Meet The New YouSample

His Good Purpose

I have wanted to be able to hire a cleaning lady for as long as I’ve had children. There’s just nothing about scrubbing a tub or mopping a kitchen that appeals to me, especially because the evidence of the effort put forth to make it all shine disappears as quickly as the bubbles washing down the drain. It’s impossible to keep a house spotless when real, live human beings are dwelling inside.

And yet, as much as I want to hire someone to do the work for me, I don’t really want to pay someone for something I’m capable of doing. Oh, I know the advice: hire someone to do what you don’t need to do so that you can do what no one else can do for you. Yes, maybe I’ll hire a cleaning lady one day, but in the meantime, I’m still not sure I’m supposed to give up the task.

What task are you wishing you could give up (and I’m not just talking about cleaning)? What work is God calling you to persevere in? What work is He seeking to accomplish through you?

If the Scriptures teach us that God is the one who works in us to accomplish His good purposes, then we ought to pause to think about His work in what we perceive to be our work.

It may also be true that He plans to accomplish something in us or through us without our participation? If that is the case, what might you be trying to accomplish in your own strength that God wants to take care of for you? What work are you striving to do, believing that He’s not capable? What responsibility do you hesitate to hand over to Him, believing that you’re the only one for the job?

Trap and Transform

1. Are you open to God working in your life, even if it’s not how you expect? Think upon your answer for a bit.

2. Whose “will” are you seeking to fulfill each day?

3. What ways do you sense that God’s good purposes are active in your life?