“What is my life purpose?” you may ask. You may even believe you have discovered it. But many of those with illness find it is different than they ever imagined.
“The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, ‘Return home and tell how much God has done for you.’ So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.” (Luke 8:38-39)
I hear from so many of you here at Rest Ministries who tell me the many ways you long to minister to others. Some of you are still able to occasionally travel on mission trips, but there are also many who are no longer able to do so, due to the limitations of your illness, such as traveling, risk of infection, not being near medical care, food allergies, etc. It leaves you asking, ”
What is my life purpose, Lord?”
Illness can give us such a new and interesting kind of spiritual wisdom and we so desire to go and use this for God’s glory. It can be a natural feeling to want to offer compassion to people who are hurting, to bring comfort to those who are lonely, to provide practical things to those without, even to offer medical care of some kind if you are educated in this respect. But, what happens when God says, “No. Despite your desire to serve Me in this way, here is what I want you to do for Me”?
When I read the story of this healing recently in the Gospel of Luke, I could feel the man’s desire to be by Jesus’ side, to serve Him night and day, to seek ways to make His travel more comfortable, and to even offer his own testimony to doubters about what the Lord could do. And yet, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” (Proverbs 19:21)
I wondered, why did Jesus think this man’s testimony was worth more significance among those he knew; perhaps because they did know he really was possessed and now he was not? Why did Jesus think the man was better off with his loved ones for the strengthening of his faith, than with Jesus’ own disciples? Why did Jesus dismiss the man’s offer and tell him to do something else instead, when he was fully willing to dedicate his life to Jesus, just as Jesus asked His disciples to do?
The fact is, we will never know the precise reason, and it is likely the man did not know it either. But when Jesus told him no, he wasn’t coming, but to go home and tell others what had happened, what did he do? Did he throw himself at Jesus’ feet and beg Him to reconsider? Did he complain and say, “I want to serve You, Lord, and if I can’t follow my calling and dreams, than I am not going to do anything for you!”? Did he weep and get depressed that now he was healed but didn’t get to serve God in the way he wanted. How abut stomp his sandal in the dust and say, “That’s not fair!”
No. He did exactly as Jesus told him to do: “So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.”
Prayer: I know sometimes I feel like I have a certain purpose or calling, but then things don’t fall into place and for some reason You don’t work out the details. It leaves me questioning what is my life purpose. Help me keep my focus on You, not what I can do for You, so that I don’t miss out on the specific plans you have for my life. Amen.
About the author:
Lisa is the founder Rest Ministries which serves the chronically ill on their journey with illness and pain, including daily devotionals. Rest Ministries also sponsors National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week. She is a speaker and the author of various books on chronic illness including Why Can’t I Make People Understand and Beyond Casseroles: 505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend She has lived with rheumatoid arthritis for nearly 20 years and resides in California with her husband and 9-year-old son.
You can now read this on your Kindle. Find out more at http://TodaysDevotionOnKindle.com
Have you ever felt called to serve Jesus in a certain way and felt the pieces didn’t fall into place? Did God say, “Thanks, but no. Here is what I want you to do. . . “? How has God answered you when you asked, “What is my life purpose while coping with this illness?”
Oh Lisa, touching a raw nerve tonight! I had a BIG howl over “losing a purpose” last night!
Without going into it, suffice to say that it’s my life’s “big purpose” that I’ve had to let go for myself & I’ve been grieving it in stages. Last night was another big stage! I am thankful that I’ve been the one to springboard others into that direction, but it still hurts. A team left this morning for a mission trip from my church & where they have gone is where my heart is. I truly am praising God that they will fulfill great things while away that would never have happened without the seeds & prompting that the Lord gave me to inspire them. Meanwhile I’m “licking my wounds” & learning to “let go & let God”…….again!
I had never read that verse like that before, but it really helps me today. I know that we all have stories like that & I feel for anyone else going through that now. Thanks again Lisa! Lotsoluv Kerryn
I am always blessed whenever I read one of your devotions, so thank you much. As Kerryn described, it can be so difficult to grieve the passing of the “me” I once knew; I struggle daily with trying to find God’s purpose for me [now], as well as strive to remember how it feels to have a passion about something… ANYTHING.
I, too, had never considered that verse the way you explained it, but it is a perspective that makes so much sense now. Although, I think it was your prayer that spoke to me most: “Help me keep my focus ON You, ‘not what I can do for You’, so that I don’t miss out on the specific plans you have for my life. Amen.”
Amen 🙂 And God bless you as you continue to minister to so many, Lisa!
Hope you’re feeling more ok than not on these hot summer days!
Debi
My goodness Lisa, the timing and your words are extraordinary.
Tears are rolling down, as I pause from packing to leave Ethiopia in 2 days’ time to read this.
It’s so hard to let go of our own plans, even when we know God has better – but as yet unknown – ones in store for us. Thank you so much for this poignant reminder.
Thoughts and prayers are with you too, Kerryn – think I can imagine some of what you’re going through! I’m encouraged to read the impact you’ve had on others to share your passion.
I so relate. But I’m far enough out to see some of the “why” behind it now, and it helps to marvel at the wisdom of God… That wouldn’t have helped back in 1994, when my health was falling apart and I left medical school. It certainly wasn’t “good enough” for my parents. God used my desire to be a healer to put me first in the college from which I graduated and then the medical school in the city where I am now. I would never have been just where I need to be had I not followed His call, nor would I have had access to the resources I have here both in dealing with my own illnesses and my son’s PDD/ADHD.
I didn’t know then that He was setting me up to work in medical transcription, an industry where I could hold a full time job from home. I didn’t know He was going to call me to be the mother of a special needs child. I didn’t know He was going to plant me in a church where I could still sing as a tenor after allergies damaged my voice and cost me my entire upper singing range. (I sing second tenor, even.)
He used the call to a college far from home to get my parents to let go. He used the call to a medical school in that same state to stop them from forcing me to move with them. And when it was His time, He called me out of medical school. All I had to do was obey, which is what I have sought to do with my whole heart. No, it isn’t easy. Obedience rarely is. But the blessings outweigh the hardships by far, especially when I have my son in my arms. I regularly tell him that he makes all I do worthwhile, and I often call him my “angel-boy”, not because of any way he acts but because he is God’s messenger to me to tell me He loves me.
So now I trust even more… through pain and hardship and job changes and lower pay and student loans I can’t afford to repay on graduate schooling that didn’t result in a degree. God is faithful. I can’t see where He is leading. Maybe that’s because He knows I can’t handle it. One of my favorite verses is “Each day has enough trouble of its own.” It’s from the Sermon on the Mount. He knows the way… I just need to trust Him enough to follow where He leads.
Dear Sharon,
I’m a fellow mother dealing with an illness who also has a son with special needs (ADHD and mental illness). Like you, I’ve learned so much about God’s love for me though experiences with my son. Many of us don’t know what the future holds, but we know Who holds the future. Trusting our faithful, loving Father truly gets easier the more we see Him work in our lives!