Purpose Thinking for Christians
The Life-Changing Power of Believing in God’s Purposes for Your Li
“You were made by God and for God, and until you understand that, life will never make sense.” Rick Warren
We all know the story. On December 17, 1903 Orville and Wilbur Wright successfully tested and flew a flying machine. In over 5,000 years of recorded history, this was the first time ever that a human being had flown.
Do you know how long their historic flight lasted? It wasn’t hours or an hour or even minutes: 12 seconds. That initial flight lasted only 12 seconds and covered only 120 feet on its inaugural flight. Based on that breakthrough, less than 50 years later mankind was flying around the world, and within 66 years had landed on the moon.
Behind any great accomplishment there is almost always a way of thinking, a way of believing that made that accomplishment possible. Listen to a few quotes as to how Orville and Wilbur’s beliefs empowered them to pursue and succeed in doing something no one had ever done before.
“If birds can glide for long periods of time, then… why can’t I?”
“If we worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true really is true, then there would be little hope for advance.”
“We were lucky enough to grow up in an environment where there was always much encouragement to children to pursue intellectual interests; to investigate whatever around curiosity.”
Why Can’t I?
Jesus was constantly encouraging people, especially His closest disciples to believe. He praised faith whenever He saw it and was saddened when people put their faith in other’s words more than in His.
The truth is, the biggest factor in how we act, is what we really believe to be true. The harsh truth is, if we want to know what we really believe, take a look at how we live.
That’s one of the reasons James addressed the faith/work connection so strongly. “Faith without works is dead….I’ll show you what I believe by what I do….faith is completed by works.”
Whenever we talk about faith and works we always have to be clear that none of us is made right with God, forgiven of sins, given eternal life by our effort, our works. Ephesians 2:8–9, and a lot of other Scriptures make it undoubtedly clear that we are saved by grace through faith, not by works, it is a gift of God.
Our salvation, when it comes to assurance of eternal life, is complete; there is nothing that can be added to it. What Jesus did through the cross and the resurrection is enough; We simply believe it.
But the trait, the fruit of faith is not complete the moment we receive Jesus. Faith grows and develops, just like love, joy, peace, and patience grow.
Spiritual Growth Happens In Cycles
When it comes to faith growth, it’s a cycle. We see or hear or both what God says in the Bible. We make a decision to receive what God says is true, internalizing it, working through doubts and challenges, taking action and seeing faith grow and mature.
We hear it and see it (in our minds)
We receive it as true (decision)
We internalize it, “yes, this applies to me”
We take action, some type of faith response
We work through the doubts (“what about? Why isn’t it working? Is this really true?”
We come out on the other side and that promise is more firmly established in us
It’s a combination of those things in dependence on the Holy Spirit’s power.
Then we go through the course again in another area of life.
Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, guiding the process to build this invaluable trait in our souls.
The ultimate reality check, the way we test and see how much our faith has grown is by which thoughts become dominant, which words we consistently speak, and the actions we consistently take..When that truth, that promise, that God idea becomes integrated into your behavior, you know it’s now an established part of you.
Coming back to the Wright brothers, and I hope this encourages and challenges you as much as it does me….remember, no one in the history of the world had ever done what they were attempting to do.
What if God gave you an idea that NO ONE in the history of the world had ever done before?
Being open to receiving ideas like that is how we are changed and how the world is changed.
If you study the history of flight, you’ll see that people had been trying for hundreds of years, and had always failed.
Some of the brightest minds, the experts of the day, had concluded it was impossible for man to fly. The most famous of these was Lord Kelvin who said, “heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.” He said this in 1895; the Wright Brothers flew just eight years later.
What if the Wright brothers had chosen to believe the experts?
Experts Are Wrong A Lot
I love those Wright brother quotes, “if those birds can glide, why can’t I?” “If everything we’ve heard is really true, then how can we advance?”
Lord Kelvin is not the only expert who got it wrong. So many things that are common today, we once considered impossible by the big names of their time.
Did you know….
- In 1828 science writer and academic, Dr. Dionysys Larder wrote that rail travel at high speed is not possible because passengers would be unable to breathe.” The Shanghai Maglev Train reaches 268 mph during its daily service today.
- In 1876 top-level executives at Western Union declared, The telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. It is inherently of no value.” Early in 2016 Apple announced it had sold its 1 billionth iPhone.
- In 1903, the president of the Michigan Savings Bank advised Henry Ford’s own lawyer not to invest in the Ford Motor Company by making the case that “the horse is here to stay, but the automobile is only a novelty — a fad.” As of 2018 approximately 1.42 billion cars are on the road.
There are so many of these “experts being wrong” examples that we could fill pages and pages. Famous, highly regarded experts have been proven wrong over and over again.
Don’t get me wrong, the Bible endorses study and expanding our knowledge base. We have all benefited and continue to benefit from the research of knowledgeable, open-minded people. But even the most well-known experts on our planet have made and continue to make major mistakes.
You Know Who’s Never Been Proven Wrong?
Do you know who never makes mistakes….God!
God has all knowledge, so He is never wrong. We may misinterpret what He has said from time to time, but God knows EVERYTHING and He cannot lie.
So despite the enemy’s relentless attempts to carry on with his initial assault on God’s word and character (Genesis 3), the smartest thing any of us can do is to believe what God has said
That is why whenever we want to move forward in any area of life, sooner rather than later, the wisest thing to do is to see what God has said about it and then consciously receive those words into our minds and hearts.
This is absolutely true when it comes to making the most of our lives. God created us on purpose. He knows why He created us and how we best function. So, what does God say about living a great life of purpose and meaning?
The smartest thing any of us can do is to say “yes” to God and His words, especially regarding purpose.
If you want more resources on living a Jesus-centered, purpose driven life head over to www.TruVineMission.com
