Friends, satisfaction and fulfilment in life do not result from a ‘hit and miss, please yourself’ approach to living. Most people allow changing circumstances to determine their decision-making in life. This is blind suicide! With confidence and certainty, believers follow a reliable course set by God, keeping them on-track, experiencing ‘the’ supreme purpose for living.

Look around you… notice that most of society are climbing ‘their’ ladder of success with determination to reach the top. However, at the end of their lives the sad reality is they’ll discover that their ladder had been leaning against the wrong wall!

During His earthly ministry, Jesus resisted distractions that came to Him from well-intentioned followers to ‘spend’ His time going about doing ‘good things’. Jesus did not come into our world to do anything and everything. He didn’t come to entertain us through performing supernational acts. His supreme purpose for coming into our broken world was to ‘do the will of the Father’. When He finished interacting with a woman at a well at Samaria, His disciples returned from a nearby town and offered Him food to eat. He explained to them: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing His work” (John 4:34 NLT).

The world in which we live constantly tempts us with skads of attractive enticements that promise nourishment (satisfaction). However, it is only through dedication to knowing and doing the will of God that we can experience lasting, meaningful satisfaction in life. Solomon said that everything else is meaningless (Ecc. 12:8 NLT).

Not only is it important to be about ‘doing’ the will of God, we must ‘finish’ that which we He calls us to do.  Towards the end of His ministry, in the presence of His disciples, Jesus prayed to His Father, “I brought glory to You here on earth by completing the work you gave Me to do” (John 17:4 NLT). Are you a finisher?

Living by faith is not a one-time, short-sprint event… it’s a life-long marathon! Only those who complete their race will receive the promised prize, not those who set-off well but do not finish. Living to ‘do’ the ‘Father’s will’ demands our all! Jesus said to would-be followers, “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23 NLT).

Friends, have you surrendered ‘your own way’ to live and serve the Father’s will? Jesus did! At the commencement of His earthly ministry, Jesus said to His disciples, “For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent Me, not to do My own will” (John 6:38 NLT). Just before His arrest in Gethsemane, Jesus said, “Now My soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But this is the very reason I came!” (John 12:27 NLT). What is your very reason for living?

William Joukhadar
July, 2024