Let Jesus into Your Boat
When we look at other people who are excelling, we sometimes think, “Wow! God has given them so many gifts and has such a great purpose for their lives. What happened to me?” We’re so focused on our job, raising our family, and paying the bills that all we see and feel is ordinary. We can’t see God’s purpose in our lives. But just because we aren’t seeing or feeling it doesn’t mean it’s not there.
Today I want you to lift your eyes above your circumstances and realize that God has great purpose for your life. Your life holds meaning and the potential to make the world a better place. God has marked you to have an influence on the people around you. If you’re being the best you can be, using your gifts and talents and mixing them with faith, you’re enriching your world and making an eternal difference. Your life matters.
Too often we fail to recognize and appreciate the gifts and talents that God has given us. But the apostle Paul says that when Jesus ascended to heaven, “He gave gifts to men” (Ephesians 4:8). We don’t all have the same gifts, but we all have gifts to be used for God’s purpose through our lives. We have to recognize our gifts, learn how to use and walk in those gifts, appreciate our gifts and not compare them to others.
How do you discover your purpose? Look up and invite Jesus into every area of your life. Let Him into your boat, so to speak, as Peter did in Luke 5, and you’ll never be the same. Peter was a fisherman, and he and his crew were washing their nets when he looked up and saw Jesus step into one of his two boats. Jesus asked Peter to put out a little distance from shore so He could preach from the boat to the large crowd gathered on the beach. That boat represented Peter’s vocation and livelihood. He could have said, “Sorry, but we’re not finished working here.” But Peter let Jesus use his boat that day for His purpose, and by the end of the day, Peter went from fishing for fish to becoming a fisher of men. It became his destiny and passion! Having Jesus in his boat changed Peter into a fisher of men.
God wants in your boat! He wants in your workplace, in the middle of changing diapers, in the middle of your family! He wants to get into your boat, into your life, and use your gifts and set your life purpose on Him.
Today I want you to lift your eyes above your circumstances and realize that God has great purpose for your life. Your life holds meaning and the potential to make the world a better place. God has marked you to have an influence on the people around you. If you’re being the best you can be, using your gifts and talents and mixing them with faith, you’re enriching your world and making an eternal difference. Your life matters.
Too often we fail to recognize and appreciate the gifts and talents that God has given us. But the apostle Paul says that when Jesus ascended to heaven, “He gave gifts to men” (Ephesians 4:8). We don’t all have the same gifts, but we all have gifts to be used for God’s purpose through our lives. We have to recognize our gifts, learn how to use and walk in those gifts, appreciate our gifts and not compare them to others.
How do you discover your purpose? Look up and invite Jesus into every area of your life. Let Him into your boat, so to speak, as Peter did in Luke 5, and you’ll never be the same. Peter was a fisherman, and he and his crew were washing their nets when he looked up and saw Jesus step into one of his two boats. Jesus asked Peter to put out a little distance from shore so He could preach from the boat to the large crowd gathered on the beach. That boat represented Peter’s vocation and livelihood. He could have said, “Sorry, but we’re not finished working here.” But Peter let Jesus use his boat that day for His purpose, and by the end of the day, Peter went from fishing for fish to becoming a fisher of men. It became his destiny and passion! Having Jesus in his boat changed Peter into a fisher of men.
God wants in your boat! He wants in your workplace, in the middle of changing diapers, in the middle of your family! He wants to get into your boat, into your life, and use your gifts and set your life purpose on Him.