Embrace The Mystery of Purpose

 

Joseph, when young, had a desire to lead and God-given vision around it.   He had not yet experienced difficulty that would refine his leadership.   His initial desire to lead was corrupted by sin and resulted in him telling on his brothers.  As a result, his brothers hated him when he had dreams about being their leader.

 

What dreams have you been given and how have they been refined throughout your life?  For Joseph, the door kept opening for him to lead.  He had a recognizable anointing that people would put him in charge and trust him.  Throughout his life, he was recognized as a leader and given responsibilities.  He was also recognized as having an excellent spirit.   This anointing carried him through.

 

He had a great deal of spiritual capacity. This was also forged in the recesses of betrayal and accusation.  He could have doubted or blamed God somewhere along the way.  Living in a world of sin, the accusation is under every rock—is God really good?  Can you really trust Him?

 

In Revelation 810-11, one-third of the waters on the earth became bitter, and many people died as a result. There is always a temptation toward bitterness and blame, especially as we get closer to the end times, which are filled with anguish. Will we take offense over it? Will we become bitter about it?

 

Joseph, despite being sold into slavery by his brothers, many who wanted to murder him; and then being accused by the wife in the household he served because he would not sin, ending up in prison, kept his heart unoffendable. 

 

It was because Joseph endured terrible hardships and remained unoffendable, and did not blame God that prepared him to lead Egypt during the time of plenty and then the time of famine.   

 

How we receive difficulty will impact our growth in our anointed purpose.  If we are resistant to the difficulty that god puts in our lives, we limit our growth.  Leading from the dungeon, just as David leading from the cave, forged them into the anointed leaders they became who made wise choices.

 

At the same time, this is not always the case.  One can also learn from leaning into God and/or the hardships of others.  We see this with Solomon.  He did not specifically experience terrible hardships and was only 20 when he began to rule, but he leaned into God and his father for wisdom on leading.  

 

His son, Rehoboam, didn’t do too well, on the other hand. He stepped into his role as if he were privileged and could do anything he wanted. Instead of listening to his elders, he listened to his friends, and this resulted in the split of the kingdom as most of Israel chose another leader.   

 

The key in all of this to stepping into your calling and purpose is to lean into God, surrendering your own purposes and desires for His.  It is allowing God to work in your heart to forge His Kingdom in your life in a way that you reflect Him and are anointed for His service.

 

Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 16:24-25, “If you truly want to follow me, you should at once completely reject and disown your own life. And you must be willing to share my cross and experience it as your own, as you continually surrender to my ways. For if you choose self-sacrifice and lose your lives for my glory, you will continually discover true life. But if you choose to keep your lives for yourselves, you will forfeit what you try to keep.”

 

All the examples of people stepping into God’s purposes and divine callings were for the benefit of others and not for themselves. Other leaders such as Daniel, Jeremiah, Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah all displayed their unique leadership abilities and wisdom, given to them by God. What they had in common was their passion to see God's purposes manifest and the people fully restored and serving God. 

 

While each leader was different, what shined so beautifully through them was their passion.  It gave them this seemingly endless capacity to serve and give to others. Even in the midst of immense opposition, they did not get discouraged and give up.  They pressed in despite the conflict and humbly kept seeking God.

 

What you do also see is their lack of getting caught up in offenses or discouragement that held them back.  They didn’t get stuck.  They had an excellent spirit as they kept short accounts and kept coming back to God for what they needed.  It was because they were connected to the source that they could give others a VIEW – Vision, Inspire, End in Mind, a Why.

 

From investing their resources, evaluating the situation, correcting the people, fasting and praying, taking in the overlooked and disgruntled that nobody else wanted, redirecting the people’s hearts, establishing practices, and giving spiritual insights, each one was forged into a leader with integrity and strength.

 

Something else each of these leaders had was great habits.  They consistently practiced doing the right things.  They never backed down, compromised,

cowered, or lied.   All of them did their position with excellence.  They didn’t approach assignments or their calling half-heartedly.  They put their all into their work as they gave their best.

 

It is interesting that you do not see any of these leaders just sitting around entertaining themselves and casually approaching their calling. They have ordered their lives around completing their calling, and they put their all into it.

 

We are not called to move forward half-heartedly.   We cannot settle and say good enough is good enough.   We have to be willing to order our lives around what He is calling us into and put our energy into it.  We need to invest in those things that He gives us to care for.

 

Here are some things to note about excellence[1]:

 

·         Have a spirit of excellence.  Make it a point to always give your best as glory to God.  Don’t settle for just doing a good job.  Take the time to make things excellent.  And don’t measure your life by one area; make a point to strive for excellence in every area of your life: marriage, health, work, children, and other activities.  John Maxwell notes that people will follow a leader because they have a reputation and standard for excellence.  He also notes that this standard involves consistency, or habits, not just one-time efforts.

 

·         Don’t settle.   This is not only to settle for less than the best plan God has for your life but don’t settle, period.  The Israelites came into the Promised Land but then they settled and got comfortable.   They developed routines.  This was exactly was caused them to miss God’s purposes.  Pitch a tent rather than build a house.   Even if God gives us somewhere to build, we are building for God and want to stay pliable to listen and follow. 

 

·         Continually grow.  As we live in this place of pitching a tent, we want to be continually open and grow. Don’t get stuck in this is the way it has to be, it has always been, or needs to be. And don’t coast. Keep setting goals and dreaming with God.  Keep stretching, growing and believing for God to meet you.

 

As with Moses, however, we cannot achieve our dreams, which God gives us, in our own strength. We must first surrender and then follow.  If we try to do it in our own strength, it will only exhaust us but when we follow the Lord, we will be energized by His will.  

 

Psalm 138:8 says, “The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me. O LORD, Your loving devotion endures forever— do not abandon the works of Your hands.”

 

I find this place of help and energization with a year-long leadership program that I lead. I am invigorated by it rather than growing weary. Through it, I get more enthusiastic and connected to God and others, whereas some of my duties can drain me. 

 

Another place to be aware of is being hurried.  We cannot be in God’s rhythm when we are rushing and hurrying like the world around us.   As Lance Witt notes, hurry will damage our relationships.  When we hurry from thing to thing trying to accomplish tasks, it leaves lots of room for frustration in our relationships as it puts getting the job done as a higher priority than the people.  It is often also rooted in people pleasing.  We are trying to meet everyone’s expectations to hit the mark, which leads back to coming from a place of doing in our own strengths.  

Paul reminds us in Romans that Jesus has already fulfilled the law.  If we are still trying to accomplish for Christ or perform, we are refusing to accept God’s way, and clinging to our own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. (Romans 10:3)

 

Lord, help us to fulfill your will and walk in the fullness of your purpose.  Help us live ordered lives of excellence that glorify you and reflect habits that lead to transformation, surrender, and unoffendable trust.

 

 

1.    Excellence, Joel Osteen.   Faith Words. NY, 2024.