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Welcome Back! Today, we’ll be looking at the Gospel of Luke to see the transformative power of trusting God’s purpose and timing in our lives.
So let’s dive in.
Luke 13:31-33
At that very hour, some Pharisees came to Jesus and told Him, “Leave this place and get away, because Herod wants to kill You.” But Jesus replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘Look, I will keep driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach My goal.’ Nevertheless, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day, for it is not admissible for a prophet to perish outside of Jerusalem.
My Thoughts
I am amazed at two aspects of Jesus’ life: His confidence in the Father’s purpose and His confidence in the Father’s timing. And notice I am drawing attention to the Father’s part. You might automatically assume, “Well, Jesus is God. Of course He’s going to have confidence in His purpose and timing!” But you may miss the point. I’m shocked that the human part of Jesus trusted the Father with these two essential elements of life, stating it time and time again. In John 5:19 and 5:30, Jesus says He can do nothing on His own initiative, but only what He sees the Father doing. And in John 12:49–50, He makes it even clearer, saying He did not speak on His own initiative, but that the Father gave Him commandment regarding what to say. Jesus is modeling something for us here. He knew the purpose and timing given to Him by the Father, and He stewarded that to the nth degree.
Why am I so amazed? Because I have struggled with both. I have struggled with clearly knowing God’s purpose and timing in my own life, and even when I thought I knew what God was doing, I’ve had issues fleshing that out. (Pun intended and I know I’m not alone). That’s why I am convinced that being saturated with the Bible and with the example of Jesus is so important. It’s like pushing a “reset” button. I need to be reminded daily, if not hourly, of God’s grand design for my life as an individual and my role in the bigger picture of what He is doing. Scripture keeps bringing me back to the road, reminding me where I’m going, why I’m going there, and Who I’m following. This reminder, if we don’t kick against the goads, so to speak, will tell us we are on the right track. It gives us assurance that what we’re doing with our lives will matter in the eternal scheme of things.
Now how important is this in making disciples of Jesus? This is absolutely huge. First, all of us—and I mean all of us—have a built-in tendency to pursue our own purposes instead of God’s. We want to write the story, call the shots, and have God bless our plans. That road doesn’t just lead “nowhere”; it actually leads to death (Romans 3:23, 6:23). Second, a life without purpose is meaningless and is a death in itself. I’ve literally watched people sleep themselves or drink themselves to death because they felt like they had no purpose in life. As disciple makers, we have two essential truths we need to instill into a new disciple’s life from the very beginning: God has a purpose for their lives, and He has the right time for it to be fulfilled. In doing so, we will set the trajectory of this young follower of Jesus for a lifetime, teaching them not just how to believe in Jesus, but how to truly follow and trust Him as their King.
My Story
If you’ve been following my posts on Substack, you read my piece on “Bezalel and Oholiab.” In it, I outline the lives of these two obscure craftsmen and illuminate their crowning contribution to the children of Israel and to everyone who reads the Old Testament. They were literally chosen by God for a very special work—to build the meeting place for God and His people.
I spent days thinking about those men and the purpose and timing God had for them. I did a lot of reflection on my own life, asking the questions:
- What has been my crowning contribution to this point in life?
- How long did it take for God to prepare me for the task?
- What were the specific events in my life where I saw His hand preparing me?
- When did I recognize that this was my purpose in life?
- How would I sum up what God has designed me to be and do?
That exercise was very encouraging and instructive.
I basically saw my purpose as “Helping others push the boulder of generational discipleship up and over the hill for Jesus.”
I have the advantage of looking in the rearview mirror and seeing a long way back. Sixty-seven years’ worth of training and practice have brought me to the point where several “boulders” are now rolling down the hill, and I ain’t pushing no more.
Disciples are reproducing more disciples of Jesus, and I have no control, influence, or say about what the fourth generations and beyond are doing. But it’s never been about who gets the credit (unless, of course, we’re talking about Jesus). It’s about making disciples of all nations so God gets the glory. Needless to say, I’m very thankful that God gave me a purpose—and that I have been walking in His timing all my life.
Now, I am confident of this:
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
Psalm 139:16
Our Action Plan
Now it’s time for application. Here’s some questions and ideas;
- What is your purpose in life? Does it align with God’s purpose for your life?
- Do you recognize the seasons, the “Stops and Goes,” and interruptions as God’s way of guiding you and others around you?
- How will you help those you are discipling to discover and align themselves with God’s timing and purposes?
It’s easy for us to lose sight of God’s plan for our lives and head in our own direction. Or to simply be paralyzed by the myriad of choices we have set before us. As we live our lives and make disciples along the way, let’s align ourselves with His purpose and timing by staying in His Word and listening to His Holy Spirit.
| Gospel Sync | Kingdom Kernels | On the Road Podcast | Website |
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