The beauty of purpose...

It's hot in Oklahoma. The humidity is crazy high and being outside is torture. Unless you want to be there. How many times do we put ourselves in places or situations we thought we would enjoy only to discover our choice may not have been the best choice we could have made? Something to consider.
I've been involved in some discussions lately about who I am. We all know who we are right? Are we sure? Ever had someone tell you your this or that, good or bad? It can be anything. Politicians want to define you. Teachers want to define you. Parents want to define you. Children want to define you. Your boss wants to define you, so does your wife or husband. Guess what, even your church wants define you. Sometimes we let these outside definitions settle on us sometimes we don't. How many times have we let that happen and we know the definition being given is not who we are?

I've also been on a journey of discovery. I've had some momentous questions and statement brought on me in the last year or so. It started in a little shop having a conversation with three other people. Somewhere in this session a question dropped into my spirit. It was a simple question but it revealed so much. It was... "Do you trust God?" I am immediately led to tell you do not give the standard Sunday school answer. This is bigger than that. Stand in front of a mirror in a room all by yourself with no distractions, look yourself in the eye and ask yourself Do I trust God? You're going to try to get these two paragraphs tied together but I'm not there yet. Do you trust God? For example; God says I will supply all your needs... How are your finances? How about your health? What about marriage? In other relationships? Christ also says "My peace I give to you"... Anxious for anything? Worried about current times? Losing your job? Is your world upside down? What about moving into something unfamiliar? If you honestly say you trust God how is it we stand in contrast to the very things He says to us? Do not give me the old "I'm only human, There was only one perfect one, or how about this one, I mess up all the time but God is just to forgive me. There are a whole lot of excuses out there. Adam was only human but was without sin until he let an outside definition convince him there was more. God is just to forgive but why can't we try to move into a life where His forgiveness is not so taken for granted? As for living without sin visit the new testament and look up how many times Christ told someone who just encountered God to go forth and sin no more. Why would he say that if it wasn't possible? We are not just sinners saved by grace. Christ rebuilt the bridge between God's original intent for man and the sin of Adam that results din a chasm between man and God that man could not cross. So I would pose this Do you trust God?

The next thing dropped in my spirit was "God trusts you." Why would God restore the opportunity to have a relationship with us if He didn't trust us? In what ways does he trust us? He trusts us to make choices that line up with His word and His character. He trusts us to be testimonies of His goodness to all of His creation. He trusts us to love others without condition. He trusts us to be good stewards of all that He possesses. He trusts us to accurately carry out His word. He trusts us to not distort His word to make it fit our lives. He trusts us to seek Him first. He trusts us to walk with Him. How are we doing?

The next thing dropped in my spirit was "Do you know God?" Again forget what you've been taught. Do you know God? What is your definition of God? Not a generic definition like a dictionary or a Sunday school quarterly. Do you know God? By your walk with Him as Adam did in the garden before. Do you know Him the way Jesus knew Him? What is your definition of God? The key word here is "YOUR". Not what you've been taught but what you have experienced. What is your definition of Him having been revealed to you as you seek Him? Can you write your definition of God on paper and base it on experiential knowledge then take that knowledge and back it up with scripture? Do you know the character and traits of God? I keep going back to this because I am learning a lot of people can't define God. I'll also put this in this section. Do you know what God's definition of you is? He has defined you. Read Jeremiah 29:11. I would also suggest you read the book of Job. Don't just read it to read it. Get in a quiet place say a simple little prayer and ask God to show me who you are in the story of Job. and as soon as you make that request ask Him to show you who you are in the story of Job. Read then listen. If you get nothing read it again. Learn to hear His voice. Christ restored the garden walks. There are a couple of passages I want you to pay particular attention to. This is not just the story of Job. It's part of defining who God says He is and if you pay attention you'll see it's not just to Job, it's to you too. Pay particular attention to the following: Job 32:1, We've always been taught Job was righteous but in this verse it says "in his own eyes." Job 32:8, Where does understanding come from? it comes from the breath of God which is in man. Job 33:4, Elihu tells us who we are, "the spirit of God has made me, and the breath of God gives me life." who am I? I am the breath of God! Job 33:14, For God may speak in one way or in another yet man does not perceive it. Pay particular attention to Elihu. He's the fourth man visiting Job. You only here about Job and the three friends who condemned him or maybe you've also been taught that Job's wife told him to give and die. Why have we not been taught about Elihu? So spend a good deal of time in Job 32-37, It will serve you well. It's a witness of who God is but it's to you and me. Pay another amount of time in chapter 38-41, it's God talking. Who's He talking too? You and me. Then pay attention to chapter 42 verse 5, Job says "I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear but now my eyes see you". Hmmm... Sounds like you and me doesn't it. Self righteousness based on what we've heard, been taught. In the next verse Job says "I repent". The word repent means to change the way you think. When we encounter God we should repent and change the way we think. If we change the way we think we begin to change our culture and pick up the culture of Jesus.

I want to encourage you. Don't let the world place definitions on you that don't line up with God's definition of you. Pursue God and don't give up. Encounter God and don't let go. Jacob did that. Walking with God is a lifetime commitment. We value the cost more than the results so we don't finish the process so we stay where we are and just live. Find God's definition of you then protect that definition with all of your heart. Don't let any other definition sit on you.

For my parting thought today. True beauty is only found when one is operating in their purpose. God's definition of you includes your purpose. We become a reflection of Christ when we operate in our purpose which is found in God's definition of us. We cannot get God's definition of us without a correct definition of God. It's just not possible. Become beautiful. Fix your definitions.

This is just a glimpse in fact its not even a glimpse it's just a blink of who I am. I have been pursuing God for a long time and what I have found is that when I push the accelerator more is revealed but when I step on the brakes the revealing of God is slowed. If you read that verse attentively you would recognize that my progress is determined by me. your progress is in your control. It's your choice. It's the part of us called our free will. God won't invade your free will. You control your destiny. You may not be able to control events that enter your life but you have absolute control over the choices you make in response to everything you experience.

I sincerely hope you are encouraged to explore and pursue. Don't just know God on somebody else's definition even churches get it wrong. Know God, Trust God.

Take a walk! He's amazing!