Fulfill God’s Agenda, Not Yours

He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
—-Colossians 1:13-14

As a pastor, I see many Christians wandering around in a spiritual fog, wondering, “Why am I here? What does God want me to do with my life?”

I don’t want to diminish the importance of your discovering God’s will for your life, but many of your questions about God’s plan can be answered by grasping this simple truth: you have been created by God, selected by God, and empowered by God to fulfill His agenda, not yours.

Not long ago I came across a statement by pastor and author Erwin McManus that sums up this point well: “The question is not, ‘God, what is your will for my life?’ Instead, it is, ‘God, what is your will, and how can I give my life to it?’”

So what is God’s will? He tells us in His Word. Here are some clues:

• This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:3-4)
• The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
• For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10)

God’s desire is that as many people as possible be rescued from the certainty of hell through the saving power of Jesus Christ. As the apostle Paul writes in Colossians 1:13-14, God wants to deliver people from the domain of darkness and transfer us to the kingdom of Jesus Christ. That is His eternal purpose for you and for me.

So what is God’s immediate purpose for us? If His only purpose for our lives was salvation, then why has He left you and me here on earth instead of taking us directly to heaven after we are saved?

God has left us here for one very positive purpose—to partner with Him in the great mission of spreading the gospel and enlarging the kingdom of God. In other words, our positive purpose is directly connected to God’s positive purpose.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “The Power of a Positive Purpose” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2016.

Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.