His purpose through my life

In 44 days I will be a hostel mom. 44 days. Should I panic? Maybe so, but I am not. Though I am sure that there will be brief (hopefully) episodes of mild (hopefully) panic once January 14, 2013 has come and gone. As a kid, teen, young adult, and young wife and mother, if you would have ever tried to convince me that this hostel mom thing was God's purpose for my life I not only would (loudly) laughed in your face, but also quite adamantly told you how wrong and unintelligent (yeah, would have chosen less friendly words for that, but I am trying here *wink*) you were as well. Isn't it something how God knows us better than we know ourselves?

(Are you are clueless? This may help you make sense of things.)

Quite often (especially before joining Wycliffe and having the "real" job title of missionary) I have struggled with what my role in this place, this world, is supposed to be. I went to college some, but never decided on what I wanted to do. I worked some, but it was just a way to make a buck for the family. There are only a select few places in my entire adult life where I am / have been completely certain of what my role is. I could list them, and suppose I will... follower of Jesus, daughter, wife, mom. See, I have never had an amazing story to tell. No lives to save. No great miraculous work to complete. You know it? I was just me. Sara Driggers, wife and mom. Nobody special. Just living and serving Him through my man and my baby girls.

Then, in short, God drove us crazy about impacting lives for eternity; we invested our lives, futures and the futures of our daughters into God's great work of Bible translation; and moved to tropical paradise in the middle of the jungles of Papua New Guinea. Then what?

Well, then I was missionary wife and mom.

Impacting lives for eternity, but still sorta just doing it from a distance. Let me help you with something. In case you don't realize. Most of these missionaries (ha, I am now one one them! better reword that...). Most missionaries supporting the work of Bible translation are brilliant. Doctors (doctors who can treat crazy tropical "things" with very limited resources!), pilots (who can land planes on the tips of mountain ranges!), teachers, managers... and then they all seem to be Bible scholars to boot. And here I am. Mom. Woops, scratch that I am now... Missionary mom. Not so brilliant. Not so scholarly. Just missionary mom.

Then, God did it.

He opened my eyes to His purpose. To why I am just mom. To why I grew up an MK (missionary kid). To why I lived in a hostel as a teen. (And those are just the obvious tips to the iceberg.) 

"I make known the end from the beginning,
    from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, 'My purpose will stand,
    and I will do all that I please.' " 
Isaiah 46:10 NIV

44 days. I am ready. Ready to serve His purpose through my life. More ready for this than any other thing, because I can see how He has been working on me ~my entire life~ to culminate to this exact place. His grace was not in vain!

"By The Grace Of God I Am What I Am"
November 30
My Utmost For His Highest
Oswald Chambers

"His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:10


"The way we continually talk about our own inability is an insult to the Creator. The deploring of our own incompetence is a slander against God for having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining in the sight of God the things that sound humble before men, and you will be amazed at how staggeringly impertinence they are. "Oh, I shouldn't like to say I am sanctified; I'm not a saint." Say that before God; and it means - "No, Lord, it is impossible for You to save and sanctify me; there are chances I have not had; so many imperfections in my brain and body; no, Lord, it isn't possible." That may sound wonderfully humble before me, but before God it is an attitude of defiance.

Again, the things that sound humble before God may sound the opposite before men. To say Thank God, I know I am saved and sanctified is in the sight of God the acme of humility, it means you have so completely abandoned yourself to God that you now He is true. Never bother your head as to whether what you say sounds humble before me or not, but always be humble before God, and let Him be all in all.

There is only one relationship that matters, and that is your personal relationship to a personal Redeemer and Lord. Let everything else go, but maintain that at all costs, and God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God's purposes, and yours may be that life."

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