…whatever you do, do all to
the glory of God. —1 Corinthians 10:31
{CHAMBERS} “We have a tendency to look for wonder in our experience,
and we mistake heroic actions for real heroes. It’s one thing to go through a
crisis grandly, yet quite another to go through every day glorifying God when
there is no witness, no limelight, and no one paying even the remotest
attention to us. If we are not looking for halos, we at least want something
that will make people say, “What a wonderful man of prayer he is!” or, “What a
great woman of devotion she is!” If you are properly devoted to the Lord Jesus,
you have reached the lofty height where no one would ever notice you
personally. All that is noticed is the power of God coming through you all the
time. […] To be utterly unnoticeable requires God’s Spirit in us making us
absolutely humanly His. The true test of a saint’s life is not successfulness
but faithfulness on the human level of life. […] our purpose should be to
display the glory of God in human life, to live a life “hidden with Christ in
God” in our everyday human conditions (Colossians 3:3).”
{ELGIN} Let’s say you have two bolts. With one bolt you fix a high
performance car that wins a race. With
the other bolt you fix your lawn mower.
Which bolt has more significance and has best fulfilled its
purpose? Neither. Neither is better. Both fulfilled their purpose as you
decided. In the same way, God has a
purpose for every Christian – every Christ follower. (Don’t you love that expression? Being a Christian might be viewed as “merely”
getting saved. As if that were not enough!
But being a “Christ follower” suggests that you are more than saved, you
are a true disciple , you have laid down your worldly nets and are following
Jesus, wherever He leads.) Your fulfilling
your purpose is not meant to bring glory to you but to God. It doesn’t matter
if God uses you on a sports car or a lawn mower. What matters is that you are obedient to His
call and direction. People talk to me
about what Martie and I do and have done for the Kingdom and other people. We do it for the glory of God. Billy Graham did what he did for the same
reason. The faithful widow who is never
seen by anyone, she does what she does for the same reason. I often tell people that the only credit I
can take is for saying “yes” to God. Everything
else is from God. He formed me, He
purposed me, He gifted me and He called me.
The same goes for you too.
(Psalm 51: 16-17) “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring
it; you do not take pleasure in burnt
offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.” Which is to
say that it is not what you do for God, but what you allow God to do in
you. (Micah 6:8) “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what the Lord
requires of you but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with
your God?” There is only one way you can
do that and it’s by the power of God, not self-effort. (1 Samuel 15:22) “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and
sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and
to heed is better than the fat of rams.” To be obedient to your purpose means
that you must sacrifice your will for God’s will. You must overcome your fear and doubt with
faith. You must love God more than you
love yourself. It doesn’t matter where you are sent or what you are sent to do …
being in the center of God’s will and walking obediently in it is the absolute
best place you can be.
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