Our All-Wise Know-It-All has a Purpose

I have loved watching you moms and dads and your children forge through your, what seems to be, perpetual at-home time together. I've passed by families going on walks together. I’ve seen FB photos of you having family meals together and, I’ve heard you saying: “I’m going to miss this!” I’ve seen you being home school facilitators, and, latest news is you're going to get to supervise through to the end of the school year! Maybe that's more than you bargained for -- but you're surviving!

This time will pass and I pray that you look back on it as a life-changing time that will give you fond memories and many lessons learned, in spite of it being some of the most challenging and even disappointing times. I pray that your new value system of family meals together, playing games together and caring for each other and others, along with the tenacity, perseverance and fortitude you’ve acquired, to be your new non-negotiables.

We might consider these times to be a “hands-on seminar” by our Lord. He wants us to know “I have a purpose in mind”. And it’s verified in James 1: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

We mamas know the pain of childbirth. Oh, but it’s so worth it to hold that little bundle-of-purpose in our arms. We’ve heard it said “No pain – no gain!” There is so much gain that we will have had from these times of isolation and confinement if we but realize God always has a purpose.

Seriously, I'm speaking from firsthand experience. Out of the toughest times of our lives, when my sweetheart was diagnosed with terminal cancer, God had a purpose already planned for me. I had a choice. To waller in self-pity or to allow God to use that season as preparation time in my life. That latter option is what compelled me to start blogging, and from Facebook's notice to me yesterday -- it has now been 10 years of blogging. Our greatest tests turned out to be my daily testimony to others. God had a purpose for me way past my husband's life on this earth. I knew God wanted me to bring His light to the darkness on social media and I promised to blog 365 days a year with a 6 am post goal each and every day. I am driven with a passion for this mission. My passion is telling a lost and hurting world about the love, mercy and grace of Jesus.

I'm pulling out one of my favorite scriptures. Romans 8:28 “For ALL things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His PURPOSES.” Did you get that? HIS purposes! He is on purpose, with a purpose in mind. So, if we but take deep breaths, we’ll weather this season with new purpose right here in the middle or end of it.

Peter did. Remember what a coward he was? He denied even knowing Christ. Tough season for him and the other disciples. Everything they staked their lives on ended up in their Leader’s demise. Oh, but God had a purpose. The PURPOSE rose from the grave and ascended to heaven. The PURPOSE was to radically transform lives so we can live for eternity with THE PURPOSE. The coward, Peter, turned into a vibrant, Holy Spirit-filled, preaching machine after Pentecost. His first message brought in over 3,000 people to Christ.

What if God’s purpose is packaged in temporary pain and inconvenience? What if we understand that God’s purposes are always right on. What if we yield to our divine “Know-it-All” and surrender to His ways without whining and complaining? We should follow James’ words to “Count it ALL joy” – because a creative idea, a witty invention, a new way of solving problems, and a family bond is created that will never be broken. What if we hold tight and watch God do what He does best? He is our God and Father of PURPOSE, and Father knows best.

How About a Life Changing Walk With Jesus?

Life-Changing: Having an effect that is strong enough to change someone’s life; having a powerful effect; compelling, game changer, unconquerable

I’ve loved seeing the Easter photos of families enjoying their Easter celebrations – their new Easter clothes, dinners and egg hunts. It was hilarious watching my 16 and 17 year old grands hunting for eggs their Mama “rabbit” hid in their back yard. Mom has to strategically identify the colors of the eggs they can find, after all -- competition is ON! Blue & green were Payton’s to find and pink & yellow were Alexia’s. It worked perfectly for each to end up with the same number. LOL! That Easter fun is over, but the crux of the REAL matter of Easter celebrations is still burning in our hearts. We are still in awe of this incredible reason for our faith. Our Lord LIVES and is walking life with us daily!

Remember the two disciples who were returning home to Emmaus from Jerusalem after the crucifixion and the "supposed" resurrection of the Lord (Luke 24:13-35)? The women reported that angels at the empty tomb announced "He is alive." But they thought those women were delusional. The reports of the empty tomb confused them, but that Sunday afternoon, Jesus met up with them. He encouraged them and explained the message of the resurrection, and reminded them of His promises to them, but they didn't recognize Him until He went home with them and broke bread, blessed it and gave it to them. They had seen Jesus do this when he fed the five thousand and the four thousand and in the Upper Room. Their eyes opened and they recognized Him. Then He disappeared. It was then that they said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the Scriptures?” (Luke 24:32) Their hearts burned within them when He shared scriptures with them.

That is my prayer, too -- that my heart would burn within me at the reality of His unfailing Word and that I would be stirred by His presence in my life daily. Don't you love it when you've read or heard a scripture many times, but then all of a sudden you hear it again, but this time it's like a light comes on and you finally "get it" -- just like those disciples realized it was Jesus with them? This time, it's God's perfect timing for His Word to be a lamp to our feet and a light to our pathway." (Psalm 119:105)

Perhaps, if we continue in this magnificent truth of our Risen Lord on a daily basis, our hearts will continue to burn with faith, His love will flow from us to others who need an encounter with Him, and we just may be His hands extended to them. We are those disciples on the road to Emmaus, living our lives in the real world, walking along with Jesus who is always there with us on the road, whether we recognize Him or not. He listens to us, and understands us, because He became one of us. He gets us.

Are you confused, hurting, perplexed or need advice and wise counsel today? Maybe it's time to go for a life-changing "Walk with Jesus" today. I promise you – He’ll be walking with you! As a matter of fact, I’ll see you later – it’s time for my walk!