Have you noticed that some Christians are never happy or satisfied? They always have a long face, and they’re constantly talking about their problems and circumstances. They have a lifeless, lukewarm, apathetic and pathetic attitude.
The world may have this type of attitude, but we as Christians shouldn’t because the only way we’re going to affect other people who need Christ is to let them see His life in us!
That’s our job every single day, everywhere we go. People want to enjoy their lives—to live with passion and enthusiasm. If they can see us being that way, then they can ask us, “So what’s going on with you that you seem to be happy all the time?” Or they may tell us, “You always have a good attitude no matter what’s going on.”
So I ask you today: How are you living your life? Do you have passion and purpose?
When people notice our good attitude in life, it gives us a wide door of opportunity to tell them, “Really, I deal with the same things you deal with in life. It’s not that I never have a struggle, but Jesus Christ is in my life, and He makes all the difference in the world!”
It’s helpful to think of it this way: You and I may be the only Jesus our neighbors will ever see. And if God didn’t have something for us to do here on earth, He wouldn’t have left us here. We are here for a purpose.
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First Peter 2:9 (AMPC) highlights our purpose beautifully, saying, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God’s] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
Now, the Lord has a special, unique plan for each one of our lives. We’ve each been given gifts and talents, and there are specific things we are meant to accomplish while we are here. First and foremost, we as Christians share one main purpose. We are here to live for God’s glory, tell others about Him and reflect His goodness in our lives.
In my own ministry, I’ve been asked how I stay passionate and keep doing what I’m doing. I can give some really cool, spiritual answer. But truthfully, I’ve come to believe that it’s really a decision about what kind of an attitude we’re going to have.
Our attitude is ours to own. We don’t have to let some outside force rule our attitude. God doesn’t want us to be passive. He wants us to be active and make decisions based on the Word of God. He doesn’t want us to stand around saying, “Well, I’m just so confused about the will of God for my life. I just don’t understand. I just don’t know what my purpose is, and I just feel so useless.”
Many Christians have done nothing because they can’t figure out what it is they’re supposed to do. God does not call us to do something and then refuse to tell us what it is. So, if we’re thinking, “Well, then why am I so confused?”, it may be because we’re living life with our head instead of our heart.
I know a story about a man who had been preaching all his life and started feeling like he wanted to teach the Bible in college. “But I’m a pastor,” he thought, and he couldn’t reconcile what he had been doing for so long with the new desire God was putting into his heart.
He wrestled with it until he came to a point where he had to decide between the two. He had an epiphany moment in which God said to him, “Know that whatever you choose, I’ll be with you.”
Freedom scares us because many of us have the idea that God is in heaven with His hammer saying, “You better do this exactly because if you don’t, you’re going to be in big trouble.”
We start to worry, thinking, “What if I miss God?” because we’re afraid to make a mistake. I’m not suggesting we should start doing stupid stuff, but 95% of what we’re supposed to do is in the Word. The other 5% is ours to freely pursue what God has planned for us.
Let’s make a commitment to make progress by faith. Maybe we’ve been doing something for a long time, but then we start to sense that God is changing things in our life, even though what we’ve been doing is good.
The possibility of change can scare us and also be the reason we sometimes feel like we’re being pulled apart, not knowing what we’re supposed to be doing. But faith propels us to take a chance—to step out and find out. We need to be willing to try and risk being wrong if that’s what it takes to find out what God has for us.
Scripture tells us that even if the righteous fall seven times, they rise again (Prov. 24:16). You and I need to dare to be passionate, purposeful and move forward in the life God has planned for us.
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For more on this topic, order Joyce’s three-part teaching resource “Living on Purpose for a Purpose.” You can also contact us to receive our free magazine, “Enjoying Everyday Life,” by calling 800-727-9673 or visiting www.joycemeyer.org.
Joyce Meyer is a New York Times bestselling author and founder of Joyce Meyer Ministries, Inc. She has authored more than 140 books, including “Battlefield of the Mind” and “Overcoming Every Problem” (FaithWords). She hosts the “Enjoying Everyday Life” radio and TV programs, which air on hundreds of stations worldwide. For more information, visit www.joycemeyer.org.
Please note: The views and opinions expressed throughout this publication and/or website are those of the respective authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Joyce Meyer Ministries.
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