Design

During my quiet time this morning, I was reading in My Utmost for His Highest and a book by Max Lucado. Some of this is excerpted from that reading, but most is from my heart that I wanted to share:

"Joy means the perfect fulfilment of that for which I was created and regenerated, not the successful doing of a thing. I have to count my life precious only for the fulfilling of that ministry God has called me to. In order to receive my ministry from God, I have to know Jesus as more than a personal savior." I have to be in companionship with Him, I need to spend time getting to know Him and myself so I can discern His character in me and discern who He has made me to be. He has created me in a unique design. I am the only one He created in this specific way in this specific package. I am getting a revelation and better understanding that God creates each of us with a unique package of characteristics and traits and abilities and personality because He creates me to do something "no one else can do, in a fasion no one else can do it in." As I spend time exploring who He has made me to be and step into that design, holding my hands open, realizing it is Jesus' plan, God works through me to expand His kingdom. And isn't that what this life is about? Living in such a way that Jesus exudes from every part of my being and nothing satisfies like knowing I am right smack in the middle of being who HE designed me to be, because then He can have His will and operate through me to bring others to Himself. "If I be lifted up, I will draw all men to me." John 12:32 That takes a ton of pressure off because I just need to love on God and on people and walk in the design that He made and He will be lifted up. It is not about doing ministry, it is about being who He designed and called me to be. Wow, I just had a major aha moment. These past almost 3 years of sitting and knowing I needed to be still was about understanding this. I need to be who God designed me and while I am walking in that He is doing the "doing". Being still is about resting in and walking into the completeness of His design for me. Then it is not about acts of service or doing ministry which is how most of us operate. We believe God has called us to a ministry and we sometimes try to step into that in our own strength. Instead, if we became the fulfillment of His design in us, the "ministry" would just flow out of our very being. And thus, His kingdom expands without the heavy lifting, because now, it truly is His burden and He is carrying the load.