Oooooh, Oooooh! Me, Me!

Remember the annoying kid in class who was practically jumping out of her seat, flailing her raised arm, desperate for the teacher to call on her because she knew the right answer? Yeah, I was totally that kid. I have spent most of my life achieving, earning, striving for perfection. This works fantastically in jobs and careers, in most relationships, and even in church. But strive as I might, I have hit a wall. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to achieve the purpose God has set forth for my life. I have asked him over and over, and read into little things here and there, knowing - just KNOWING - that I had found it, only to find out he had other plans. According to Jeremiah 29:11, God does, in fact, have a plan for my life. Can he not see my flailing hand? Pick me, Lord, pick me! I cannot very well do what I must in order to achieve my purpose if I do not know what that purpose is! I like to think that sometimes when I'm wrong, it makes God laugh a little. When Saul was chosen as the first king of Israel, God spoke to Samuel and told him that he would meet a man on the road looking for donkeys and that man would be the king. Saul was selected because God could use him, but he was found because he was in search of his father's escaped donkeys. When David was chosen to be king, he was in the fields with his sheep, not lined up like his brothers in their father's house. David was just humble enough, and had pursued such skills as harp-playing, which made him just right for a placement with the king, who required soothing harp music to face his tormenting spirits. The fact is, God does have a plan for my life. But more importantly, God has a plan that includes my life! That means, whatever I am facing, whatever I am in pursuit of, whatever God has told me to do, I must go about that business, not because it is lined up with some great purpose, but because it lines up with God, which is, indeed, my purpose! I will not be chosen to answer every call, even if my hand is the most visible. God is looking for me to accomplish that which he has set before me. At a point when Joab, the commander of the Israelite army under David, was surrounded by foes on all sides, he said to his men: "Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight." - 2 Samuel 10:12 Amen! Daddy, I can offer only praises to the one who has it figured out. Thank you that you have set forth something that no man or woman can earn, but that you have placed us, through your love, just where we need to be. Help us to pursue you, for in doing so, we will witness the purpose you have prepared for our lives. Thank you that we do not have to be kings, but that you choose donkey-chasers and sheep-tenders, and even some over-achievers, to be a part of your plan. In Jesus's name, Amen