When the time is right, I, the Lord,
will make it happen.
~ Isaiah 60:22
Words have power. I was given a Bible from the original ancient Eastern text. I can’t stop reading it. Although I believe the Bible has the power to train, cut through sin, and breath life into each one of us, I also know that translations can at times muddy the water. While studying my new Bible translation, I was struck by the phrase Jesus spoke on the cross. Most of us have heard it said as, “It is finished,” but the original text says he cried out, “Eli, Eli, lemana shabakthani!” Which means, “My God, my God, this was my destiny.”[1]
It’s not too far a stretch to see the similarities in the two phrases, but as a wordsmith, finished feels finite—the end, and destiny feels like the ending of a mission but the beginning of a new mission.
Destiny—an inevitable or necessary succession of predetermined events, as by fate, to set apart for a certain purpose or intention; to be bound for or intended for.
Scripture teaches we have been knit for a purpose and our life is not an accident. Sometimes living life doing the things we must do for ourselves, our families, our jobs we can feel ‘stuck’ or operate in survival mode. There is a better way. Our enemy lives moment by moment, never taking a second off, to beat us down, rob our joys and attempt to destroy our hopes. He distorts our talents and blinds us to our purpose. One way he does this is to keep us in a fast-paced survival mode so there’s no time to think, worship or meditate on the unique abilities given to us by Christ. If we don’t think about who we are and what we have to offer the world, then our gifts stay buried.
Worst yet, if the enemy can keep us feeling purposeless, we become useless to God and others. We turn our energy into ourselves losing an audience we’re intended to influence.
Abundant: more than sufficient, ample, well supplied, rich and plentiful. The word abundant is an adjective and if you remember your high school grammar, an adjective defines or describes a noun (person, place, thing or idea.) You are the noun and God intends abundance to define you!
“God is looking for women who will drive a tent peg of truth
into the mindset of an entire generation.”
Pick Up Your Sword:
Christ came to give us abundant life: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” ~John 10:10
Do you define your life as abundant? Why or why not? ___________________________________________________________________
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” ~Ephesians 2:10
We have been knit together to perform great works, are we striving to be all we can be? ___________________________________________________________________
What’s holding you back? ___________________________________________________________________
What talents or gifts do you have that serve others? ___________________________________________________________________
What do you think is your spiritual gift? (Romans 12:6-8, 1Peter 4:10-11, 1Corinthians 12:7-11) ___________________________________________________________________
If time and money were no object, what would you get up every morning excited about doing for yourself and others? Don’t you think that desire comes from Christ? ___________________________________________________________________
If you’re a/an (fill in the blank), how can you use that gift/skill to share the love of Christ with others? How will that fulfill you? ___________________________________________________________________
Maybe you’ve been tested or gone through something tough that has shaped your thinking about how you can serve? What would that be and how can you use it for others? ________________________________________________________________
What are you good at that maybe others aren’t as strong at? _________________________________________________________________
Have you learned to trust God in ways that move you toward a purpose? _________________________________________________________________
God often calls us to serve based on a burning desire that we’ve thought about for a long time. Things we are passionate about are arrows pointing toward your giftings and desires—don’t ignore them, delve into how you can use them to build your purpose. What is something that burns inside of you? ___________________________________________________________________
How can you use that desire? ___________________________________________________________________
The writer, Cindi Mcmenamin (author of When a Woman Discovers Her Dream), says: “I’ve known all my life that I was to be a writer, for me the question was, ‘What am I supposed to write?’
If your dream is to open a business, what kind of business should it be?
Do your research. …Who else has done this and can give you helpful information? If you feel compelled to return to school, what should you study? Having a clear direction will keep you from working aimlessly toward nothing in particular.
The key to direction is having a place to start.”
I’m an advocate of journaling while spending time in prayer daily –commit some of that time to asking God for your purpose and direction. Read scripture and write down verses that document your course. I know many of you don’t like to write things down, but you’ll be surprised at the clarity it brings. And I love to go back and review where I was.
Make a plan. Pray about it. Confirm it with scripture. Start moving. Trust God to direct your paths. Before you know it, you’ll be living an abundant purposeful life!
Psalm 150:6 “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!”
[1] Holy Bible From the Ancient Eastern Text, by Lamsa M. George, Translation From the Aramaic of the Peshitta, 1961 Harper Collins.
