Psalm 57:2 - June 20, 2009

Ps 57:2 I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills [his purpose] for me." NIV

The simple message of this passage from Psalm 57 is clear; “God has a purpose for you!”
So many people live their entire lives either willfully or ignorantly separated from the God ordained purpose that was intended for their lives. God is a builder! Jesus said in Mt. 16:18, “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” Jesus is at work with both a clear mission and a clear passion. He is at work in the earth to build His church as the agent that will overthrow all of the power of the kingdom of darkness so that all those who would be saved can be saved! He is building with purpose and His building material is you!
In 1 Peter 2:4-5 the apostle Peter writes, “As you come to him, the living Stone-rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him- 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Every believer has a destiny. It is to be a part of the church that God is building. Each one of us was created to make a contribution to the building of Christ’s church through stirring up the gifts and talents that God has invested in each one of us. The means Christ has chosen to build this triumphant church in the earth is to captivate, motivate and activate each one of His children to discover and fulfill the purpose He has created them for. His desire is to captivate us with a burning love for the living God, motivate us with a vision of His purposes in the earth and our place in them and then activate us through developing a deep sense of burden and responsibility within each of us so that we will take action and fulfill this purpose.
As each one of us begins to identify the reality that there is a God given purpose awaiting us this simple little verse that we have begun with carries two additional thoughts within it that are important to us as we progress in life. The first implication is the essential understanding that ultimately it is God’s purpose for you and He will fulfill it through us. He will orchestrate circumstances, open doors and provide the resources to complete every purpose He has ordained. Striving and human effort are not sufficient to fulfill God’s agenda. Resting in obedient trust, doing each particular task that God asks of us is the path to completion of our God given purpose. We must recognize that God has a part and we have a part in this divine purpose. God orchestrates, we pray and obey. That is the other implication of the verse that we began this devotional with. David understood the paradox of God’s purpose: God fulfills his purpose for me as I cry out to him in prayer and offer him a willing and prepared life that He can activate and direct for His purposes. God has a plan! He is committed to that plan and He is looking to you to place your heart in agreement with that plan and prepare your life to accomplish that God ordained purpose. Paul demonstrates two facets of this principle in his mentoring relationship with his spiritual son Timothy. In 2 Ti. 2:15 Paul instructs Timothy, “study to show yourself approved…” , and in 1 Ti. 1:18 he encourages Timothy to take a hold of the prophetic words that he has received and use them to fight in prayer for the fulfillment of his purpose in God. These verses are a great example to us of both God’s desire to define and fulfill his purpose for us and our responsibility to partner with Him through this lifestyle of prayerful obedient preparation. Don’t miss the opportunity today to take another step towards walking in the fullness of what you were created for.