"You have one job!"
Recently I bought a wardrobe from IKEA, it was a long-awaited purchase and I am so unbelievably grateful to have a way to organize my things! If you've ever put something together from IKEA, you know what a struggle it can be. It took about 4 hours to get this thing together, which honestly isn't too bad, and we didn't have to back-track at all, which is practically miraculous. My amazing, incredible, awesome, lovely friend Charlotte came over to help me (did I mention that she's amazing?) and for the most part, things went without a hitch.
There was one situation where I was trying to put a screw in place and it simply wouldn't go. Tired, and borderline delirious, I resorted to addressing this inanimate object personally, saying something like, "Why won't you work? YOU HAVE ONE JOB! This is literally why you were created!" At this moment I was struck with a deep revelation. Yes, I know, strange timing, but Holy Spirit saw an opportunity, and took it. As soon as these words were out my mouth, I heard God say, "Haley, I could say the same thing about you. You have one job: to worship me. You were literally created for this reason."
Wow...I never thought a screw from IKEA could bring so much conviction. I knew God was right though. We as humans were literally created to glorify God, to worship Him, to praise Him, how much of our time is actually spent doing that? Have you guys seen the new feature on the iPhone that tells you how much you use your phone? It gives information like how many times you pick it up in a day and how many hours you spend total, all broken up by category and specific apps. You can see a complete break-down of all the time spent on your phone. What if we had this for our whole life? What if every second of every day was categorized and charted based on what we used our time for? More importantly, what would your biggest time commitments be? Would this hypothetical chart reflect your one true purpose? That's not exactly a fun thought, but it is a necessary one.
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I started reading a book written by Francis and Lisa Chan this week called, You and Me Forever.The book is written about marriage, but honestly, it's really about the most important relationship in our lives, our relationship with God. In the first few pages, Francis talks about how most everyone spends their life preparing for their last 10 years on earth, making sure they have what they need to be comfortable, when we should really spend our lives preparing for the first million years of eternity. These words really challenge me. I am actually living like this? Do I have my eyes fixed on eternity, or am I distracted by tomorrow? And what if I did live like this, how would my life be different? More importantly, what if everyone lived like this, how would the world be different?
There would be no fear of failure, because it only lasts for a second, and that's nothing when compared to forever. There would be complete freedom because our future is 100% secured and we have a room waiting for us in heaven. We wouldn't shy away from obeying God's voice, even when it's scary because we are rewarded for our obedience with a heavenly inheritance (1 Peter 1:4).
1 Peter 2:9 (emphasis added)
"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
Colossians 1:16 (emphasis added)
"For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him."
Isaiah 43:21 (emphasis added)
"The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise."
Whether we like it or not, we were created by God, for God, to glorify and praise God in everything that we are. It's tempting to have an earthly perspective of this truth; our flesh fights for the right to be our own. Deep in our hearts we desire to bring glory, honor, and praise to ourselves. But, that life leads to death. Have you tried living for your own glory? I have. It doesn't work. Why? Because I am not worthy to be worshipped, I am not worthy of praise, or honor, or adoration. God alone is worthy. When I try to put myself on the throne instead of Him, I become hopelessly disappointed, because I am a sorry substitute.
It's really easy to go through life and not think about why you're living or who you're living for. It's easy to get caught up in the day to day and forget that this right now, is a mist, a vapor. Here one second and gone the next. It's easy to forget that we are actually living for something far more precious than retirement. I'm so thankful for that little screw that malfunctioned, because it reminded me what I can look like when I take my eyes off of eternity, and I don't want to live like that.
So honestly, I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago (which isn't too abnormal for me). I'm a bit of a perfectionist with things like this, so oftentimes, I write 98% of a post and then save it away for a little while until I make myself finish it. Tonight, I decided it was time to do just that and as I read back over it, I felt challenged all of over again. It only took a couple of weeks for me to push this lesson to the back of my mind. The last week or so has been very difficult for me. I have encountered quite a bit of spiritual warfare and have felt so isolated. Don't get me wrong, there are many loving people around me, but I find myself focusing inward. As I was reading back through my own words, God was speaking to me all over again. It's so easy to forget these things, forget that God is worthy, forget that I am made to worship, forget that not fulfilling my purpose is what leaves me feeling empty. I'm so thankful that God always seems to find a way to remind me. When I am faithless, He is faithful (2 Timothy 2:13).