God has a reason for everything and everyone in this world. His purpose took into account every humanly sin. So if God created us all for a specific purpose, are we allowing his purpose to be the driving force in our lives? In The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren talks about some common forces that drive our lives: guilt, resentment, anger, materialism, & approval.
Guilt
I will be the first to admit that I have allowed all 5 of these to drive my life. Guilt is something Satan uses to convince us that we do not deserve Christ’s forgiveness, that we are unworthy. Guess what, we are unworthy! Romans 3:23- For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. “Yeah Satan, guess what… You are right! I am not worthy. But you know what… Jesus died so that my sins could be forgiven! YES ALL MY SINS. All I have to do is believe in Him!”
Romans 5:8-9: But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! Ephesians 2:8: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
Next time you are feeling guilty, you can look Satan straight in the face and say: “I am no longer a prisoner of sin. My sin has not only been forgiven, but it has been forgotten!” (Heb. 8:12)
Resentment
Wow, this is some good stuff; when I repent for the ways of my past, I have a fresh start! Think about how many people have hurt you in the past, now times that by 1000000000000000000000000000 (I think the zero’s behind that are never ending), that is how many times a day an earthly sin is committed. God is willing to forgive & forget that many each day! How is it that I struggle to forgive only one or two people for such small things? This is what I think we have all been guilty of saying to God: “God please forgive me for A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I…..&Z! Thank you for showing me your mercy. OMG, can you believe what Sally said?! I will never speak to her again.”
Matthew 6:14-15: For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
*Resentment always hurts you more than it does the person you resent!- Rick Warren*
If I have resentment building up inside of me, I will never be able to grow, much less forgive. No matter what someone has done to hurt me, I need to forgive them and let it go. That person can no longer hurt me if I chose to let it go!
Materialism & Approval
I think it is safe to say that we all have a list of “things” we would like to have. Not going to lie, my closet is a testimony to this, but at the end of the day, nothing in my closet can comfort me. I think we would have a much bigger issue to discuss if I was running into my closet embracing my clothes/shoes/bags and asking those items to make my pain go away. No, that is crazy. So why do so many people think the answer to their problems can be fixed with a “magic credit card?” (Well until the bill comes) HAVING MORE DOES NOT MAKE ME MORE IMPORTANT! As Christians, we need to remind ourselves (daily, maybe hourly): “My self worth and security is in Christ Jesus. All my possessions can be taken from me, but my relationship with Christ cannot ever be stolen!”
Ecclesiastes 5:10 - “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income”
Luke 16:13- No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
In the verses above, you can replace the word money with anything other than God. This includes friendships, relationships, work… anything. Even if I the world’s greatest job, perfect relationship, and an endless number of friends, I would still want more! Only Jesus can satisfy me J
*If your goal is to become rich, you will never find it!” –John Rockefeller
Today’s Challenge:
List “driving forces” in your life; who are you seeking approval from? Ask God to reveal the areas driving your life and ask him to take control!
I admit that there are some “driving forces” in my own life that I need to eliminate. One major force in my life is approval. I long to feel accepted by others and often go out of my way to make sure I receive their acceptance. Through this study, I have realized that it is impossible to please everyone and that if I try, I will fail. God is the only one I need to please, and in doing so I will no longer chase approval of others.
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