Today's Devotional

December 3, 2004

Subject:  Purpose And Hope

Jeremiah 29:11 - "I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD.  They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope."

The other day when I came home during lunch to see what the problem was with my computer and getting the devotional loaded to the web, I was surprised to see my roommate at home watching TV.  Thinking that perhaps he just stopped in for lunch, I asked what he was doing at home at this time of day.  He exclaimed that the power had gone out in the building that he worked in and so everyone went home for the day.  I then explained that I came home to see why my devotional didn't load and that I had a few other things to do before I got back to work.  So thinking about how fruitful some unexpected time could be in my life, I asked, "so what are you gonna do today?"  He said, "sit here and watch TV."  Not realizing that my "things to do" list was so extensive and that he had pondered it, as I was walking out the door he said, "I wish I had some purpose in my life."  Of course I had to turn around when I heard that.

That's the difference that we have in Christ.  Life can throw us some strange pitches and sometimes we swing and miss, but in the end, we know that God is about getting His will accomplished for our lives and that always gives believers a sense of purpose.  We don't interpret life as something haphazard as we muddle through it trying to find our purpose.  

When I came back into the house I said to my roommate, "the deal is you need a purpose-driven life."  I then went upstairs and brought the book back down and gave it to him to read.  We are supposed to discuss it later.  He asked if it was religious and I said, "from your perspective yes, but in reality it's simply the truth about everyone's purpose." 

A life of purpose is what gets everyone through because it instills hope.  If the purpose is not is in line with God's purpose, that hope will be here one day and gone the next.  However a purpose that is aligned with God's purpose gives hope eternal.  That is a life of perpetual purpose.  Today do you see a future filled with hope?    

 Carlen