Why am I
here right now? In considering this question we could examine a
number of facets to the answer found in Scriptures. The foremost of
these would be to understand that each of us has been created for the
purpose of glorifying God. While many believers nominally understand
this, they still often wonder why they are in a particular place at a
particular time in their lives. Paul answered this very question in
the middle of his presentation of the gospel to unbelievers in Athens.
Acts
17:24-26 "The God who made the world and everything in it is the
Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.
25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything,
because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.
26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit
the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the
exact places where they should live. (NIV)
How often
do you think about the fact that God is in control of everything?
More specifically, he has determined exact places where you will live
and the time you will have there. Even at this very moment, as you
read this work, God has determined that you would do so at this very
time and place. Every day of your life has been determined by God; a
fixed time frame that cannot be extended by any desire or action of
self (Matthew 6:27).
Job 14:5
Man's days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months
and have set limits he cannot exceed. (NIV)
All the
plans in the world, of the righteous or the wicked, cannot change the
time God has allotted to them or to you.
Daniel
11:27 The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the
same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end
will still come at the appointed time. (NIV)
How is a
believer to make plans? Can we plan on tomorrow? If God has me here
right now, does this prevent me from wanting to be somewhere else,
doing something else?
1 Timothy
6:6-9 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought
nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if
we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 People who
want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many
foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and
destruction. (NIV)
Contentment,
being satisfied with what God has given you, is a message that seems
to be lost on much of the church in the western world. All too often
the materialistic mindset of 'needing' to have bigger and better -
for the sake of bigger and better - is the focus. It can't be
emphasized enough just how many believers have fallen into the trap
of believing that they 'need' the same toys, autos, and homes, that
all their friends and associates have. Rampant consumer debt has
become the norm, in and out of the church. Children having no
appreciation of what they've been given - having been given
everything - is another side effect. In the last passage we examined
in Timothy, Paul equates this desire with those 'who want to get
rich.' While some justify the financial condition they are in as only
trying to get by and pay the bills, their choices to keep buying, or
to buy beyond their means, has enslaved them in the fashion of those
'who want to get rich." Contentment is not in future tense. Many
claim they will have contentment when the reach some future goal or
state, only to arrive there and find contentment a still farther away
and elusive goal.
Luke
12:16-21 And he (Jesus) told them this parable: "The ground of a
certain rich man produced a good crop. 17 He thought to himself,
'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' 18 "Then
he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build
bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And
I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for
many years. Take life easy; eat , drink and be merry." ' 20
"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will
be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for
yourself?' 21 "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up
things for himself but is not rich toward God." (NIV)
Can you be
satisfied with what God has given you; the place He has you, the task
He's given you, the friends and acquaintances He's surrounded you
with? Do you believe He wants you to be in the place you're in for a
purpose - for His glory? Another Bible passage addresses this very thing&ldots;
Matthew
6:24-34 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the
one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise
the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. 25 "Therefore I
tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink;
or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important
than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the
birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and
yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable
than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his
life? 28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies
of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that
not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here
today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more
clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What
shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32
For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father
knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about
itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (NIV)
Is seeking first
God's kingdom and His righteousness the focus of your plans? Many
believers pay lip-service to this idea, but in their day-to-day lives
rarely make any consideration of God. God is relegated to a back-seat
passenger on the road of life who they might ask for help if they
think they're lost or broken down.
|
To strive
to always seek God's kingdom first, to make plans based on
this calling, to desire to be in the place God would have you to go -
now these a plans worth making! (And, by the way, these plans will
not have you neglecting your spouse or family, because God has
commanded us to take care of them). As for location, for the apostle
Paul the set times and places God had for him included most of the
Roman world. Regardless of where Paul was, he had times of plenty and
times of little. His focus was to still seek God's kingdom and
righteousness, and look to the One who determined where he should be
for all the provisions needed to carry out the task at hand.
Philippians
4:11-13 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have
learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it
is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have
learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,
whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I
can do everything through him who gives me strength. (NIV)
Before
entering into any agreement, long-term plan, or purchase, the
question needing to be asked is whether or not it is God's will. Is
my choice one that puts God's kingdom first, or is it one that
effectively has me striving to be rich (in money, friends,
possessions, etc.) focused on my personal wants?
James
4:13-17 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go
to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make
money." 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.
What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and
then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the
Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." 16 As it is, you
boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. 17 Anyone, then, who knows
the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins. (NIV)
Let me be
very clear. Earning money, seeking to have friends, and making plans
is not always wrong. In focus is the intent of your heart - the 'why
are you doing this?' question.
Psalms
31:14-15 But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my
God." 15 My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies
and from those who pursue me. (NIV)
David knew
that his times were in God's hands. God had him in that place for a
purpose and a limited time. When David, in this Psalm, calls out to
God to deliver him from his enemies, he is showing his complete
dependence on God. Perhaps it's time we started to call out to God to
deliver us from our enemies; materialism, greed, jealousy, wrong
goals & motives and many more.
