Come As You Are
Have you ever wondered what you true purpose in life is? Have you had the feeling that there has to be more to life than the mundane, and somehow you were meant to achieve great things? Make big impacts? Maybe just change the world while you’re at it? Well, you’re not alone. I can confirm that I’ve been having those thoughts as well, over the past few years and increasingly as time has passed.
There was a time when I would have laughed at somebody who said something like this. How dare they think they were better than the rest of us! I suppose I’ve done the full 180 and I’m on the other side now, the ‘I think I’m special side’, lol.
Anyway, while praying a couple of days ago, I got the word ‘Esther’, and it hit me like a train! The relevance to my current situation and the events that had been unfurling recently was unmistakable. I knew I had to go through the story to refresh my memory. So I went to my favourite place where Bible stuff gets explained sooooo well! The Bible Project. If you haven’t heard of them yet, you need them in your life!
So basically,
- Esther was part of the minority,
- Esther was not perfect,
- Esther had a scary situation at hand,
- Esther had to compete against others,
- Esther took good advice and was successful,
- Esther changed the lives of thousands.
It’s unmistakable. She was at the right place at the right time, and she trusted that God would do His part if she did hers. Her part was to trust. Trust God’s providence even when she couldn’t see it working.
That’s a really, really hard thing to do if we don’t know without a shadow of a doubt that the giver of life, the God of the universe cares about every minute detail of our lives. I’m reminded of the movie Bruce Almighty where Bruce gets to play God and take on all His duties, and realises it’s an impossible job for anyone except God. That scene where he has to answer prayers really puts things into perspective. It’s inconceivable to our human minds that God can take note of everything about everyone, everywhere in the world and still have time for other things. But that’s the exact reason why we call Him awesome, miraculous, breathtaking and so much more!
It’s actually comforting to know that Esther’s life was not perfect. Such a relief! I was telling my friend the other day about how almost annoying it is to be around people who are constantly hiding behind the ‘perfect human’ mask, but then again, we all do from time to time. What’s even more reassuring is that God can achieve His purposes through any kind of person.
Just Be You
Come as you are, don’t change a thing
Open your heart, he’ll walk right in
Come as you are, no alibis
His love for you, will never die.
These are the lyrics of one of my favourite songs from way back in 2000 called ‘Come As You Are’ by Jaci Velasquez. So meaningful and melodious!
All I have to be is me – the real me, not the ‘made-up me’, not the ‘trying too hard me’, and God will bring to life the purposes and plans He spoke over my life before the idea of me even came into existence, which will explain why I’ve begun to feel I was meant for something greater, which in turn will propel me into being at the right place at the right time to make a difference I couldn’t have made on my own.
I believe we are all special, but what makes a person exceptional is the discovery of their purpose in life.
In the end, it’s a really incredible feeling to look back and see how the pieces have fit together and how the puzzle is progressing. It’s in that moment that it all becomes clear – #TrustGodBro 😄 no but seriously, TRUST GOD!
Since this blog post has turned into a music special, I’m going to leave you with another one of my favourites by the amazing Kirk Franklin:
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