“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Galatians 2:20 (NIV)
I’ve spoken a lot lately about how when we fully surrender our lives to God, we choose to live in such a way as to get out of the way to make room for our Heavenly Father to do amazing things. I’ve talked about how sometimes we have to step into the river in order to fulfill the promises He speaks over our lives while other times He’ll show up and call us into our destiny when we’re busy living our day-to-day routine.
The main thing to remember, though, is it’s always all about Him. God can use anyone to fulfill His purpose. He chooses us because He loves us. But it’s not about us and our gifts or talents – it’s about the dreams and desires He places within us in order to fulfill the calling He puts on our lives.
It wasn’t about Noah. He was just an ordinary man who chose to live a life of obedience to God in a culture where being faithful to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob wasn’t considered politically correct. God was able to use that obedience, invited him to build an ark and the rest is history as we know it.
It wasn’t about Joseph. Joseph wasn’t some awesome businessman who knew how to efficiently store crops in order to save a nation. No – it was about Joseph’s obedience to God’s plan that allowed him to be part of history where the world was saved from hunger because of God’s intervention.
It wasn’t about Moses, David, Daniel, Esther or Mary either. The simple fact is if any of these people chose not to obey God and didn’t fully surrender their lives to Him for the purpose of His greater plan, God would have used someone else who was willing.
God never changes. What was true in the Bible is still true today. God wants to use His children to fulfill His purpose here on earth – the ultimate purpose is that none should go to hell but all will live in Heaven with God, a decision that each one of us has to make for ourselves.
God has a purpose that He wants to fulfill in my life. He has another purpose He wants to use my family to fulfill. He has one specific to you as well, my friend. And another one for your family, and the family next door and across the street and in another state and, you get the idea. The real question is whether or not we are going to fully surrender our agendas, our lives, in order to fulfill His purpose, not our own. Because, my friend, we have the right to say “no.” We can decline His invitation to be a part of fulfilling His purpose. He will then find another more obedient, more willing heart to complete the job.
I, for one, don’t want to reject His invitation. I want to be watching, waiting and willing to step when He calls me. When that happens, I’ll be giving Him all the praise because it truly is, and always has been, all about Him.
© Cheri Swalwell 2018