Be Pleasing unto God

Above all else, be pleasing unto God in your heart and mind and words and deeds.

December’s Awakening, Day 13

To see God is the promised goal of all our actions and the promised height of all our joys.

 —Augustine of Hippo

Give me grace always to desire and to will what is most acceptable to you and most pleasing in your sight.

 —Thomas à Kempis

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14 NIV

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13:20–21 NIV

            You shouldn’t need to question that you’re truly working out His purpose if you’re living a life each day that is pleasing to Him. God will have different tasks and things for you to accomplish that change throughout your lifetime due to your maturity and season in life. Your ultimate purpose and mission may not change, but the methods, means, and timing may change. Embrace the season that you are in and just be about His business. You may even experience seasons of rest that are really seasons of preparation for God’s next call upon your life. If you are pleasing in His sight, rest assured that you are operating within His will. Stay always connected and He will let you know when and where the next task in your life mission is ready to begin. 

A Fixed Purpose

Are you actively living with a powerful purpose, firmly fixed until the end? Or are you still stuck living in the mundane mediocrity of a life that could?

December’s Awakening, Day 12

The longer I live, the stronger becomes my conviction that the truest difference between the success and the failure, between the strong and the weak, between the big and the small man, that separates the boys and the men, is nothing but a powerful aim in life, a purpose once fixed and then death or victory. And no perfect speech or manners, no culture or education, no pull or influence, can make a two-legged creature a man without it.

 —Thomas Buxton

Attempt great things for God, expect great things from God.

 —William Carey

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10–11 NIV

            Separate yourself from the insignificant, the average, and from the rest of the crowd. To do so requires that you have “a powerful aim in life, a purpose once fixed and then death or victory.” Do you have that powerful aim in life? A fixed purpose unto death or victory, whichever one overtakes you first? That’s a life mission—that’s a life purpose—living out God’s highest aim for your life powerfully, without relenting, either unto victory or death. And God’s Word says that His Word, His purpose in you, will not return void or be for naught—it will accomplish every aspect that He intended.

It’s time to aim powerfully high. It’s time to seek and know His will and purpose for your life and to make it your life’s mission, pursuing it unto victory or death. After all, isn’t that exactly what Christ did for you? 

Inspirationally Significant

Are you living each day for significance? Are you a radiating center of inspiration? Above all else—this is your calling—this is your purpose.

December’s Awakening, Day 11

One hundred years from now, no one will remember how many bestsellers I wrote, or how many pens lined my pocket. But the world may be a better place because I slowed down enough to listen to God’s voice. Because I was important in the eyes of a child. Because I learned to be content with the things I did not have.

 —Phil Callaway, “Making Life Rich Without Any Money”

In our behavior, in the words we write and speak, we can become ambassadors of God’s inspiration. Whenever we strive to lift up others in ways that are good and noble we are serving as radiating centers for God’s inspiration.  

 —Wilferd A. Peterson, “The Art of Living in the World Today”

            Living a life with purpose means living each day for significance. Make it a point each day to be an inspiration. Turn your troubles into someone else’s hope. Turn your sorrow and pain into someone else’s peace and joy. Your testimony of overcoming is your significant inspiration to motivate others to reach their purpose. When you’re running strong, help others who are lagging behind. When you’re struggling and weak, God will bring someone to give you a hand. And sometimes, when it seems that everyone has fallen, you just have to turn and look up.

Unstoppable Purpose

When you think you’re down for the count, someone will be there to help you up.

December’s Awakening, Day 10

Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.  

 —Nelson Mandela

Don’t get out of step by focusing on your own personal difficulties and misfortunes. Keep your eyes and thoughts on the Lord so that your spirit will be sensitive to His leading.

 —Franklin Graham, “Living Beyond the Limits”

The Lord Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen. This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back? Isaiah 14:24, 26–27 NIV

In the gauntlet and battering ram of life we have all been hit hard and knocked down flat a multitude of times. But what’s important is getting back up, dusting ourselves off, mending the wounds, and grabbing the reins again to finish the good work and purpose He’s begun in us. Quitting is not an option, only running the race to finish strong and win is acceptable with Him.

When you’re down flat and feel as if you can’t get up, just remember the horrific flogging and beating that Jesus endured, and the Via Dolorosa—the “Way of Suffering,” the way of the Cross—the path that Jesus endured carrying His crosspiece to the crucifixion site at Golgotha, “the place of the skull.” How many times do you think His knees gave way under the heavy burden He endured for us? It happened, His knees caved and He could not bring the immense weight of the crosspiece laden with the sin of humanity back up again. The Roman soldiers immediately commissioned Simon of Cyrene to help Jesus carry the crosspiece to Golgotha. Can you even imagine what Simon must have thought and felt, helping to carry the crosspiece of his Lord, the symbol of his very own salvation?

