The story is told of a man who dreamed that a man of wondrous beauty and noble bearing approached him. He exuded friendliness, goodness and purity. With admiration and envy, he asked who the stranger was and the answer came:
“This is the man God intended you to be, but you refused”
It was, of course, only a dream, but it holds a valid question.
Are we “the person God intended us to be” or are we refusing to allow Him to mould us into that person?
God has a plan and purpose for our lives, but do we cooperate with Him and allow Him to fulfil that purpose?
What is God’s purpose?
Ephesians 4:13
Till we all come . . . to a perfect man,
to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ
(or as the Amplified Bible puts it)
to really mature manhood, the completeness of personality which is NOTHING LESS
THAN THE STANDARD HEIGHT OF CHRIST’S OWN PERFECTION.
* CHRISTLIKENESS! *
What would happen if we said – and truly meant:
“Lord, work Your perfect will in me”?
What holds us back? Are we afraid of the change?
Are we afraid of having to give things up;
afraid of losing our self-indulgence;
afraid of having our comfort zone disturbed?
Is there any way we could be the loser? Certainly not!
God wants only the very best for us. We CANNOT lose!
Let us consider the words of David as recorded in Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my thoughts; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
I wonder if David was thinking back to the time when he was brought before Samuel and was anointed by him. I wonder if he was remembering the words spoken by the Lord to Samuel about the person he should anoint: “The Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” 1 Samuel 16:7
As the Lord looks on our heart today, I wonder what He sees?
Do we dare to pray . . .
SEARCH me . . .
KNOW me . . .
TRY me . . .
LEAD me . . .
I want to be the person YOU want me to be.
Martha Snell Nicholson expressed it well in her poem “His Plan For Me”
When I stand at the judgement seat of Christ
And He shows me His plan for me:
The plan of my life as it might have been
Had He had His way. And I see
How I blocked Him here, and checked Him there,
And I would not yield my will . . .
Will there be grief in my Saviour’s eyes,
Grief, though He loves me still?
He would have me rich, and I stand there poor,
Stripped of all but His grace,
While memory runs like a hunted thing
Down the paths I cannot retrace.
The my desolate heart will well-nigh break
With the tears that I cannot shed.
I shall cover my face with my empty hands;
I shall bow my uncrowned head.
LORD OF THE YEARS THAT ARE LEFT TO ME,
I GIVE THEM TO THY HAND.
TAKE ME AND BREAK ME, AND MOULD ME
TO THE PATTERN THOUGH HAST PLANNED!
A word from Mr Anon:
When you turn your back on God’s will, you are facing the devil.
Reblogged this on My Delight and My Counsellors.
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Thanks for another reblog.
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Reblogged this on Anna Writes, and Writes….
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Thank you Anna.
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You Betcha! ;-)
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Do we want to be the best person that we possibly can be? If the Lord moulds us as He desires, we will be the absoulte best person we can possibly be! What a blessingit is to know we are in the center of His will doing exactly as He desires and knowing that we are being used to the greatest extent possible. Lord bless.
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Rob, it is so easy to SAY we want to be the very person God wants us to be, but I know I miss out on too many opportunities He offers. I desire to follow Him exactly but I sometimes tend get in His way. That is why the last verse of Martha Snell Nicholson’s poem has become my daily prayer.
Yes I agree. It is always such a blessing to know we are in the very centre of His will, doing exactly as He directs, experiencing His undertaking and empowering and achieving His purpose. What a privilege!
What an incredibly amazing God!
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Wow, mentor Angela .. .you gave us a good word in this , for sure. Praying for this ,in faith that He will be with me through all that He brings about. God bless you and your heart for Him, that just never stops putting Him first! love and prayers!
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Debbie, one thing of which we can be certain is that He WILL be with us (IS with us) – and more than that, when He calls us to do something, He also enables and empowers us to do it. We need to be in constant communication so we don’t miss out on the opportunities He gives.
Love and prayers to you and yours
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So true! We have to let God mold us into who He wants us to be. I heard a story once of a man who was a pastor of a church. While teaching at the church one night, a man in the front row was crying non-stop. Shortly after the service was over the man approached the pastor and showed him a picture which he had drawn several years ago. The picture was the exact replica of the church bulding they had built just that past year. The pastor was astonished! Then the man proclaimed to the pastor that the Lord had asked him to pastor that church a long time ago and even gave him a vision of the building before it had been built. But he shamfully refused the Lord because it was too hard. So God used someone else who was willing. Powerful! God will use those with willing hearts and those of us who are unwilling, he will pass our great task on to others.
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Thank you for adding that illustration. I am sure we have all missed opportunities: we have all ignored or made excuses or refused when the Lord has called us to a specific task. What could have happened if I had spoken the words He prompted to that person in need? Most likely someone else received the blessing of obeying His voice.
We are one day closer to the time that opportunities have run out for those who do not know our amazing God.
In the words of Martha Snell Nicholson
Lord of the years that are left to me,
I give them to Thy hand.
Take me and break me and mould me
To the pattern Thou hast planned!
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So true! And great quote from Marttha S. Nicholson.
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These are powerful thoughts Angela. I have been meditating on the parable of the ten virgins in Ma 25. When Jesus comes I don’ t want to be found unprepared with nothing to offer the Lover of My Soul.
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I really believe that time is running out. I know nothing can rob us of our life in Christ, but the thought of not being the person He intended me to be is very real and challenging. I want to be what He wants me to be and to lay my crowns at His feet, because it is ALL His work!
What an incredibly amazing God!
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