Life Goals
My sweet dog is a good companion. He follows me wherever I go because his goal in life is to protect. He is a pack dog who doesn’t like to be alone. This poses a small problem because his other goal in life is to be outside on the hunt. If I come inside, he is torn between adventure and a “dutiful desire” to be with me. I have not asked him to choose, though his two longings don’t always coincide. I have found that if I leave the door open while I attend to my tasks inside, he is happy to go explore the backyard, knowing he can come to check on me often. So before he rushes in to lay at my feet, he enjoys finding a warm spot in the sun, similar to the lizards he loves to chase. If not in the sun, you can see him scurry through the bushes in pursuit of birds, reptiles, or rodents that might try to claim ground in his territory. He is a protector, hunter, and companion. That is what he was bred and born for. You could say it is his destiny and purpose. He lives his life for those things.
Every morning I set my feet on the floor as I arise from my bed. As my toes hit the soft carpet my heart is stirred and torn between the tasks I must do and the greater assignments I feel born for. Sometimes it feels like I am choosing between duty and dream. One day as I sat soaking in the sun with my companion not far off, I felt the Lord whisper, “Live your life worthy of the calling you have received.” I turned to Ephesians 4:1 to stare at the words on the page. I then asked Holy Spirit, “What does that mean for me today”? And like He so delicately does, He began to nudge my heart and mind along with the wind of his breath, to discover the hidden treasure waiting.
One word resonated in my thoughts, actually penetrating my heart at its deepest core⸺live. The word pulsated with my heartbeat. There it is. My focus is to be on living. Every breath, every thought, every action or behavior born out of what I believe must be focused around the reality that JESUS IS ALIVE and not only lives but lives in me! He is a resurrection God. He brings things to life, and that power that shifts the dry, weary, and dead is at work inside of me. I can live, in fact, I DO LIVE because He defeated death and tore down the wall that kept me from accessing the holiest of spaces.
From that intimate place of relational life, I can perform duties and tasks but not be driven by them. Today, I must allow only one thought to drive me⸺LIVE WORTHY. I want my life to be determined by the power, love, authority, and truth that lives in me because Jesus lives in me. His righteousness washed over me cleansing me and making me fit for duty. Every morning as my feet hit the ground, I can be assured that the words found in Lamentations are true. “We are still alive because the Lord’s faithful love never ends. Every morning He shows it in new ways!” (Lam 3:22-23).
We can be confident that God is for us and we can trust in his love and rejoice in each and every day that has been given to us to live. Not just make it by breathing and call that living. No, we can live worthy! We can live pursuing dreams even in the midst of duties. We can live producing hope from the hope that lives inside of us. We can walk holy in a way that is suitable to match the authority, power, and destiny He has appointed for us. The divine nature that lives in us equips us for the road ahead. Our steps to contain purity and freedom. Our lifestyle can be one of kindness and truth. Our powerful advance can be fueled by abundance which looks like love, joy, peace, patience, and everything else that HE is (because HE LIVES in us)!
Oh, how I pray that today you will pause for just a moment, quiet your wild thoughts, and breathe. Not just normal breaths, but ones that allow His Spirit to blow through every nook and cranny allowing His love to be activated in you today. Let the active, living Spirit of God flow in you, stirring up, igniting, and pouring out of you as you seek to actively walk out the LIFE that lives in you. For His breath, His resurrection life, and His active love and mercy are for us each day. We can live worthy and pursue destiny amidst our duties and dreams. We don’t have to choose one over the other. We can live in the fullness of HIS ALL.
