IN THE LIVING LIFE LESSONS COLUMN EACH MONTH I AM SHARING LESSONS GOD HAS TAUGHT ME THESE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. TODAY LEt’s talk about Finding purpose in life.

The lines of purpose in my life never grow slack. They are tightly tied to my future in heaven, kept taut by hope. ~ Colossians 1:5 (The Message)

Finding purpose for life is an issue I struggle with almost daily.

I’m married to a man who is driven with strong world-changing purpose and he walks in that with firm determination and vision for the future.

I, on the other hand, don’t.

Sure I find some purpose in supporting him, loving my friends, family, kids, grands, caring for our home, my writing and studies, etc…

But what does it all mean in the end?

The above verse is one that sets my feet back on solid ground. If I look to the world and my contribution to it for the validation of my purpose, I will be sadly disappointed time and again. But if I look only to God’s Word and the plans that He has for me I can find hope.

This hope is not one to disappoint. It is tied tightly to my future in heaven and that gives me reason to celebrate!

The trick is to not stop looking up!

If you can’t see the video screen below CLICK HERE for one of my favorite worship songs!

Image credit: dolgachov / 123RF Stock Photo

Lovingly Patiently Quietly…

With most written words, the emotional inflection is up to the reader. The title of this article could be read several ways, with different meanings depending on the inflection. The sentences have the same words, but when you read them aloud with emphasis on a different word, you get a different type of question, which in turn expects a different answer.

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For instance:

WHAT are you waiting for? (What you wait for.)

What ARE you waiting for? (More emphatically and specifically what are you waiting for.

What are YOU waiting for? (Why are you waiting when others aren’t waiting?)

What are you WAITING for? (Hurry up, stop waiting.)

What are you waiting FOR? (The reason you wait.)

When God prompted me to write this, I was thinking about how we live out the waiting process.

Are we wasting our time, passively sitting back just waiting for something to happen?

Can we find purpose in the midst of the waiting?

I’ve been doing a lot of waiting the last few years; so I’ve had time to think about this concept. During my waiting I’ve been reading Waiting On God by Andrew Murray. One of the most important points Murray makes is that waiting is really working for God. In other words, waiting is our job. As Believers we are expected to wait.

We’ll always be waiting for something. The thing we’re waiting for now may eventually come. And when it does, we’ll have victory in that area. But almost immediately we began waiting for something new. Sure, there are the normal, daily routine things we wait for:

Waiting in line at the grocery…

Waiting for the stoplight to change…

Waiting for your child to grow out of this phase…

Waiting on a loved one to trust in Christ…

Waiting on your marriage to normalize…

Life is really just a series of waiting events processing out.

Whether we realize it or not, we are being watched by others as we wait. It’s important to keep good attitudes and walk in love especially during the longest wait. I believe God honors that more that we know.