I am excited about tomorrow’s discussion and I hope you will
be too. During a conversation with a few friends last week, including one going
through a challenging time, it occurred to me that there was too much emphasis
being placed on a particular outcome. I believe the Holy Spirit popped into my
little head the notion that God is at least as interested in the process he is
going through as He is the result. I shared that idea and one of the other guys
built on it with the July 28th meditation from Oswald Chambers’ My
Utmost for His Highest. It is below:
God’s Purpose or Mine?
"He made His disciples get into the boat and go
before Him to the other side . . . —Mark 6:45
We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to
do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We
should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for
us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God
is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The
question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little
importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we
see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal
itself.
What is my vision of God’s purpose for me? Whatever
it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now.
If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil
of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not
working toward a particular finish— His purpose is the process itself. What He
desires for me is that I see “Him walking on the sea” with no shore, no
success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that
everything is all right because I see “Him walking on the sea” (Mark 6:49). It
is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God.
God’s training is for now, not later. His purpose
is for this very minute, not for sometime in the future. We have nothing to do
with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern ourselves with
it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself.
God’s purpose is to enable me to see that He can
walk on the storms of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we
are not paying enough attention to the present time. However, if we realize
that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment as it comes is
precious."
Things to think about:
·
Can you relate to the idea that if I am
obedient, God will bless me with success?
o
Does its natural corollary also follow (if I am
not successful, am I being punished)?
·
What do you think about the assertion that God’s
purpose for you may be the exact opposite?
o
How could that ever be a good thing?
·
Chambers says that it really the process that
matters to God
o
Why would that be the place of emphasis?
·
What do you think God’s vision for you is?
o
Might be a little early in the morning for this
question J
·
Why the stress on now?
·
Obedience seems to be the key
o
What results from it is immaterial
o
Is that easy or hard for you to accept?
·
Can you share a time when you thought God was
working towards one end and it turned out to be something else?
o
What did you learn in the process?
·
Are you going through a process today?
o
How does this study help you think of it
differently?
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