Hope Comes with Life Purpose…Where do you look?
Devotions this week based on the Message: “Hope Comes with Life Purpose”.
Google “Find my purpose” and you will find many different blogs, articles and assessments ready to help you figure it out.
One such article suggested:
- Donate Time, Money, or Talent. …
- Listen to Feedback. …
- Surround Yourself With Positive People. …
- Start Conversations With New People. …
- Explore Your Interests. …
- Consider Injustices That Bother You. (https://www.verywellmind.com/tips-for-finding-your-purpose-in-life-4164689)
These and many more can be helpful. You may find satisfaction in helping with your time and resources. You can hone in on where you can make a difference based on where people give you positive feedback. Learn from new people, explore interests, help right a wrong…the list goes on.
To be clear, there is nothing wrong with doing these things and being a blessing to others through them. The bigger question to ask is this, “Is any one of these “THE” purpose for your life?”
At times in my quest to discover purpose, it seemed that much of the discussion of purpose focused on what you DO, suggesting that a single activity or season of activity would bring you to find your life’s purpose. Be a pastor…be a professional athlete…start a non-profit…feed the hungry…discover a medical breakthrough…etc. You may look back at these activities and say, “Now I know why I was born.” Great…but is just “DOING” something of significance or a certain activity the essence of our purpose? Or is there more to our purpose than just what we do?
As we said yesterday, let us go back to the ONE who made us. Read John 15:1-8. Ask yourself, “What is the purpose Jesus is giving me in these verses?”
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Jesus is teaching us that his purpose for us is to bear fruit to his Father’s glory…yet if I do not understand what goes into producing that fruit and what that fruit is, we will miss grasping our purpose. As Jesus loves to do, he loves to dig deeper…to our hearts to ensure what is inside is properly oriented so we can produce the fruit he desires. So…we continue the journey tomorrow so we understand how to produce fruit…
Apply: Consider some of the “accomplishments” you have achieved. Would you consider any of these your “life’s purpose”? Why or why not?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for challenging me to dig past the surface and find a deeper rooted and placed purpose in you. AMEN.
Hope Comes with Life Purpose: Why Am I Here?
Devotions this week based on the Message: “Hope Comes with Life Purpose”.
Why am I here?
I’m guessing (pretty safely) that you at some point have asked yourself this question. In fact, I think it would be safe to say that this existential question has been asked at some point by most of mankind. Philosophers have spent pages of ink and hours of debate to answer that very question. Personal growth gurus have written assessments and articles to help people in search of their “Why?”
Why?
Steve Taylor, a lecturer on psychology for Leeds Beckett University in the United Kingdom wrote this:
- The need for purpose is one the defining characteristics of human beings. Human beings crave purpose and suffer serious psychological difficulties when we don’t have it. Purpose is a fundamental component of a fulfilling life.
In this article, he contrasts the effects on a person when they don’t have a sense of purpose can be anxiety, boredom and depression. On the other hand having a sense of purpose life becomes more enjoyable, less complicated, and less stressful.
Mark Twain once said, “The two greatest days in a person’s life are the day they were born and the day you discover why.”
So we search to understand why are we here…what is our purpose?
I have to admit, this statement has challenged me for two reasons:
- Are we on a cosmic search for the ONE reason for which we were born on this earth?
- Is life meaningless until you discover the reason you are here?
- Is our life purpose to discover what our life’s purpose is? What if we never “find it”?
We all want to have purpose in life. Yet a 2020 article posted on www.verywellmind.com stated that only 25% of people identify that they have clarity on their purpose.*
So 3 out of 4 of you reading this struggle or have struggled to understand your purpose in this world.
The fact that we look for purpose indicates that we are all created with a purpose and for a purpose. But, could it be that we are looking for purpose in life either the wrong way or in the wrong place? Anything in life that has a purpose, has a Creator. Someone makes something or uses something for a purpose. So, the place for us to begin in this journey to understand our purpose is to ask the one who made us (You begin to see that truly understanding my purpose begins with a worldview that we have a creator. Acknowledging this may be the challenge of many.) When I ask God, my Creator, “Why did you create me?” his Words and truth in the Bible begin to educate and show me my purpose on this earth.
This week we will look at John 15:1-8 (I encourage you to listen to the full message via the link above) and develop this purpose Jesus speaks of in John 15:8: This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
An early Christian influence, Augustine of Hippo put it this way: “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”
Continue reading this week to discover more about your purpose in life so you a) see God’s purpose for you and b) discover renewed hope in life by having a renewed purpose each day.
Apply: Evaluate where you are finding or looking for purpose. Begin to ask, “God what is your purpose for me today?”
Prayer: Lord, thank you for creating me and giving me purpose. Help me to see it more clearly and live it more fully each day. AMEN.
Hope Comes When Someone Cares: Love
Devotions this week based on the Message: “Hope Comes when Someone Cares”.
At the heart of all we’ve been contemplating this week is love. The bottom line is what leads me to care about someone is love…what leads me to feel cared for is love.
Not just an emotion, but an action. Love is a willingness to put another person before myself. Love is selflessness, not selfishness.
To bring one more psychology point into this week’s discussion…Maslov’s hierarchy of needs lists “Love & Belonging” as the third basic need after basic physical needs (food, water, clothing, shelter) and the need for safety.
People want to not just know, but feel loved. God created us not just as physical beings that need certain things to sustain life, he created us as emotional beings that need love and someone to love.
But our world has struggled to understand love. Much of love focuses on self…my needs…my satisfaction and little has to do with serving the needs of others. Love focuses on the physical and the sexual relationships, the emotional “highs” that we get when endorphins start flowing. Yet all of these definitions fail to define what true love is.
So what is love? Let’s start with God’s love.
We know God cares about us because he loved us.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John3:16).
