What Were You Created For?

I heard an animal lover say one day that DOG was GOD spelled backward.

While I would never imply that the Creator of the universe and our four-footed furry friends are on equal terms, I understand the heart behind his statement. The man was saying that God endowed our beloved animals with many of His own characteristics: unconditional love, kindness, sensitivity, loyalty, compassion, intelligence, and playfulness, to name a few.

 One of my favorite bumper stickers testifies to a dog's unconditional love. It says "I Hope One Day to Be Half the Man My Dog Thinks I Am."

I was reminded recently of all the reasons I love my dog as I talked with a dear friend. Only ten days ago her beloved Rhodesian Ridgeback, Romeo, was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma. Osteosarcoma is an aggressive form of cancer that usually spreads throughout a dog's body before it presents any external symptoms. Her first cause for concern was a tender, swollen lump on Romeo's leg.

Sent home with an initial diagnosis and instructions to keep him comfortable and pain-free, my friend and her family hoped to have several months with Romeo before the disease claimed his life. Last Wednesday, only ten days later, she and her family bid Romeo a sad farewell.

I had the privilege of knowing Romeo from the time he was a puppy. Reminiscing with my friend over those early days, she told me, "I knew Rhodesian Ridgebacks bond to a whole family, but more than anything, I wanted Romeo to be my dog." To help him bond to her, she would hold him on her lap while she worked at her desk. Needless to say, he was quite content to sit there, curled up into a ball, ready to receive a pat on the head or a kind word.

We chuckled over how effective her bonding strategy was. Before long Romeo was her constant companion as well as her defender and protector. If she sat at her desk, he settled at her feet. If she moved from one room to another, he moved with her. Sometimes he even anticipated her movements, and she would find him ahead of her, blocking her way. If she left the house, he waited for her and met her at the door when she returned. Romeo didn't like men, but Romeo loved his mommy.

We talked about Romeo's last few days. "He was in so much pain, despite double doses of medication," my friend told me. "Every step he took was an effort." Knowing they were going to have to put him down, she and her family spent his last day focused on him. True to form, "every time I moved," she said, "Romeo moved. Even though it was a struggle for him even to stand, if I moved, he moved. Every step was painful, but even more than he wanted to be pain free, he wanted to be with me. He loved me more than he loved himself."

We concluded that Romeo had fulfilled his purpose -- all the way to the end. He was created to be my friend's constant companion, and he fulfilled that destiny despite tremendous cost.

His loyalty and love made me think of my own destiny. You see, just like God created Romeo to bring joy and companionship to my friend and her family, God created me for a purpose too.


Ephesians 1:11-12 describes my destiny. "In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory."

My destiny is to live my life in such a way that I bring glory to God.

Matthew 5:16 tells me how.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

Sometimes glorifying God comes at great personal cost. Like Romeo followed my friend everywhere even though it caused him great pain, I, too, must choose to follow Christ even when it's painful. Even when it costs something. Even when I don't know where the path leads. I must ask myself, do I love God more than I love myself?

My calling is to follow the One Who loves me best.

It is my destiny.

ROMEO -- December 5, 2003 - January 25, 2012 

You want to connect with God, but in the craziness of life, it’s just not happening. You want practical, biblical answers to situations you face every day, but you don’t have hours to pore over Scripture.

You need a resource that answers the questions you’re afraid to ask out loud. Questions like:

• Is my situation hopeless?
• If God already knows what he’s going to do, why bother to pray? 
• Why have you allowed this to happen to me? 
• No one appreciates what I do. Why shouldn’t I quit? 

Each devotion begins with a Facetime question and ends with a biblical answer wrapped in a modern day parable. Like a spiritual power bar, Hungry for God … Starving for Time is packed with enough scriptural nutrition to get you through the day. Wherever you are—in break rooms, carpool lines, or wherever you can snatch five minutes of quiet reflection—Hungry for God … Starving for Time, 5-Minute Devotions for Busy Women is for you.