Consider
the case of king Nebuchadnezzar. Excluding the fact he ruthlessly
ruled over an entire empire, he was wasn't much different that many
(upward mobile) power seeking individuals of today. His focus was on
acquisitions, success, and being thought better than everyone else.
In this headlong pursuit he saw himself as the master of his destiny
(perhaps giving nominal credit for help to his gods, whatever their
name). Only after God showed that He alone gives and can take away,
that He was in control of even a pagan king, did this ruler see the
big picture.
Daniel
4:34-35 At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes
toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most
High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is
an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to
generation. 35 All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of
the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What
have you done?" (NIV)
Coming to
an understanding of the fact that God is in control of all times,
places, and powers for His glory alone changed Nebuchadnezzar for
good! One of the kings of Israel needed to come to the same
conclusion. Solomon, who was known for his wisdom, yet had wasted
much of his life, finally came to this understanding:
Proverbs
21:1 The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like
a watercourse wherever he pleases. (NIV)
Knowing
that God is sovereign over all actions and decisions brings
understanding that He is in control of all my plans (many though they
may be). Though I plan anything, whether to say or do it, it is God
who determines what will truly happen. For example, I can plan to go
visit someone, have all the money to do so, have every detail in
place, and if God doesn't want me there He will use events and
circumstances to make sure it doesn't happen - or He will use others,
including His Spirit, to teach me why it shouldn't happen.
Proverbs
16:1, 3-4, 9 To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD
comes the reply of the tongue. &ldots; 3 Commit to the LORD whatever
you do, and your plans will succeed. 4 The LORD works out everything
for his own ends - even the wicked for a day of disaster. &ldots; 9
In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his
steps. (NIV)
Proverbs
19:21 21 Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's
purpose that prevails. (NIV)
There is
not a thing anyone (righteous or wicked) can do that will change God
plans and purposes.
Psalms
33:8-11 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the
world revere him. 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded,
and it stood firm. 10 The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he
thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 11 But the plans of the LORD
stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all
generations. (NIV)
Job
23:13-14 "But he stands alone, and who can oppose him? He does
whatever he pleases. 14 He carries out his decree against me, and
many such plans he still has in store.
Isaiah
46:9-10 Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and
there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. 10 I make
known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still
to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I
please. (NIV)
|
The
unfolding of God plan throughout history has been with perfect timing
and will continue to be right on time to the very end of time. The
following passages will provide a glimpse of the many portions of
Scriptures that speak to this very thing&ldots;
Habakkuk
2:3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end
and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will
certainly come and will not delay. (NIV)
Isaiah
14:24-27 The LORD Almighty has sworn, "Surely, as I have
planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand. 25
I will crush the Assyrian in my land; on my mountains I will trample
him down. His yoke will be taken from my people, and his burden
removed from their shoulders." 26 This is the plan determined
for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations.
27 For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His
hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back? (NIV)
Isaiah
45:21 Declare what is to be, present it - let them take counsel
together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the
distant past? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no God apart from
me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me. (NIV)
Jeremiah
29:10-12 This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are
completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious
promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I
have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and
not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you
will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. (NIV)
Galatians
4:4a But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son&ldots; (NIV)
Daniel
11:35 Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined,
purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will
still come at the appointed time. (NIV)
Acts 1:7
He (Jesus) said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or
dates the Father has set by his own authority. (NIV)
Understanding
some of the sovereignty of God, how then should a person respond? Of
course, the wicked shake their fist in the face of God, declaring
their independence, proclaiming that God has no control over them and
no right to it. The believer though should respond much differently,
for we acknowledge that all things are for His Glory and He has the
right to use them as He sees fit.
Roman
11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him
be the glory forever! Amen. NIV
Our faith
rests in the knowledge that every one of God's promises can never fail.
Titus 1:2
&ldots; a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life,
which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of
time&ldots; (NIV)
One way or
another everyone will be part of God's plan. For the believer we seek
to be a part of it, to be used for good as the Master sees fit.
Trusting in self, or mankind, or anyone other than the eternal God is
a futile effort in rebellion.
Proverbs
28:26 He who trusts in himself is a fool&ldots; (NIV)
Psalms
146:3-4 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot
save. 4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that
very day their plans come to nothing. (NIV)
Acts
5:38-39 Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men
alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human
origin, it will fail. 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able
to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against
God." (NIV)
The bottom
line, for every believer, is this: Rejoice and take comfort in the
fact that the One who has called you and loves you, who sets the
times and places, will work out everything according to His plan.
Nothing is out of His control.
Ephesians
1:11-12 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according
to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the
purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to
hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. (NIV)
So why am
I here right now? Because God wants me here for His glory! Now my
goal is to make the most of it (consider Colossians 4:5, Ephesians
5:15-16, Galatians 6:10).
|