PURPOSE.

Over the past few weeks, I've really been reflecting on and praying about PURPOSE. God, what is my purpose? How can I use my purpose to really bless another and draw someone to Christ? Am I here simply just to do my purpose dutifully and smile? The devil really had started to try and creep in and make me start questioning the child of God that I KNOW I am. I finally got to a point and told the devil "Get thee behind me!" and really started to do some serious praying. And of course, in the most discreet but profound way that only He can do, God revealed HIS answers to me.

I have been blessed with the opportunity, the past four years, to be the head of the dance ministry at my church And I have a good relationship with the girls that I’m over. And God began to reveal this to me: I need to remember, who do the girls ask to pray with them? Who do they text daily? Who do they come to with their stories, their fears, their triumphs? They share with me. It’s like God nudges me each time I receive a message from one of the girls and says “here ya go.” I questioned my purpose; thinking I wasn't making an impact and here in the most simple way, I am able to use the God in ME and experiences I've had, to help another come closer and closer with our Father God.

Normally for ourselves, we see not just how much of an impact we have on the life of another. But in your prayer time, God reveals it to you. We constantly ask God to use us to bless another and yet we rarely see how instrumental we are because we are too busy downing ourselves about a past issue or a person. All that said, I'm recognizing more and more daily, the GOD in me and the light that He has placed inside of me. He's shown to me that that is what my girls see; they see my purpose and it's truly made me recognize it more for myself.

On top of those questions posed in my brain (I so love how God operates), I went to get rid of some papers as I was "spring cleaning", & came across a paper I had titled "Purpose" that just blew my socks off because it went right along with the things I had been praying about. So to end my post, I'm sharing with you all & I pray that it blesses you and encourages you'; just as it did with me!

Much Love & Blessings,
Nicole

(ok sidebar: the piece I wanted to post is here but it got kinda weird when I tried to post it so I apologize in advance!)
------

God meant it for Good..
by Jon Walker
"You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result." (Genesis 50:20 NIV)Joseph's life was anything but peaceful. It was complicated by youthful folly, broken dreams, and the mean-spirited actions of others. Sold into slavery by jealous brothers. Thrown into prison on false charges. Yet he remained a man remarkable for his lack of bitterness or regret, always seeing God as the "Great Engineer" behind even the worst of circumstances. In a final confrontation with his brothers, he graciously noted, "You meant it for bad; God meant it for good."

The theology packed in that statement is astounding. "God meant it for good" means:
You can accept the past - No sin, no action, no choice on your part is too big for God to handle - or too big to be worked for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) Just ask Joseph! Better yet, ask his fearful and famished brothers, who were forced to rely on him for survival.You can embrace the present - There's no need to play the "what if" game. The past is gone, and no energy you expend will ever change it. The future is in God's omnipotent hands, so you're free to focus on the present. Your job is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, trusting him to forgive the past and transform the future. Martyred missionary Jim Eliot once wrote, "Wherever you are, be all there" - not living in the past and not fantasizing about the future. God wants you in the present because that's where His grace will flow.
You can look expectantly toward the future - Even if you make mistakes today, God still controls your future. Walking in the Spirit, you can live life to the fullest, unafraid of making mistakes and unconcerned that you may stumble into some terrible circumstance that takes you out of God's control. Even when things appear to be terrible, you can trust that God is working out some divine plan through you.
--> So what? <--

No matter how bad things get - God is still able to bring good out of it. Today, thank God that nothing - no disaster, no delay - is bigger than his ability to turn it into something good and godly.



Look for God's hand - Walking by faith means you see God's hand even in the most difficult of circumstances. You trust His ability and His willingness to transform the bad into godly good. God is not limited by people's motives. In other words, it doesn't matter why someone hurt you, God still can transform a deliberate, mean-spirited situation into something for HIS good.

What will you allow God to change? - There it is: some situation, or event, or person in your life that, as far as you can tell, was "meant for bad." How do you think God meant it for good? Ask God what He wants you to do with this situation (event or person). When He answers, do it.

 Thank God & LET GO: Thank God that He is sovereign over your past, your present, and your future. Give God the circumstances, disasters, hindrances, hurts, and sins from your past. Give God your current situation, your disasters, hindrances, hurts, and sins of today. Praise God that He can work anything in your future for godly good, that you can walk in confidence that there is nothing anyone can do to you, or anything you can do that will be beyond the reach of God's grace and redemption.