My morning coffee. I thoroughly enjoy this process of breaking through the clouds of slumber into consciousness once again. Jumping out of bed and grabbing a cup to go just doesn’t do it for me. (And of course a good post shouldn’t be rushed, as evidenced by the fact that I inadvertently clicked publish rather than save earlier today….)
This morning as I was enjoying my java and the new rhythm of my life, things came to mind that just shouldn’t be rushed:
Gently rocking a newborn baby.
Watching the sunrise or the sunset.
The healing of a broken soul.
Listening. Really listening.
Praise and worship.
My thoughts progressed to things that just can’t be rushed:
The making of a butterfly in a cocoon.
The sculpting of stone into an intricate masterpiece.
A very phlegmatic child. I had one of these. If you have one, you know what I mean.
Spiritual maturity.
God’s plan.
Even when we are given glimpses into the plans God is working in our lives, we cannot rush Him. We cannot make His purposes unfold before His appointed time. I believe this is one of the many reasons He tells us to rest. He wants us to have vision, to be able to see the unseen, to hope in what is not yet evidenced in our natural realm. But He had no intention for our eyes to be so set on the future that we miss today.
I am learning more every day about living in today. Not yesterday or tomorrow, but resting in the fact that whatever is on my plate for this day, He is with me. He is leading me through the purpose for my life one day at a time. Not one day is insignificant to Him or His plans. Even the days I mess up, He is able to weave into His great plan and redeem them. He asks me to trust Him and cooperate with Him. He knows what He’s doing.
No one has ever walked the face of this earth with a greater sense of purpose than Jesus. He knew what He was born to do and He knew that it could not be rushed. Throughout His childhood and young adulthood what was He busy doing? Growing. Physically, mentally, and spiritually. Even when His public ministry began, He would not be rushed. He was pressured to be someone He wasn’t called to be, pressured to do things He wasn’t called to do. Even by His family:
“So His brothers said to Him, Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples there may also see the works that You do. This is no place for You. For no one does anything in secret when he wishes to be conspicuous and secure publicity. If You must do these things – if You must act like this – show Yourself openly and make yourself known to the world!” John 7:3-4
They didn’t believe in Him and their voices were full of mockery. His activities made them uncomfortable. He didn’t fit in and they preferred to live their lives apart from Him. His response?
“My time has not come yet…” John 7:6
He wasn’t just talking about His death. His death and resurrection were the culmination of all that He was sent to do. How often do we find ourselves “doing things for God” that He never called us to do? Jesus lived His life so in tune to the Father that He only did what the Father said to do. Nothing more, nothing less. There are times people pressure us to be someone we were not called to be and do things we were not called to do. Many times this pressure is self-imposed.
He has given me a glimpse of the plan He is working at this stage in my life and it excites me greatly. Trusting Him with each day has brought great relief in knowing that I am not in charge of this big plan for my life to be purposeful. He is. And if I will simply cooperate with Him day by day, doing and saying only the things He prompts, He will fulfill all He desires and it will be good.
It just can’t be rushed.
Our Passionate Purpose 