What are you doing here?

Scriptures: The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:4-5)

Many years ago, an old retired pastor came to our church to preach a message. In his sermon, he shared with us one event from his past. He said, one time, he had to go to another town for a revival meeting. Because of the distance, he decided to get there one day earlier.

During that time, Taiwan was still under martial law and curfew was strictly observed. As a result, in the middle of night, the police came checking the guests in the hotel. This pastor was awakened at midnight and was informed that the police was there to check their identification. So, he took out his ID for verification.

Having received from him his ID, the policeman asked him, “Where did you come from?” This pastor answered the policeman with the name of his hometown. Then the policeman asked him, “What are you doing here?” The pastor said, “I am a pastor. I am here for a revival meeting.” Then the policeman asked him, “Where will you be going after you are done with the revival meeting?” He replied, “I will go home.”

This old pastor, at the time of preaching this message was probably in his late 80’s, then said, “For us Christians, we have these three questions to answer, too. We all know the answer to the first question: We were created by God. We all know the answer to the last question: One day we will all go back to the home our Lord has prepared for us.”

Then he paused and said, “Dear brothers and sisters, but do we have the answer to the second question? What are you doing here? What are you doing here today in this service? What are you doing here in this stage in life? What are you doing here in life?”

That day, on my way home, his question and challenges stuck in my mind. Even up till today, I can still remember vividly the way he raised the questions, with his body leaning forward, his face glowing with passion, and his voice pleading, as though we were resisting those challenges. It was the first time in my life that I realized that God did not intend for my life to be meaningless. God did not intend for me to go through life for living’s sake. There’s a purpose in my life and this changed my view of life. No, it changed my life!

I began to think, if there’s a purpose in life, then every part of this life should also be meaningful for life does not stand alone. It’s a composition of all parts and facets in life. For life to be meaningful, every part and facet must have played a role in its contribution to the totality of meaning in life.

If so, then what is it that He has in mind for me in life? All of a sudden, I realized that I knew so little about my life, especially in terms of God’s perspective. This started my pursuit of knowing God through His Word, Bible. This started my thoughts and meditation on the plan and the will of God in every phase of my life. The more I do this, the more I am convinced that nothing in life is accidental. What Paul said in Romans 8:28, “..in all things god works for the good of those who love Him…” now makes all the sense in my life.

Beloved brothers and sisters, what are we doing here? In this stage in life? In Avery? Just for this job? Or, is there something greater than the job here waiting for you and me to do? How about our family? Our church? Our community? Our dilemma financially, emotionally, and others?

God has obviously put us in many settings. Our challenge is, what’s our answer going to be for this question. May our Lord and His Spirit grant us the understanding and resolution to accomplish what He has in mind for us!

Prayer Request:
For those who find themselves trapped, by any definition of trap

Prayers:
Our loving Father, please help us to be reminded that You have not only power over our lives, but also wonderful plans for our lives that are beyond our understanding. Please help us not to be swayed by the changing circumstances, but be steadfast in Your teachings and guidance for we pray in the name of our Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ, A-men!