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Welcome back to Day 4 of 31 Days to Living on Purpose!
I want to help you intentionally pursue the life God has planned for you. Before we dive into setting goals for pursuing the necessary changes, I want us to take a day to reflect on who God is and the promises He has given us.
1. God’s thoughts are far greater than our own.
Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:6-9
While we may want to live our lives with intention, this will often require us to make great changes. Who better to seek guidance from than the Lord. He is far more wise than we will ever be because His knowledge is infinite.
2. From God’s infinite knowledge comes great plans for our lives.
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.
Jeremiah 29:11
God tells us He already has plans for our welfare. Welfare is a positive state of well-being. Other versions of the Bible interpret this as peace. The reason I want to pursue living on purpose is because I lack that peace. I feel like I am running and getting nowhere. This does not align with the plans God tells me He has for me.
3. God wants us to leave behind the weariness of our days.
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30
We must give all of our burdens over to God in order to pursue the state of well-being He desires for us. God did not create us to trudge through our days, but this becomes the state of our lives when we choose to do what we feel everyone else thinks we should be doing, and we fail to plan for what we should be doing. A yoke is a symbol of subjection. When an ox wears a yoke, he is subject to the farmer. When we decide to wear the yoke of Christ, rather than that of men, our burden becomes much lighter. We can let go of all the expectations and live in the truth and promises of God.
Living a life of purpose starts with letting go of the unnecessary activities in our lives that bring us down. Today, I want you to take some quiet time to pray. Thanks Him for the completeness of His understanding and for His desire for our well-being. Ask for His help in identifying what you need to let go of in order to pursue the plans He has for you.
The giveaway of Sarah Mae’s Longing for Paris: One Woman’s Search for Joy, Beauty, and Adventure-Right Where She Is is open through Thursday October 8, 2015. This is such a good read for anyone wanting to make positive changes in their life in order to pursue God’s dreams for them. Each chapter also includes Scripture references for further study.
I look forward to tomorrow when we begin looking at setting new goals for our lives!
Sarah@childrencount says
I love those verses you’ve quoted.
Monica says
Thanks for posting this reminder! I often get so bogged down in the day-to-day chores and busyness of life that I forget to look at the bigger picture of God’s purpose for my life.
Stephanie Adele says
You are not alone! It is so easy to get overwhelmed with all the things there are to do. I’ve found that reminding myself of these truths has helped me so much.