Is God’s purpose always clear to you? When it is clear, do you see it coming to fruition quickly?
God has a purpose
We as Christians talk a lot about God’s purpose and plan for our lives. We even encourage others, including unbelievers, that God has a purpose and plan for their lives. The scripture backs this up;
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 speaks of this beautifully, and so does Ephesians 2:10.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
God gradually clarifies His purpose
While God has a purpose in everything He creates, His purpose is not always clear to us! God spoke to various individuals through dreams, vision, and prophetic word. In the case of Abraham, God told him that he was going to have a child. It took 25 years before Abraham had his son Isaac. The Lord spoke to Abraham a few more times and finally just a year prior to him having a child. This last time, God was more specific. In the past, Sara tried to help God by asking Abraham to sleep with her concubine, but this time God specifically said that Sara was going to have this child.
Was having a child all of Abraham’s purpose in life? Of course not. For most people, having children is not an issue at all. They could have them in the first 5 years of marriage and go on to raise their children and venture into other things for decades to come. For Abraham, having his son Isaac wasn’t the end of the story. Having a son was the seed that through it, all the other promises that God had given him were going to be fulfilled.
God uses our attention to shape us during this time
God promised Abraham that he was going to be a great nation. How could God make Abraham a great nation, if Abraham couldn’t even have one child? While Abraham and Sara’s purpose may have looked like it was dormant, God was still working on both of them; shaping them, and building their faith. There was a bigger test down the road! God in time will ask Abraham to sacrifice His only son!!
God’s purpose takes years to be fulfilled
As we look at the scripture, we see that God promises Isaac to increase his descendants (Genesis 26:23-25). The scripture tells us that Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebecca and he was 60 when he only had Esau and Jacob. We also see God promises Jacob that a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from him (Genesis 35:9-15). Jacob had 12 children. In a time span of about 100-120 years, the descendants of Abraham are one son, two grandchildren, and 12 great grand children. While that makes a nice size family, it is not anywhere close to being considered a great nation!
God uniquely used various Biblical leaders, prophets, kings, and ordinary people to fulfill His purpose on the earth. We also observe that God worked in each life and each situation differently than in others.
Through the cross, God fulfilled His ultimate purpose to bring us to glory through His son Jesus. This opened the door for fellowship and intimacy with a holy God, and enabling us to fulfill God’s purpose under His leadership.
Do you have some outrageous things promised to you by God that you have no idea how God is going to fulfill them in your life? Well, you’re not alone! We will continue with this subject in the next devotional, but for now you can study a Biblical Character and see how long it took for God to truly fulfill His promise in this individual’s life. What was this person doing in the meantime?