Finding Your Place in God's Story

 “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why?”  -Mark Twain

 

 The Bible records for us God’s salvation history of humankind and it is primarily His story, God’s sovereign activity unfolding in and through His people.   The story begins with the creation accounts in Genesis 1-2, is closely followed by the fall of the human race in Genesis 3 and then the remainder of the Bible is a historical account of God’s redemption of the world.  While we tend to focus on the individual stories and characters in the Bible, the larger backdrop is God’s unending, loving pursuit of His creatures, people like you and me.  He longs to restore the relationship that was lost in the Fall and for everyone to experience the abundant life available within the Kingdom of God.  It is Jesus the King who initiates, reveals, directs and empowers His body the church, by His Spirit, thereby accomplishing His plans and purposes in the earth.  Our personal calling is to both discover, and live out, our true identity as a much-loved son or daughter of the King, and to walk out the fulfillment of the good works He prepared in advance for us.  (Ephesians 2:10)  

 

God’s will is not only knowable but He desires to reveal it to us in order that we might experience the abundant life Jesus speaks of in John 10:10. It is common for God to give us a vision or place a deep desire in our heart and then begin the work of preparing us to fulfill it, as is recorded for us in the life of Joseph in Genesis 37-50.  It also normative for God to reveal His plan for us in a progressive fashion, with the plan taking on greater clarity regarding timing, location, resources required and other significant details as we live the life of a disciple, hearing Jesus’ voice and doing what He tells us.  This requires us to step out in faith, acting on what we know while we continue to grow in faith, character, and skill. Therefore, we can live God’s will for our lives today, and each day in the future, with confident expectation that He will accomplish His will and purposes through us.  

 

In community with like-minded brothers and sisters we embrace the following:

 

Our True Identity- Living each day, all day, as a much-loved son or daughter of God; forgiven, redeemed, blessed with every spiritual blessing, a valued member of God’s family, created in God’s image and likeness, creative, life-giving, God’s Kingdom ambassador.  This also means we will actively reject Satan’s lies that we are somehow defective, unworthy, unlovable, disqualified, broken, incapable, not smart enough too old, too young or too anything else to be considered a child of the King, worthy of His favor, care and protection.         

 

The Lifestyle of a Disciple- While spiritual transformation is God’s work, there are a number of habits and disciplines we are commanded to embrace as a part of our covenant relationship with God.  It is the development of a lifestyle that makes practical living with and for Jesus the King in His Kingdom.  This includes but is not limited to, abiding in Jesus, His love and His Word, receiving God’s love and loving others and ourselves in return, practicing forgiveness, listening to God’s voice, choosing obedience, walking in faith, shepherding our heart, remembering to be grateful, practicing the disciplines, cultivating humility, resisting the devil and adopting servanthood as a lifestyle.  By practicing these disciplines until they become habit, we create an environment for the Holy Spirit to continue to work character, maturity and endurance in us.  

 

Our Uniqueness as a Child of God- We truly are one of a kind, with a unique blend of physical attributes, temperament, personality, natural talents, spiritual gifts, dreams, likes, preferences and life experience.  The more discernment we have about ourselves in each of these areas helps us to discover our unfolding Kingdom purpose.  This unique combination that comes together to make us who we are (identity), along with our sovereign placement in God’s unfolding story, provides significant clues regarding His plans and purposes for our lives  

 

God’s Unique Plan for Our Lives- While it sounds like a destination it’s more like an ever-expanding journey into the heart of God.  The vision and desires we have for ministry can be experienced, at least in part, in our current circumstances.  As we grow and mature, the larger vision unfolds and we experience kingdom growth and expansion, which isn’t always numbers and noses or bigger and more visible. We have the opportunity to live God’s will for our lives right where we are today and it is no less God’s will than it will be tomorrow when we are further along in our journey.  Contentment and fulfillment are keys to enjoying the journey.  

 

Our need for community- It is common in our culture to take an individualistic approach to life, even our spiritual life, an approach that comes naturally to most.  We want to decide on our own, do it our way and not have to be concerned with the thoughts and concerns of others.  Sometimes we are successful, or at least appear to be successful but most of the time we fail or fall short of what we could have accomplished if we worked together with others. When writing on the spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:21, the apostle Paul uses the example of the physical body to address our need for one another when he says “the eye cannot say to the hand I have no need of you, or the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”  Our personal calling will find its expression within the larger body of Christ.  And Richard Foster builds on this truth when he highlights the church’s history of reliance on corporate guidance as a safe and reliable form of receiving direction from God.  He writes the following,  

 

Many are having a deep and profound experience of an Emmanuel of the Spirit-God with us; a knowledge that in the power of the Spirit Jesus has come to guide his people himself; and experience of his leading that is as definite and as immediate as the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.  But the knowledge of the direct, active immediate leading of the Spirit is not sufficient.  Individual guidance must yield to corporate guidance. (Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, p 175)  

 

The plans and purposes of God are best discerned and realized in community with others.    

 

Reflection:           

 

1.  When you think about the truth that you are looking to discover God’s plan for your life, rather than come up with your own plan, what thoughts and emotions does that trigger in you? (Excited, relieved or fearful and disappointed)          

 

2.  When you consider the five different aspects of discovering, and living, God’s plan for your life, which seems the easiest, the most challenging?  How would you score yourself in each area?          

 

3.  Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where He would have you begin or make adjustments?                   

 

As a caution, be satisfied with the next one or two steps rather having to know the whole of God’s plan right now.