It is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. – Proverbs 19:21
What on Earth am I here for? That was the question posed by Pastor Rick Warren in his 2002 best-seller, The Purpose Driven Life. In it, he declared first of all that “it’s not about you;” then listed five purposes that you are here for. You were planned for God’s pleasure, you were formed for God’s family, you were created to become like Christ, you were shaped for serving God, and you were made for a mission.
In the final week before His crucifixion, Jesus displayed that all of the purposes God intended for you He also established for His Son. God found pleasure in His Son, Jesus, and loved Him. “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand” (John 3:35). At His baptism, the Father said of Jesus, “You are my beloved Son” (Luke 3:22). Rather than being created to be more like Himself, Jesus was God incarnate. Jesus said, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). There are many ways that Jesus served God—His entire ministry was one of service to the Father and to others. And His ultimate purpose, the mission for which He came, was “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).
Make this Palm Sunday one of reflection for yourself as you consider the plans God has for you, the purpose for which He placed you on the Earth. Jeremiah 19:11-13 reminds you, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
Intercede for the individuals who are running to bring themselves into public service, that they will truly understand the purpose for which God has placed them here, and that they will seek Him until they find and know Him.
Today’s Verse: Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: Ephesians 1:15-21
15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
