Are We Striving to BE What God Most Wants Us to BE?
When I was a child of ten, I wanted to BE a child; it was a blessed place to BE.
When I became a child of eleven, I wanted to BE a child; that too was a blessed place to BE.
When I became a tween of age 12 & 13, I did not know what I wanted to BE—child or adult; clearly, that was NOT a blessed place to BEING in the in-between.
There are seasons in our lives when we struggle to know what we want to BE, when we try to live within two worlds, just as we struggled to live during the ages of 12-13. I remember the turmoil of wanting to play with my little brother Ron and the desire to BE big like my older sister Mischele. Yes, turmoil is found within the place of BEING in-between. Maybe you never suffered this way, but I think most of us have lived the “in-between” place and determined in our hearts that never again did we want to live there. I often remember the season BEFORE I knew Christ Jesus as my Savior and the turmoil of the “in-between.” I was fifteen, a teenager, and although I was not a hardened criminal, a drug dealer, a murderer, or a thug, still, I was the one thing I knew God did not want me to “BE”—LOST.
The walk during this season was uncomfortable. If a person can run fast enough in his mind, keep his hands busy enough, and strive to stay preoccupied enough, then maybe we would not hear the Holy Spirit of God as HE seeks us. That was my hope; running from God is where I wished to BE, and for a season, I ran. I was miserable.
From the outside looking in, everything looked normal. We can put up such a good front, a game face, and appear to the world watching that we have not a care in the world, but inside, deep in our being, we know the truth.
Deep inside, we know we need God, and we know that His Truth is the Best Place We Could Ever BE; nevertheless, we run in the other direction toward the hideous lies of Satan.
Strange is it, how we desire the dark, the ugly, the lies, and the death—When all we need to do is STOP RUNNING & “BE” STILL.
We just need to say,
“YES, LORD, I DO BELIEVE IN YOU, I DO WANT TO KNOW YOU, PLEASE FORGIVE ME.”
I am eternally thankful for parents that took me to church.
I am eternally thankful for a youth Sunday School teacher who spoke the truth about God.
I am eternally thankful for a best friend who witnessed to me about the goodness of God.
I am eternally thankful for a church camp where the minister shared Jesus. He took us on a hike, walking with us high up on the mountain, stopping to build a fire where we watched our prepared, aluminum-wrapped meals cook in the fire, and then the man of God sat down with us and shared Jesus.
I am eternally thankful.
I am eternally grateful.
I am humbled that God wanted me.
I am also humbled and privileged to serve Jehovah God, the One who sought me, the One who wanted me to “BE” HIS.
As a child of God, as a Christian, as a BELIEVER—God graciously invites us to serve Him, and the way we respond affects how our relationship will grow.
In reading the Scriptures this morning, I found myself reading in two separate passages, one found within the New Testament, in Colossians, & one found within the Old Testament, in The Psalms. In Colossians, the Apostle Paul wrote to the saints living in Colossae as he served with Timothy, a brother-in-Christ. In The Psalms, the shepherd-boy, who rose to BECOME King David wrote to share how God sustained him as he endured turmoil.
SEE WITH ME GOD’S INFALLIBLE WORD.
“Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship [the commission] from God bestowed on me [granted to me] for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God,
that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but now has been manifested [revealed] to His saints,
to whom God willed to make known what is the riches [the wealth] of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, [among us] which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.
For this purpose I also labor, striving according to His power which mightily works within me.”
(The Letter of Paul to the Colossians 1: 25-29)
I am 100% sure, the Apostle Paul and King David did not have perfect days. Yes, we can say with authority that their lives were filled with hard days. Like us, they needed God’s presence every moment of every day. We need to “BE” where God wants us to “BE”& doing what God wants us to “BE” doing.
WHY?
Because that is where we receive the blessings of God—when we are obediently following the LORD.
What is it like to know God?
What is it like to be near Him?
What is it like to enjoy the friendship of Almighty God?
- It is Living & BEING in PERFECT PEACE inside our BEING as we go through our days!
- It is Living & BEING in PERFECT REST in our hearts and minds as we go through our struggles!
- It is BEING HIS today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, a decade from now, a century, and forevermore—GOD’S!
- IT IS BELONGING to HIM, our FATHER!
- IT IS BECOMING more like JESUS, serving as we walk toward our eternal home where we will “BE” within God’s presence, our heavenly Father’s presence forever!
Quite possibly, the question is NOT—What Do We Most Want to BE?
But Rather,
Truthfully, the question IS—What Does God Most Want Us to BE?
Moreover,
Are We Striving to “BE” Exactly What God Wants Us to BE?
King David wrote these words to remind us how God is ALWAYS with us, that God’s Salvation is a forever covenant, a forever promise, and that God’s mercy and grace endures for all eternity, from the very moment God saves our soul.
“I have proclaimed glad tidings [good news] of righteousness in the great congregation;
Behold, I will not restrain my lips, O LORD, You know.
I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness [Your mercy] and Your truth from the great congregation.
You, O LORD,
will not withhold Your compassion from me;
Your lovingkindness [mercy] and Your truth will continually preserve me.” [because YOU, O LORD watch over me]
(The Psalms 40: 9-11)