There is a Purpose!

Have you ever dealt with a difficult season in your life and wondered why everything seems to be caving in when you are clear on the direction God wants for your life? It seems as if just when you are moving forward everything is working to hold you back! Okay, you’ve been there haven’t you, or perhaps you are there right now?

well I was going through one of those seasons and while I thought through issues, I remembered something I had shared with a friend to encourage her as she went through a rough season and I could hear the taunt of the enemy; “preacher, preach to yourself!

I was asking God many questions, seeking His face but not getting the answers I needed (or so I thought!),

As I tried to get a grip of this, these words dropped into my spirit: There is a purpose.

I said, “Lord, what could be the purpose in all of this? I am bleeding here”! But He brought my mind to Jesus on the cross, an image so gory and horrid! Beloved Son of God, the Word made flesh, our Saviour; battered and beaten and hanging on a cross. Jesus had the will, the might and authority to refuse the cross but He endured it for a purpose. God the Father permitted His son to be crucified to deliver you and I from bondage to sin.

Isaiah 53:4-5 says;

“Surely He has borne our griefs

And carried our sorrows;

Yet we esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten by God, and afflicted.

But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;

We have turned, everyone, to his own way;

And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all”.

The purpose of the cross was the salvation of man. I always think there must have been silence in Heaven as all the Heavenly Host watched in utter dismay as the Holy One was abused, bruised and broken. There must have been whispers of “what is The Father up to? How could He let this happen”? Michael and his league of angels must have been watching for a signal from the Throne to intervene, but the signal never came because God’s purpose for man’s redemption had to be fulfilled by the sacrifice of the unblemished Lamb of God who alone could take away the sin of the world. Because of that great sacrifice, access to the Father and eternal life has been granted to whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ!

In the same way, everything that God allows into our lives is for a purpose. We often don’t understand it, but if we trust God through the process, we will come out stronger, and God will reveal His ultimate purpose.

As Romans 8:28 affirms;

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Job’s trials made no sense to him or to his friends. They rationalized that he must have committed some heinous sin to be undergoing such suffering. But Job pleaded his innocence, and, in the end, he was vindicated. God’s purpose was not to destroy Job, but to prove to Satan that Job’s righteousness was not because of his material blessings. In the end it worked out for His good.

Even when you don’t understand God’s purpose, may you never lose sight of His love. I have always been fascinated by Job’s confession that “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him”. God took Job through a tough mill, but he passed the test. Recently God was speaking to me about this. I was writing down something someone sent to me, it was a word of encouragement talking about God giving us rest. However instead of writing the word ‘rest’ in my journal, I wrote ‘test’ and quickly cancelled it, thinking to myself “eish error!” But at the same moment the Holy Spirit said to me;

 ” Yes, Test my daughter, test. Will you pass the test? Are you ready to walk on the water with me? Will you still trust me when the waves begin to destabilize your steps, when the howling winds bring fear into your heart? Will you listen to the voice of the storm or will you listen to my voice?”

“Lord I want to listen to your voice, help me keep my eyes on you”!

That brought a perspective I needed and calmed my troubled mind.

I thought about Joseph and his journey. The favourite and favoured son of his father, Joseph had some grand dreams of being chief in his family. Those dreams however seemed to have turned into dust when he was thrown in a pit, sold into slavery and ended up in prison. However, Joseph’s attitude through it all was one we can all learn from. He chose not to forsake God in his time of adversity but to remain faithful. In the end we learnt that God had a purpose for his trials, and God showed up to glorify His name. In Joseph’s own words to his brothers who had sold him into slavery and were now terrified to discover that the one they had hated and rejected was Prince of Egypt, he said;

“I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life… So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt”. (Genesis 45:4,5,8)

When his father Jacob died, and his brothers were afraid that Joseph might seek revenge he boldly told them;

“But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive”. (Genesis 50:20)

Joseph could not be bitter about his past because He saw God’s purpose woven through his journey. How in the world do you get to be in prison at the same time as the cupbearer who becomes the introducer of Joseph to Pharoah’s court? Only by divine orchestration!

Joseph could freely forgive his brothers because he saw that God’s purpose was bigger than their jealousy and hatred. He became who he was in spite of it or if one may daresay, because of it!

Perhaps we can all learn a lesson from this; did someone stab you in the back? Did someone leave you in the cold at night? Perhaps God was using that experience to groom you for your next assignment. Perhaps you are bitter and sulking at those who hurt you; angry at whoever you felt cheated you. Dear friend, like Joseph why don’t you choose to focus on God?  Why don’t you choose to forgive whoever might have helped put you in the pit, prison or may have falsely accused you like Potiphar’s wife did to Joseph? Why don’t you choose to remain faithful?

You may not yet have the stage you desire to showcase your talents or abilities but remember the only stage Joseph had was in prison, and his faithful application of this gift (interpretation of dreams), though forgotten for a season by those he helped (aka Mr. Cupbearer), was the same conduit through which he came to the limelight of Pharaoh’s presence.

God’s purposes may not be immediately obvious to us, but His love revealed to us through Jesus Christ is unquestionable and ever-present. Keep walking in faith, keep praising God through it all! There is a purpose and there is glory ahead!  A verse I have been meditating on recently is Revelation 17:14; “These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”

Joseph, was called and chosen by God and he chose to be faithful to God even in adversity, and emerged out of it all a man full of wisdom and spiritual maturity. May that be our story also. That even where men have tried to ride over our heads, even when circumstances have worked against us, we will emerge victorious not because we sought revenge, but because we trusted God and He lifted us in His own good time!

Declare with me:

“I am going to trust God no matter what it takes to see His glory in my life” I am called and chosen and I will remain faithful as He works out His purposes in my life!

Praise Note: Not long after that conversation with God, certain events occurred in my life that revealed to me a glimpse of God’s purpose for allowing me to experience those difficult moments and now I am thankful for God’s mercy through it all. Let’s keep our eyes fixed on Him, He is faithful!