Prepare your heart to never give up in your purpose, for you are not walking down your path alone. Jesus Himself, and others, are there to help you and pick you up when you fall. The ultimate plans and purposes of the Lord will always prevail. 

Failure May Propel You to Greatness

What’s holding you back? What are you waiting for? With God, any setback in the fulfillment of your purpose is just one step away from victory.

December’s Awakening, Day 9

Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.

 —Robert F. Kennedy

It’s only those who do nothing that make no mistakes.

 —Joseph Conrad

Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping-stone to greatness.

 —Oprah Winfrey 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 NIV

for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Philippians 2:13 NIV

            Mistakes and failed attempts are integral parts of our human experience. Although we oftentimes look at these mistakes as failures, we should also realize that understanding what doesn’t work is sometimes just as important as knowing what does work. Each mistake and failed attempt is an opportunity to learn, make appropriate adjustments, and improve the outcome to bring about the desired result. History shows us that virtually every significant technological invention or breakthrough only came about by numerous trials and errors.  The last thing you should do is quit, because the next attempt may very well be the breakthrough you were looking for.

            What’s more, we have God’s hand working through all this to fulfil His good purpose in us. Our God is the God of the impossible, the underdog, the unlikely achiever, the misfit, and the unfortunate. When God has purposed something in your life, He will most assuredly see you through to its fruition. You will make mistakes and you will need to overcome setbacks, but if you keep pushing forward God’s will and plan through you will not be thwarted. Never give up with God on your side.

Purpose with Value

Are you God’s person of purpose and value like David and his son, Solomon? If not, then you need to put God everywhere into the equation.

December’s Awakening, Day 8

Set yourself earnestly to discover what you are made to do, and then give yourself passionately to the doing of it.

 —Martin Luther King, Jr.

Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value.

 —Albert Einstein

In everything he did he had great success, because the Lord was with him.

1 Samuel 18:14 NIV

Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged. 1 Chronicles 22:13 NIV 

            Be a person with purpose and be of great value to God and others. That is success in the eyes of the Lord, even if the world may think differently. Be zealous in your purpose and give yourself fully and passionately to it. If it truly is your God-given purpose you will receive much gratification in doing it, and you will see its beneficial effects worked out in the lives of others. That’s how you know it’s your purpose—it brings glory to God, it is valuable and beneficial to others, and you reap great joy in all its endeavors. It becomes your labor of love, if you will.

            David was successful in all that he did because the Lord was with him, and David had a heart after God, a heart of worship, and a devotion, willingness, and commitment to do everything for God that he was empowered to do. David’s admonishment to his son, Solomon, was to follow hard after the Lord, following all His decrees, being strong, courageous, and without fear or discouragement. Solomon had his own unique purpose like none other, but the formula for value and success is always the same—God-inspired vision, God-given purpose, and God-empowered abilities equals invaluable and priceless success, all to His glory. God wants you to be His person of purpose and value.  

Aim High

How good is your aim? If you don’t aim high, you’ll always fall short and miss the mark.

December’s Awakening, Day 7

Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you will get neither.

 —C. S. Lewis

If you would hit the mark, you must aim a little above it.

 —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

As Christians, I challenge you. Have a great aim—have a high standard—make Jesus your ideal…make Him an ideal not merely to be admired but also to be followed.

 —Eric Liddell

            The farther away the target, the higher you must aim to hit the mark on center. I’m not precisely sure, but I think heaven is a good distance away. And Jesus is the measuring rod, the standard, the example that we are admonished to mirror. Jesus knew His path and purpose, and even at a very early age, probably about twelve, He was about His Father’s business (Luke 2:41–50). He well knew what His lot was, and He unrelentingly drank fully of the cup He had chosen and been given, and He perfectly performed His life purpose unto His sacrifice on the Cross—all unselfishly for us. His was the ultimate purpose of a life, “to lay down His life for His friends.”

            As you contemplate what that means to you, don’t you think He is worthy of the best and most that we can give back purposefully to Him? It’s time to take hold of your purpose and drink fully of the cup that you’ve been given. It’s time to live your life with His purpose and perform it to the very end. It’s time to lift your eyes and aim to heaven and hit the mark on center. It’s your time to live for Him.