwide mission field or being a part of an organization. Certainly there are plenty of men and women truly called to these particular areas, but being called to ministry does not mean operating in these fields. When you look at the ministry of Christ, it can be summed up in one word: Love. No matter what we do in life, if love is not the sole basis of our operation, then everything we do is for nothing. I have a friend who sums up life and ministry like this: "Do what you love, and love God while you do it."

The reason we are who we are is to use our gifts and talents to love people as Christ did and to, in turn, make disciples (Matthew 28:19). God has so graciously gifted us with abilities and a uniqueness that cannot be matched by any human on this planet. When Christ created each one of us, He set out a plan and destiny for us to walk in, using our gifts to further His kingdom. When we choose to go down the path of our choice, we miss out on unending opportunities to positively affect people's lives forever and to experience God's love and grace.

For the last 3-4 years of my life, I have felt like I have been in the "in-between stage" of my life. I know my talents, I have a good idea of what I can do with them, God has shown me dreams and goals, but I cannot seem to get there right now. I am stuck waiting, and it is too easy to lose sight of my call and using my talents that God has graced me with in the mean time. I am guilty of losing sight of my destiny simply because I have not received what I feel like God has for me. What a selfish thought for me to have! Hopefully this resonates with you. I may not be where I want to be right now, but this fact remains no matter what stage of life I am in. The call on my life is irrevocable and will not change, No one can say otherwise because God has plans for me."For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV).

Recently as I was spending time with God, I heard Him say, "If only you truly knew who you were and how I saw you." We fill our lives with things we want, maybe even well intentioned things, but they get in the way of what God wants for us. Or, we go on with life and forget what God has said about us. He has predestined us into adoption with Him. Predestined simply means that God made a plan for your life and deeply desires for each of us to choose to walk in it. God says that if we put our faith and trust in Him, we will be with Him in eternity (John 3:16) and that we are His sons and daughters (Romans 8:15). We are His adopted sons and daughters once we accept Him.

The crux of what I am getting at is this: If we would just understand the great things God has in store for our lives and if we could not lose sight of our identity when life happens, our life, ministries and the world we reside in, would be completely altered! You may not be Billy Graham, but you are absolutely you! Understand this: God loved you so much that He created you and made you unique with certain talents, gifts and abilities that no one else possesses. Your life has an intricate and specific purpose, and the choice is yours on whether or not you will accept your gifting and calling, and walk with God into your destiny and purpose in life."Take heart, God has overcome the world" (John 16:33). Go out, pursue God, seek your destiny, be you and do not lose sight of your calling. God has incredible plans in store for all of us, all we need to do is align our lives with Him.

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