On Purpose - For a Purpose

Sometimes I am writing and something just goes onto the page. I read it and think, "How did that get there?"

In all of this craziness I have actually been thinking about God's using me to encourage others. On my own, I am not the most encouraging person. It is actually strange to me that God would want to use me, in any sort of a way to encourage others, but He is like that I guess.

As I am in the middle of my fight for joy, faith building, big waves and a small boat, praying like crazy that God would show me what He wants me to do and be, I am really amazed at how He works.

I have wondered why He leaves me here when we are created to be with Him. Why we really need all this trouble and sin around us when He could just take us home and we would be able to rest forever. But I am reminded that He leaves us here on purpose and for a purpose.

If He wanted to be finished with this dull tool and put it on the "shelf" He would just do that. But if you are reading this, and since I am still writing, He is not finished using us.

Dull tools are not great to work with. If you have ever worked with dull tools you know exactly what I'm talking about. Sawing through the tomatoes, mowing the lawn at 5 different settings, cutting hair a couple of strands at a time are all really fun exercises in patience.

So why does God choose to work with a dull tool like me? He could do it so much better without my "help". He would use less patience. It's like watching your 5 year old make cookies for the first time. You could have it done in 1/10th the time with 1/50th of the mess, but we must train them.

Well maybe, just maybe, that is what God is trying to get across to me. He could do it easier, cleaner and much more efficiently w/o me, but He actually wants to use this dull tool so He can show off what He has done with such a useless instrument.

You know what, I am good with being an instrument that He wants to use. I am good with Him using me until He decides that I should be put on the shelf. I just am NOT good with being dull because of some sort of slackness on my part. I want to be as sharp as I am able, through the power of His might, so that when He does decide to use me it won't be such a test of His patience.

When He is finished I want Him to say, "Well done good and faithful one, enter into the joy of my rest, and by the way, you've been a nice tool to use along the way".

It is exciting to see the transformation from that first batch of cookies to batch 100. How efficient the kids get, how much cleaner they are and how much better the cookies taste when they have learned how to follow instructions.

We have been given the "recipe book" for how to be a useful and sharp tool. May we want to be sharp, not for our own glory, but that God would be pleased to use us as He wills.