A FULFILLING PURPOSE

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing Your praise; I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness, for You have exalted above all things Your name and Your word. On the day I called, You answered me; my strength of soul You increased.

All the kings of the earth shall give You thanks, O Lord, for they have heard the words of Your mouth, and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord. For though the Lord is high, He regards the lowly, but the haughty He knows from afar.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve my life; You stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand delivers me.

The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of Your hands.

Psalm 138 (ESV)

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Question: Do you see your life as an endless string of events that have no real preconceived intention or connection? Or do you see your life as purposed and planned by a God who is Almighty in every way to include a creative mastery that maps out our lives before we were conceived?

It’s toward these questions that I present the following words from the 138th Psalm:

I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing Your praise; I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness, for You have exalted above all things Your name and Your word. On the day I called, You answered me; my strength of soul You increased.

All the kings of the earth shall give You thanks, O Lord, for they have heard the words of Your mouth, and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord. For though the Lord is high, He regards the lowly, but the haughty He knows from afar.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve my life; You stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand delivers me.

The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of Your hands.

Focus in on the opening to the last paragraph for a moment as David writes:

The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me.

Indeed, the Lord has a purpose for each and every one of us. Look at these other scripture passages that reinforce the words of David:

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 (In other words, to do the good works God has purposed for us.)

It is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Philippians 2:13

God’s word clearly tells us that we have been called, not according to what we want to do in life, but rather for what God has purposed for us to do. He created us for His work, to carry out what He prepared and fashioned us to do in advance. And He doesn’t leave us alone to carry out His purposes but instead is ready to work within us to ensure we do what we need to do to fulfill the purposes He created us for, the purposes that David proclaims that God will fulfill through us.

Given all this, can you see that everything happens for a reason in our lives? It’s all a part of the master plan, all a part of God working us toward His purposes.

Rest assured of this, nothing or no one will deter the Lord from completing what He has purposed. He is Lord and has no rival. No power or purpose is greater than His and His will reigns supreme over all other wills. His name and word are exalted over all things.

Keep that in mind the next time you think you will stubbornly reject something that God is calling you to. I guarantee you he can break your will and have you seeing things His way.

So what does God give to us to ensure His purposes are fulfilled?

Look again to David’s words.

1. God grants us strength.

On the day I called, You answered me; my strength of soul You increased.

  

There will be events that come upon us in life that may be hard to handle, possibly even threatening our best efforts to fulfill the special purpose God has set for us. It’s during those times, when we cry out to God for His help to deal with and persevere through hardship, that we, like David, can receive God’s strength to persist in carrying out the works He has designed us for,

2. God cares for us, despite His Lordship over us.

For though the Lord is high, He regards the lowly.

Another passage from the Psalms asks the simple question:

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is mankind that You are mindful of them, human beings that You care for them?^” Psalm 8:3-4

We were created for a purpose. Just as parents have purposes for their children as they raise them up, so too does our Heavenly Father have purposes for all of us who are His children. The difference is that His expectations last a lifetime as we carry out the purposes He designed us for, even as lowly as we are. God could do anything on His own and yet He still chooses to partner with imperfect sinners like you and me. I find myself mystified at this much like the psalmist in the 8th Psalm. I don’t know why God does it but I’m sure glad He does.

3. God preserves our lives and delivers us.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve my life; You stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand delivers me.

I often pay close attention to the fact that any one day has me on the brink of disaster. Just driving around in your vehicle is wrought with danger and indeed many people die on our highways every day. Couple that with any other number of occupational or domestic hazards and there are more than a few things that could harm us and keep us from fulfilling God’s purposes. This is why God’s protection and preservation are so critical and it makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? I mean, if you had someone purposed for something, you would want to take care of them so they could fulfill that purpose, right? This is the nature of the God we serve.

Yes, God strengthens us, cares for us, protects and delivers us.

He does it to ensure we can fulfill His purposes but He also does it because He loves us dearly with a steadfast devotion that lasts forever.

Friends, this psalm reminds us we are so richly blessed. We were designed for a purpose that God is working out in, through, and around us each and every day, and through the journey, we get to experience His strength, compassion, and safeguarding, all while basking in the rich love He has for us.

Won’t you take time to praise Him and give thanks today?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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