A Life Entwined with Purpose

God's purpose for you is the reason you're alive.

Such a simple statement, yet one that literally turned my day around. After spending the first few hours of my day gardening with my brother for our grandma and lounging around for a bit, my family and I went to the mall for a couple of hours. The last store we visited was one called Fireworks, a quirky little shop with all sorts of gadgets and goodies and other random things. Having barely stepped into the store I noticed a book titled, What You Need to Know Going into College. So, being a college student myself, I had to pick it up to see what it had to say (even though I'm already halfway through college--there's always room to learn, right?!). It offered a lot of advice from how to deal with your parents to how to live on your own to how to be financially responsible. To my surprise it included a small section entitled, "You Need to Know Not to Leave Your Faith at Home" and these were some of the tips I came across in the pages that followed:

944. You need to know to let go of your preconceptions about how things will work out. God has a plan too.

955. You need to know to volunteer a couple of hours a week. At a homeless shelter or a soup kitchen. It will take your mind off you.

957. You need to know to be open to a real encounter with God.

958. You need to know it takes spiritual strength to face adversity. Going to church on a regular basis helps.

966. You need to know to pursue more than a degree. Pursue a purpose.

It was the last one I stumbled upon that really made an impact on me. In a list of one thousand things you need to know before you go into college, it was number nine-hundred and sixty-seven:

You need to know God's purpose for you is the reason you're alive.

Tell me this doesn't give you an incredible amount of hope and purpose. Really think about it.

This summer hasn't been an easy one for me--in fact, it's been one of the craziest summers I've ever had. I got back from South Africa on May 14th then spent a month at home before my mom got married on June 15th. After that I spent roughly six weeks at my university running an English-intensive, American-experience program for 26 international students from Taiwan and Brazil. Once that was over I spent a week and a half traveling around Southern California visiting friends and family I don't get to see very often and now I find myself on a two-week vacation (if I can even call it that; hasn't this entire year been vacation?) in the Pacific Northwest visiting even more family before the craziness of my junior year begins.

Up until recently, whenever I was asked about how I felt about going into my junior year of college, all I could muster up for an answer was, "Ehhh... I guess I'm excited." Feeling like I had no purpose and was even going through a sort of mid-college crisis (if such a thing exists), I couldn't say I was excited for the year to come. And then God began to work on my heart. And then I stumbled upon an encouraging piece of wisdom that I apparently "needed to know" as a university student: that God's purpose for me is the reason I'm alive. That God's purpose for you is the reason you're alive. That God's purpose for us is the reason we're alive.

You see, it doesn't matter whether or not we feel like we have purpose or not--the truth of the matter is, we do. We do have purpose. Emotions are fleeting and always changing and cannot tell us otherwise. No thing or human being can tell us otherwise. We have purpose. It is God-given and bestowed upon us the moment we enter this world.

I challenge you to dwell on that for a while. See what it is God may be speaking to you about.

He's always speaking.
We're just not always quiet enough to hear what it is He's saying.

Chaos

Having been in Africa for almost two weeks now, I have had a lot on my mind these days. I feel like my worldview has expanded--become much more of a worldview, both literally and in the abstract sense--and I am very grateful for it.

Recently I have been reminded of the brokenness of this world, the struggles we go through as human beings, and the sense of hopelessness that we could easily feel if we try to take it all on by ourselves.

I have been reminded of the need for money, but more importantly, the need for God--Jehovah Jireh, the One who provides and "owns the cattle on a thousand hills." (Psalm 50:10)

I have been made more aware of the significance of social media in this generation; and although we can try to "get away from it all", in many ways, we cannot. It is something that will not go away and we will have to learn how to best deal with it and use it in a way that is beneficial.

I have been made more aware of the negative effect your emotions can have on you--and that you should not be ruled by them for they can be extremely misleading. For example, you may feel alone, but are you really alone?

There's plenty more that has been going through my mind over these last couple of weeks; it would be impossible for me to put it it all into words. The good thing is that I do not have to. God knows it all and is in control of all things. He will reveal to me what needs to be revealed, let me wrestle through what I need to wrestle with, and lead me to the people and experiences that He wants to use to shape me into the man He wants me to be.

Whatever you may be going through, be encouraged. Remember that there is a big world out there, and that in light of God and eternity, there are a lot of things that may not matter after all. Of course, there is a balance to this as there is with anything. God does care about the little things. But beyond that, He wants the best for you. Trust that that is true, because it is.

He has overcome.

Through Him, we have overcome.

We. Can. Overcome.

Talk About Crazy.

I'm not going to lie to you. This semester, especially in this present moment, is becoming extremely overwhelming. Being behind in my schoolwork, missing home, feeling like I didn't adequately transition from summer into sophomore year... not sure I planned this out very well. Maybe I should've taken that last week of camp off and given myself time to be with family and relax before the madness of school began. Either way, I'm here now, barely past mid-semester and I've got to find some way to cope. I can either be down about it and rough through it or make the most of it and rough through it. Seems like the latter is the better choice cut out for me.

The more life I've been through, the more I feel like I've reached the end of my rope and arrived at a place where I cannot go any further without God. Here I am again, in that same moment. Needing God, needing rest, needing peace.

The enemy likes to take anything that's good and warp it into something twisted and wicked. Being future-minded can easily cause us to be less-than-present and miss out on the opportunities before us. Being an extrovert can easily lead us into getting so caught up in social life that one gets burnt out, or in my case, leave you feeling like you've got less of those "deep and meaningful friendships" that you'd hoped for. There's a shadow side to every "strength" (APU loves talking about the Strengths-Finder Test, as do I; ask anyone who goes here about the former), a snare that awaits us in each good thing if we're not careful. I'm not telling you this to make you paranoid; I'm telling you this to make you aware. There's no need to worry about it; just be knowledgable so you can avoid any traps or pitfalls that you may easily fall into.

There's a song by Tenth Avenue North titled "Don't Stop the Madness" that fits my life pretty well at the moment. Although it portrays a prayer that typically does not get prayed, it's one that I'm striving to live by, one that gives me hope that God will use the madness and the chaos in my life for something good. The lyrics read:

There’s a beggar down inside of me
Standing on the corner of your street
And my shame is my only company
Could use some cash but can’t admit my need
For what You got and what I could receive
I need Your love to come and break the silence

Don’t stop the madness
Don’t stop the chaos
Don’t stop the pain surrounding me
Don’t be afraid, Lord, to break my heart
Just bring me down to my knees, yeah

But all I hear is what they’re selling meThat God is love, He isn’t suffering
And what you need’s a little faith in prosperity
But oh, my God, I know there’s more than this
If You promise pain, it can’t be meaningless
So make me poor if that’s the price for freedom

Don’t stop the madnessDon’t stop the chaos
Don’t stop the pain surrounding me
Don’t be afraid, Lord, to break my heart
If it bring me down to my knees, yeah

In a marriage lostAnd the cry in the dark
Don’t stop with Your love
In a mother’s tear
For the child who starves
Don’t stop with Your love
When we’re breaking down
We’re falling apart
Don’t stop with Your love
And with new eyes to see
This is Your mercy
Don’t stop with Your love

Don’t stop the madnessDon’t stop the chaos
Don’t stop the pain inside of me
Do whatever it takes to give me Your heart
And bring me down to my knees, Lord
Don’t stop, don’t stop
Just bring me down to my knees, Lord

And that's the prayer I want to pray on a daily basis. Don't stop the madness, Lord. Bring me to my knees, for in light of You... I can do all things and live life abundantly.