If you are one of these people, I hope that you have been praying upon your ultimate purpose in life. Praying about what it is that God created you to do. Praying about what God's calling is on your life. I, along with a friend from my inner circle, was having a conversation about this very topic the other night. We both know exactly what it is that God has called us to do! We know for which purpose we were created, but how to get there is what we are struggling with. So, as I usually do when I am perplexed, I began to search the Bible for examples of people who had the same feelings and were in the same situation as I. And, I began reading about Miriam, which led me to a mini study about Moses.
Numbers chapter 11 is just one instance in which God spoke to Moses with a set of directions that seemed impossible through Moses' eyes.
Numbers 11:21-23 reads:
But Moses said, "Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, 'I will give them meat for the whole month!' Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?" The Lord answered Moses, "Is the Lord's arm too short? You will now see whether or not what I say will come true for you." (NIV)
In this situation, Moses is just like me and my friend. God has told Moses of a great task that he will accomplish for God's purposes. It is in His will for Moses to meet the needs of these men. You see, these men, all 600,000 of them, are traveling with Moses as their leader. They have left Egypt under Moses' leadership and are now starving and wishing they had remained there. These men are upset at their leader now because their basic needs are lacking. When things go wrong, people tend to naturally blame the leader.
God has spoken to Moses after he has cried out about the troubles in the travel. God promises Moses that the men will eat for one whole month. Moses begins to question why God wants him to make such a bold promise to these men, when he has no idea how the promise will be met. Can you imagine, standing in front of all these men who are already angry at you, making a promise to them that they know that you alone will not be able to keep? Even though Moses was unable to see how this was going to pass, he was obedient to God's instructions. How many times has God told us to do something, but because we could not see with our eyes, or think with our brain HOW it was going to happen, we brushed it off, and put our focus elsewhere?
I am not sure if this is the case with everyone that God speaks to, but when God showed me my purpose, He showed me the BIG PICTURE and not the BRUSHSTROKES. In essence, He revealed to me ultimately what it is that I am to be doing in my kingdom building work. I also think that it is awesome that what He revealed to me is also what I am so passionate about in life, and what makes me feel the best when I am doing it. I was very excited, but my excitement was somewhat overcome by fear and nervousness.
When we are working for God, it is a serious matter. Every opportunity that we have to use our spiritual gift to help build God's kingdom and change the life of another is a privilege and is extremely important in our spiritual life, and the lives of others, even when we can't see it. The fear and nervousness came because I could see what I was supposed to be doing, but the BIG PICTURE looked so much bigger than me. In my mind, it appeared that I would be incapable, just like Moses. I tried to rationalize how this would come to pass, but that is what God reveals through the process of fulfilling our purpose.
BRUSHSTROKES reveal the picture. When some artists begin to paint, they just start. They may not have a definite idea of how the final product will turn out. They paint, and each BRUSHSTROKE is a detail in the BIG PICTURE. God reveals our BRUSHSTROKES as we move along in this journey. BRUSHSTROKES bring us faith and patience. Some a big and some are small. Some BRUSHSTROKES are joyful while others may make us feel pain. Some BRUSHSTROKES may make sense to us, while others may not. Despite the type of BRUSHSTROKE and how it may look, when all of them are put together, they create the beautiful picture of our purpose!
Right now, I am working through my brushstrokes. When I get impatient and perplexed, I remind myself that my artist is my Great Father! When I don't understand, or my picture may be looking a little skewed, I ask Him for the purpose in that stroke. I ask Him to continually reveal Himself to me along with what is to come in His will for my life. And, although my painting is not finished yet, God is still stroking and I know that there is work to be done that will grow me into my ultimate purpose in life. Even when it seems scary, we must keep pressing. Remember: what God usually shows is bigger than us, that way; we will need Him to reach the goal!
Spiritual Reflections
1. Has God revealed the big picture of your life purpose to you? If not, pray about it.
2. What are some brushstrokes you have had to encounter in your growth process?
3. How have these brushstrokes prepared you for your big picture?
4. Thank God just for whom He is and that He is our artist!
Related Reading: 2 Timothy chapter 1
