Focus On Your Purpose

Today I am reminded in my devotion to focus on my purpose not my problems.  

God has a purpose, for us all. He has given us gifts and life field trips to fore fill this purpose. But it is life’s bunny trails that can take us off that planned field trip and set our vision on our problem rather than our purpose.   As I mentioned before it could be an err in judgement,  something out of your control, health, finances or people around you.  But just as easily it can be self created for a purpose you thought was for good.  Here is an example.  

My husband had a site development business.  He worked mostly alone, hiring other truck operators as he ran the heavy equipment.  God had given him a vision of clearing some land for our new church building, a huge job, that later that year he was awarded.  He pushed himself to stay on the time line, he knew God had chosen him to do this work as reveled in his vision and he was determined to do his very best work no matter the hours he had to spend.  He worked six days a week, starting before daylight and coming home long after dark even in the summer months. He began pressing to get ahead of the time line.   God had an additional job for him, a mission trip to Africa building homes for orphans.  This would remove him from the church building project for 2 weeks. He was battling Satan telling him to stop working so hard, this job is too big for you, you will never finish, you are just holding up everyone else that's trying to work on this project.  

He was tired, mentality and physically.   Just a couple days from the mission trip departure he was pushing even harder to complete clearing a section of land.   He was loading a dump truck with a huge backhoe and as he backed up with a load in the bucket to dump into the truck and promptly backed right over his own pickup truck.  Hearing the crash of the glass and crunch or the metal he stopped but it was too late, it was totaled. 

Masai Mara

He had confused his “purpose” with a "problem". Lesson here is if Satan cannot make you stop he will push you too far.  Steve could have looked at the problems and not gone to Africa, but we went and as in previous trips we were blessed beyond measure. Our God continued to take care of us at home. On returning we received a check from the insurance company for more than the blue book value of the pickup.  Most amazing was our insurance rates didn’t go up because of the accident.  

How we handle our purpose and problems can affect the way others perceive God. Spread the good news.

Masai goat herder with baby

And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. Philippians 1:12