We know God cares about because he gave up his life for us.
“Greater love has no one than this, that he gave up his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
We know God loves us because he makes us his children.
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1)
The opportunity we have is to take the way we have been loved by God and extend that to others. What does that look like? Consider 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Loving another person can be challenging. People make it hard to love them. Our hurts from past relationships get in the way of investing in current ones. Yet, the opportunity we have is to let the people around us not just know we care, but that Jesus cares. They matter…they have value…they are visible…they have a voice. How do we let them know Jesus cares? Show love to them.
John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Apply: Who is someone God brings to mind that needs to experience his love through you? What might you do to show love…to show you care…to show God cares?
Prayer: Thank you Lord for loving us first. Lead us to love others as you have loved us. Let us show people you care about them by showing how much we care about them. AMEN.
Hope Comes When Someone Cares: Voice
Devotions this week based on the Message: “Hope Comes when Someone Cares”.
Consider this piece of research:
To help promote peace in the Middle East, many organizations have established “peace camps” or similar conflict-resolution programs that bring Israelis and Palestinians together to foster greater understanding of the opposing group.
One common feature of such programs is the opportunity for members of each group to share stories about their lives with members of the other group. Now, a new study from MIT neuroscientists shows that the benefits from this exchange are much greater when members of the less empowered group share their stories with the traditionally dominant group than when the reverse occurs.
The finding, published online in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, supports the idea that for the disempowered group, the biggest barrier to reconciliation is the belief that their concerns are being ignored, says Rebecca Saxe, senior author of the study.
“If that sense of being neglected and disregarded and taken advantage of is the biggest obstacle to progress, from their perspective, then you can partly address that by providing an experience of being heard,” says Saxe, an associate professor of brain and cognitive sciences and associate member of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT. (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120315110151.htm)
“Peace camps” are hard to find in our culture today. Polarized view points are solidified in the echo chambers of logarithms of social media that continue to feed us like minded feeds. We move from a position of curiosity to a position of confidence. So my position is right and the other is wrong. What happens is I want people to listen to my voice, but I am unwilling to listen to their voice which keeps us at odds and the chasm widening.
So how can things be different? When we fail, we have to turn to Jesus in repentance and for redirection.
James 1:19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
Here’s what James teaches my heart. When I fail to stop and listen, I am more interested in listening to my own message, my own story. When I fail to listen to others and become arrogant that I am unwilling to listen to another, it is more than likely I am also having trouble listening the voice of Jesus and his words. The law condemns my pride and Jesus calls it to be replaced with humility that is a) willing to listen first to the voice of Jesus and b) willing to listen to the voice of others.
Listening to the voice of Jesus is our orientation point. John 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
When I take time to listen to Jesus’ voice, I begin to learn from him and see life from his perspective. Listening draws me closer to Jesus.
As my pride fades and I practice humility by first listening to Jesus, I can be “quick to listen” to others. Curiosity overcomes closed minds. Listening closes chasms. Being heard heals hearts.
And when we first take time to give another person a voice, you may be surprised that the voice you were so concerned everyone needed to hear…that other person might just give you a voice and listen to you.
Apply: Do you have someone who you keep at arm’s length because you disagree vehemently with them? Ask the Lord for courage to reach out and set up a time to connect and listen to their voice. How can God use you to create a “Peace Camp”?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for calling us to be slow to speak and quick to listen. Forgive us when we fail. Empower us to be good listeners to you and your Word and to others. Amen.
Hope Comes when Someone Cares…Visibility!
Devotions this week based on the Message: “Hope Comes when Someone Cares”.
Take a moment to read this article entitled “Why You Need to Be Seen.”
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-leaders-code/201409/why-you-need-be-seen
This intriguing study points out that what matters more than being paid money for work being done is being acknowledged for the work they are doing.
True confession. I can do better at this.
It’s so easy to work to enroll people to get a project done, but then fail to acknowledge and appreciate all the hard energy and effort and resources individuals contributed. We just move on, asking, “What’s next?” It happens at church as well. We expect people to be involved and give of their time, energy and resources, but then don’t do well to acknowledge and thank them. So, let me apologize for not acknowledging you, and say your gifts, your time, your contributions ARE appreciated!
Another reality…CoVID has given us an “excuse” to stay away from people. We haven’t been able to see their mouth. Our mask makes it easier to stay quiet and move on. We walk by people and move into the store, through the aisles, past the cashier, and back out to our car. We possibly walk past 10-20 people or more…but not one acknowledgement that any of them are there.
True confession. I can do better at this.
People want to be seen. We all want to be seen. We want to be acknowledged for who we are…or perhaps just acknowledged that we exist! A simple “Hello,” smile or “Good morning” can go along way to say, “I see you and you matter in this moment.”
We can all do better.
So why don’t we? It’s easy to get busy, be self-focused, or just so intent on getting the task done, that we fail to see the “human” side of people and just go through life as if they are part of the machine called life. Perhaps this isn’t your challenge, but I know we all need forgiveness for at some point or another failing just to “see” people and acknowledge them.
We have one who does…who forgives us, acknowledges us, and knows us.
Jesus.
John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also.
Each of us matter to Jesus. He knows us – not just as a number or a cog in the wheel called life, but a person whom he loves and for whom he laid down his life. He also acknowledges those not yet part of his family…those are important to.
Some days it seems like no one sees us. Remember Jesus sees you and loves you dearly.
Some days Jesus may put a person in your life for you to “see” and let them know they matter…today might be the day.
Apply: Take time today to engage someone you don’t know with a “Hello,” “Good morning” or word of appreciation for what they are doing that is a blessing to you and the community around you.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the way you know us and see us. You know us personally and love us enough to lay down your life for us. Help us to “see” the people around us the same way you do, as people who matter. AMEN.