27 Sep They’re On Your Head (Quit trying to find your purpose and let your purpose find you) PART 3
Have you ever been searching for your glasses and could not find them anywhere? After an extensive search, out of desperation you finally ask your spouse, “Have you seen my glasses?!” To which she glibly responds, “They’re on your head!” All this time you were looking for something you couldn’t see but yet was in very close proximity!
The Bible tells us, “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou may freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a help meet for him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof: And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man” (Gen. 2:15-22).
Of course this is the story of God’s first “Bachelor and Bachelorette,” but you can find a biblical pattern here that will speak powerfully to you today!
Let’s review!
Last week I shared with you “Four Destiny Discoveries”:
1. Get a job (Gen. 2:15,20)
In other words, Adam was being faithful right where he was. His assignment was to tend and keep (the Hebrew word here means “guard”) the garden and then to name all the animals. This was quite the assignment but Adam was being faithful right where he was!
2. Go to sleep (Gen. 2:21)
Of course Adam was physically sleeping, but this is a type and shadow of you and me resting in God (see Psalm 32:1-9) and trust in Him even when we can’t see our “mate or ministry.”
3. Let God create His plan FOR you (Gen. 2:21-22)
Destiny is not to be decided, it is to be discovered. God has a wonderful plan for your life, just not a wonderful life for YOUR plan!
4. Let God bring His plan TO you (Gen. 2:21-22)
If you will bloom where you are planted, you will harvest the will of God in your life!
This pattern in Genesis is a beautiful template for any major portion of the will of God for your life.
Now allow me to share with you “Three Destiny Dynamics” that will augment the aforementioned:
- Whether it’s your date or your destiny, be faithful right where you are and let God bring them to you.
- Whether it’s your mate or your ministry, be faithful right where you and let God bring them to you.
- Quit asking “What should I do?” and start asking “What needs to get done?”
As a pastor I hear this on a frequent basis, “I just want to know what God wants me to do.” This puts them in an elusive search mode. May I instead challenge you to be faithful right where you are?
When I knew I had a calling on my life, I did all the things in my local church that no one else wanted to do. I mowed the lawn, I took out the garbage, I cleaned toilets, and I ministered at government nursing homes and jails. I ministered to people no one else wanted to minister to…drug addicts, homosexuals, hoarders and multitudes in government housing. In other words, God has a much easier time steering a moving car than a parked car.
The Bible tells us in Psalm 92:13, “Those that are planted in the house of the Lord will flourish in the courts of our God.” There are people who are faithful in one spot, and active and fruitful in that one spot. They are “planted” not “potted.” “Potted” plants can go anywhere but their roots never spread out and flourish. “Planted” trees spread out their roots and can’t be easily toppled in a storm. They can grow tall and their branches can provide shade for so many!
Look at all these men and women that God used so mightily:
- Moses was a faithful shepherd when God found him
- David was a faithful shepherd when God found him
- Gideon was treading out grapes in a wine press when God found him
- Zachariah and Elizabeth were faithfully serving in the temple when God found them
- James and John were faithfully working and mending their nets when God found them
This is the biblical pattern from Genesis, throughout the Old Testament, the gospels and the Epistles. God finds faithful men and women blooming right where they are planted!
Quit searching for the elusive will of God and BE FAITHFUL RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE! After all, what you’ve been searching for could already be right on your head!
Next month we’ll continue our series!