Every day people everywhere are searching for that one thing that will make their life count—one purpose and one plan. Our Christian walk is a journey of faith, having to trust God for everything. We cannot do it without Him.
“Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? It is just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away” (James 4:14, MEV).
Sometimes we don’t understand all that happens in life. We cannot live in fear or anxiety of the “why” or the confusion on “why didn’t God.” God is faithful all the time. We live in a fallen world and things unfortunately do happen.
What are you doing today to make your life count? Let me pose some questions to you for you to think about:
- Do you stay in a place of discontent?
- Are you always complaining about what you have or don’t have?
- Are you always comparing yourself to others?
- Are you still living with guilt and condemnation from your past?
- Are you always feeling behind, keeping a mental to do list but never getting anything done?
I could keep going on and on. I think you my point.
We live our lives every day searching for significance, purpose and accomplishments. What doesn’t happen in our lives, we tend to blame everyone else or blame our past. Just as James said, our lives are but a vapor, so we don’t have time to keep saying we will or one day. We must live our lives to the fullest today. Wherever you are at in life, God has a purpose for you. Whether you’ve experienced loss, failure or even lack of motivation, you can start over today!
On Dec. 10, 1914, 10 buildings at the legendary inventor Thomas Edison’s plant exploded. This made up more than half of the site. According to a 1961 Reader’s Digest article by Edison’s son, Charles, Edison calmly walked over to him as he watched the fire destroy his dad’s work. In a childlike voice, Edison told his 24-year-old son, “Go get your mother and all her friends. They’ll never see a fire like this again.” When Charles objected, Edison said, “It’s all right. We’ve just got rid of a lot of rubbish.”
Edison was quoted in The New York Times as saying, “Although I am over 67 years old, I’ll start all over again tomorrow.” He told the reporter that he was exhausted from remaining at the scene until the chaos was under control, but he stuck to his word and immediately began rebuilding the next morning without firing any of his employees.
Like most of us, Edison could have become angry and discouraged and quit. Instead, he somehow had the faith to begin rebuilding. After thoroughly surveying the damage, Edison determined that he’d lost $919,788 (about $23 million in today’s dollars), according to Matthew Josephson’s biography. The flames had consumed years of priceless records and prototypes, and his plant’s insurance covered only about a third of the total damage.
Through perseverance and help from his friend, Henry Ford, Edison went to make almost $10 million in revenue the following year. I don’t know if Thomas Edison was a devout Christian, but what I do know is that God can take anything we have been through or are going through and make it into something great if we let Him.
Here are five things you can do today to change your life and turn it into a life of purpose:
1. Be thankful for the life God has given you. You have one chance; don’t take it for granted.
2. Start over. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done or what has happened to you, we serve a God of second chances. Repent, take responsibility, forgive and go forward.
3. Get a vision for your life and write it down. Set some simple goals and ask God to help you stay motivated.
“And the Lord answered me: Write the vision, and make it plain on tablets, that he who reads it may run” (Habakkuk 2:2, MEV).
4. Quit making excuses. Don’t waste your wasted years. It’s time for you to take responsibility and live again!
5. No one can steal your joy, bring you down or destroy you. People are not our enemy, Satan is. So keep your heart pure toward people—forgive, forgive, forgive. God is your Daddy, and He has your back.
One woman of God who has truly blessed my life with her ministry is Joyce Meyer. If I meet her one day, I will give her the biggest hug. She keeps it real, ministers from the heart and out of her life’s experiences, and she helps people in spite of what they’ve been through to go forward no matter what.
My prayer is that you have received, opened your heart and, like Thomas Edison, say, “Look at what has been destroyed in your life and rejoice that you can start over!” Trust God in all you do and make your life count!
May God give you the strength, courage and faith to go forward and fulfill your purpose in this lifetime. There are people waiting on the other side of your obedience, so get ready for all God is going to do in your life. {eoa}
Along with her husband, Pastor Luis Reyes, Tricia Reyes is the co-founder of The New Church Of Joy in Waukegan, Illinois. She is a blogger and author and helps manage her daughter Madison’s (Maddie Rey) Music Ministry. She is a devoted wife as well as mother to Madison and Matthew and loves the Lord with all her heart! To learn more about Tricia’s ministry or to book her for a Women’s Event/Conference visit her website at triciareyes.com or thenewchurchofjoy.com.
Curt Landry 
Michael L. Brown 
Rabbi Eric Tokajer 