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When You'd Rather Be Somewhere Else

Have you ever awakened and wished you were somewhere else?  Maybe today you will care for your young children, work a job that leaves you less than fulfilled, or wrestle with an aged parent who just won’t cooperate. It’s not that you hate your life, or maybe you do, you just sometimes wonder if there is somewhere bigger or grander that you should be. If you are completely honest with yourself, you know that if the bus to Somewhere Else stopped at your house, you’d get on it in a heartbeat.

I think we all feel this way sometimes. We chafe at routine.  We feel like there is no significance in washing one more load of laundry, processing one more customer order, or teaching one more lesson on noun/verb agreement to our homeschooled children.  We wonder if we are missing some greater purpose for our lives.

I came to this place one night when my children were five and two.  I had spent the day pouring juice, doling out goldfish crackers, and cleaning house.  Until my husband came home, I hadn’t seen another human being over three feet tall all day.  Still adjusting to my mother of two children role, I thought back to the days when I worked full time and served in many ministries at church. Before long, I was having a full-blown pity party.  I was wondering if I was accomplishing anything for God anymore. I felt like my life circumstances had placed me on a shelf.

Leaving my children and husband playing Legos, I headed down the street to a new neighbor’s house. I had promised to share some homeschooling resources with her, and it was the first chance I’d had all day to take them to her. As I walked through my darkening neighborhood, God gave me a perspective I hadn’t had before.  With each house I passed, He called to mind an opportunity I had  recently had to minister to the person that lived there.

I walked past Mrs. Stuart’s house and remembered that I had sat in her living room and listened to her play the piano.  She had been delighted to have an audience, because she normally played to an empty house.  I walked past Mr. Lee’s house, where I had taken a meal to him and his wife during her chemo treatment.  I walked past Mel’s house, where I had helped them by letting his dogs in and out while he had been away on  vacation. Ahead I saw the home of the new neighbor with whom I planned to share curriculum and friendship.

God’s voice whispered softly into my heart the words of Psalm 16:6 “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.  Surely I have a delightful inheritance.”  The words of Psalm 139 echoed back in a tandem chorus, “All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.”

My heart responded by saying, “Yes Lord, I see that the plans you have for me are to prosper me and not to harm me, to give me a future and a hope. I see that there are people around me that only I can reach because I am in this good place.”

Now when I am tempted to chafe at where I am compared to where I’d rather be, God’s Spirit reminds me that He has a plan for my day, and that it is good.  I remember that He has placed me where I am for a purpose. Instead of looking inward at myself, I look outward, asking God to give me eyes to see what He is doing in the world, and how I can join Him.

A perspective like this can make all the difference in the world. 

To you and to someone else.

If you enjoyed this devotion, may I tell you about my new book, Hungry for God … Starving for Time, 5-Minute Devotions for Busy Women?

 Today's women want to connect with God, but in the craziness of life, it’s just not happening. You want practical, biblical answers to situations you face every day, but you don’t have hours to pore over Scripture.

You need a resource that answers the questions you’re afraid to ask out loud. Questions like:

• Is my situation hopeless?
• If God already knows what he’s going to do, why bother to pray? 
• Why have you allowed this to happen to me? 
• No one appreciates what I do. Why shouldn’t I quit? 

Each devotion begins with a Facetime question and ends with a biblical answer wrapped in a modern day parable. Like a spiritual power bar, Hungry for God … Starving for Time is packed with enough scriptural nutrition to get you through the day. Wherever you are—in break rooms, carpool lines, or wherever you can snatch five minutes of quiet reflection—Hungry for God … Starving for Time, 5-Minute Devotions for Busy Women is for you. 

 

If you enjoyed this post, why not subscribe? I'll send you twice-weekly 5-minute devotions to help nourish your soul. 
Because women need to connect with God in the craziness of life. 

Enter your email address and VALIDATE the Feedburner email sent to your inbox.



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Hungry for God is on Facebook! Will you take a moment and LIKE my page? CLICK HERE to help HFG share 5-minute devotions.