POSITIONED FOR PURPOSE

Positioned for Purpose

by Kathy Gabler

SEEC Ministries International PO Box 2655 Spring,TX 77383-2655

Growing up on Abraham Avenue, playing Hopscotch and Hide-and-go-seek, Zacharias, Elizabeth, Joseph and Mary had no idea how they would fit in the plans of God and the history of man. Amid all their lessons in history and prophecy from the Torah, they had never pictured themselves as key players in the greatest story ever told. However, their lives were divinely positioned for the plans of God.

Do you think Zacharias eating his bagel and lox at breakfast was PREPARED to meet Gabriel at work that morning? When the gigantic angel suddenly showed up with a telegram from God, it terrified Zacharias. Obviously, he was not PREPARED, but he was POSITIONED by God . . . in destiny . . . in purpose . . . in history . . . for that meeting.

Do you think Elizabeth was PREPARED to be the mother of the forerunner of the Messiah? In all her prayers for a child, that had definitely never entered her mind! On top of that, Elizabeth was barren; and she and her husband were both well along in years. Age opposed purpose! Age defied destiny. Age contradicted the plans of God! So, no, she was not PREPARED to birth John the Baptist, but she was POSITIONED by God . . . in destiny . . . in purpose . . . in the history of mankind!

Do you think Joseph was PREPARED to find his fiancé pregnant with the Messiah? The turn of events very likely made Joseph feel betrayed and a victim of injustice. He could easily imagine his name being whispered in snide comments among his peers. His boyish dreams of heroism and purpose never looked like this, yet he was POSITIONED . . . in destiny . . . in purpose . . . in history . . . to be a hero of the faith.

Do you think Mary was PREPARED for a conversation with an angel to end with her being pregnant with the Messiah? Her girlish daydreams of romance and home and family had never played out like this, neither could these circumstances fit in any of her spiritual aspirations! Nothing could have prepared her to feel so disqualified in her society yet be so divinely POSITIONED in the plans of God . . . in destiny . . . in purpose . . . in history!

Do you think they had any sense they were POSITIONED for their purpose? I don’t think so! Neither did the Widow of Nain plodding along in the funeral procession, feel POSITIONED by God to dance home with a resurrected son, but she was! Saul atop his horse, on a Christian-killing mission, answering only to the Sanhedrin had no warning he was about to be blind, wrapped around that horse’s knees and entering training to be an apostle, but he was POSITIONED by the purpose of God! Murmuring Martha, grieving and waiting to give Jesus a piece of her mind over his tardiness, had no inkling she was about to un-bury the brother she had buried four days before, but she was POSITIONED . . . in destiny . . . in purpose . . . in history?

Zach and Liz did not know they were born to produce the forerunner of Christ. And if they had known, at their age they would have felt certain that they had outlived purpose! Elizabeth’s age and health and natural mind could not see a pregnancy in her future, especially not one of such divine order. How many people of God, because of age and health and life’s circumstances, feel they have outlived purpose, not realizing there are people not yet born that they are destined to touch, not realizing there are circumstances not yet in existence they were born to affect or cover in prayer?

Mary and Joseph never would have guessed their common, mundane lives were moving toward such eternal impact. In fact, they probably never fully grasped the magnitude of their purpose while they lived on earth. The issues and responsibilities of everyday life had to overshadow their thinking and senses at times. Seven-year-old Jesus most likely took Joseph’s hammer and left it by the creek to rust, after he’d nailed a boat together using his mom’s best serving bowl. At supper that night, I’m sure neither Joseph nor Mary sensed divine purpose at work in their lives or His! The majority of the time they were simply rearing a son; and they probably wondered if they were doing well. After all, everyone remembered the time they had accidentally left him behind while traveling. And you know they had typical friends and family watching their non-typical teenager with an opinionated glare.

Awareness of purpose is easily lost among the stuff of everyday life. Nevertheless, our efficient God is weaving our lives with purpose daily. No one is born for one event. There is purpose infused in every inch of our path through life. The flow of purpose is so intricately woven by God that we will only realize its full significance in hindsight. So, the true simplicity of purpose boils down to living aware of God daily. Thanksgiving, praise, worship, obedience and godly choices will flow out of that awareness. We tend the garden of our life, watering the plants daily, not sure when or how often they will bloom in our lifetime and thereafter. We are POSITIONED to be faithful in watering and He is faithful to bring forth fruit that is eternal.

Did you think you were born to just live, then die? Our God, who knows the end of everything before it begins has interwoven our lives in the tapestry of his plans for mankind. Each thread brings color and dimension to the big picture. If we think our life span is just about us, we live in danger of being robbed of destiny.

Is walking in God-ordained purpose easy? No, every Bible biography is far from easy. However, if God be for us, What or Who can be against us? Can age deteriorate purpose? Can circumstances nullify purpose? The enemy hopes you will think so. He hopes we will believe we are too weak, too old, too flawed or too unworthy to even have purpose. The enemy cannot defeat your purpose nor keep God from positioning you in history, he can only hope you will climb off your horse and quit!

It takes faith to realize that our purpose is essential in the plans of God. If we try to measure the success of our lives, we step out of the protection of faith and trust in the Lord. God has the Grace we need to fulfill what we were born to do! So, let’s just do it. And may we never stop just because we can’t see its effect or success. Don’t stop being faithful daily just because you feel you can accomplish little or nothing. The purpose and plans of God will out last your weaknesses and mistakes and disappointments. Don’t stop because you are tired. Lean into His rest. Don’t stop because you are discouraged. Lean into His courage. God is faithful to guard His purpose in us because His purpose is bigger than us.

No matter how young or how old we are, no matter what the current circumstances around us, we dare not agree with opposition in health or time or circumstance or relationships more than we agree that He has determined our days. Our purpose is eternal and will continue when we step from this earthly realm into the next. We must remain faithful and full of hope in this earthly dimension, knowing it is the boot-camp development of our character and purpose for the next. We can take rest in the confidence that God has POSITIONED us for His plans. In covenant with our awesome God, it is His part to position our purpose in history. It is our part to walk it out daily.

(This article was taken from SEEC Magazine. Email us for a free copy.)