Finding purpose in life: how to live life to the fullest!
*Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.*
There are many things that cause men to despair; Physical Pain, heartache or boredom that comes from the routines of life. Yet through all of that if man can find a purpose he should be able to handle it. Paul suffered greatly at the hands of his captors and had to deal with the early church which created its own headache. However, he never lost sight of the reason for all the hardship he was facing and it gave him great strength. He too struggled with a thorn in his flesh that gave him chronic troubles and though he begged God for the grace to take it away God choose not to relent. How frustrating that a man who was given the power to raise the dead and cure all manner of disease couldn’t cure himself. It isn’t that God lacked the power to help him, but God’s will was not that Paul find alleviation. What did Paul do wrong to deserve such harshness from God? He obviously wasn’t without sin, but he did dedicate his life to the spreading of the gospel and though he was faithful to God, his prayer for comfort went unanswered. We know that this is something that Paul wrestled with, because he tells us that three times he asked for relief and all three times God said his grace was sufficient for him. Maybe we are able to understand some of the suffering in this world and even in our own lives but when the pain goes on too long or it is too severe, then we wonder what he is doing. Many men step back from their faith for a time because the difficulty is too great and the pain caused by unanswered prayer makes talking to God seem pointless.
Yet, those whom the Lord has called to him can’t run forever nor can they find rest in anything but God. I wish I had the ability to alleviate suffering in people lives and maybe through teaching I can encourage some people to avoid some common mistakes that can lead to pain. But whether you live a faithful life to God, or you are constantly going back and forth between wanting the things of this world and the things of the world to come….. You will have to accept that something’s in life aren’t as you wish them to be. The goal shouldn’t end at accepting our troubles but learning to see that all of the suffering we face has a divine purpose. When you’re going through trials though you sometimes have trouble seeing that purpose, but with just a little bit of faith you can find the strength to continue knowing that God hasn’t stopped loving you and all the pain he allows must first come through his hand of love and mercy. Don’t ever stop asking him to work in your life or to alleviate the pain. Sometimes it isn’t about getting the answer you want but constantly going to the God who has the answers can bring you a great deal peace. Paul found his purpose in the service of the gospel and loving those Christians who caused him so much frustration.
Learning the purpose God has for you can help you through the rough times for if we believe that hardships have meaning then they don’t seem to overwhelm us as much. Like I said in an earlier devotional some of those desires we bring to God aren’t meant to be met this side of eternity but they will be met one day. God created heaven because he wants to bring pleasure to his children and seeing those he loves suffer brings him no joy. But sometimes the only way we grow is through trial and it is better that we amount to something and suffer rather than have no pain and let life pass us by. He knows what he is doing and though I struggle daily to believe that truth it is something that gives me hope and it just takes a little bit of hope and faith to do great things
About the Author: I am a Birmingham attorney who has been in private practice for over six years. I have a general practice, so I get the opportunity to help serve people who find themselves in some very difficult circumstances. My e-mail is reidfirm@gmail.com. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope it encourages you. I always love getting thoughtful comments, so please email those to me. My website is www.reidlawalabama.com. If you know anyone who is going through a difficult situation whether it be legal or personal and they are in Birmingham area you can e-mail me at chris.reid@reidlawalabama.com. Our firm works with some excellent faith based counselors, many of whom are free or low cost. A lot of the times the legal issues people face are due to deeper underlying issues like substance abuse and other things. I have found the most effective form of treatment is getting a personally qualified counselor who helps get to the root of the issues someone is dealing with, and we will help people get connected for free (we never take a payment for referral fee for this). Again my website is www.reidlawalabama.com, which contains my contact information. God Bless.