We all want and strive for things, material or otherwise, and oftentimes, those things we desire like a great career or a sense of purpose are things we spend much of our energy and time working toward achieving and understanding, but how often do we reflect on whether or not the things we want so desperately are things we are actually prepared for and ultimately, what God wants for us? As a friend so astutely put it a few weeks ago, the Christian walk is not about us getting what we want, not even a little. It is about praising God, about giving Him the praise, glory, and honor He is due for creating us in love, in His image, as well as for His grace, mercy, and for the sacrifice of His son and our brother, Jesus Christ for our freedom and salvation. It is in that praise and faithfulness to Him that our purposes and His will, should we be in tune with Him, are revealed. There comes a time, and there should, when our wants align themselves with God’s will in such a way that what we want is what God wants for us. But when that happens – when the opportunity or big break we’ve been waiting for finally arrives, that is not the ending of our relationship with God or our need for Him, but the beginning of our purpose and His will being done in our lives.
In the past few months, a few amazing opportunities have come my way and I would be remiss and simply foolish if I didn’t acknowledge and credit God for these opportunities and blessings. I share the following, not to brag, but to illuminate the finer point of my piece. Next month, I will be graduating from college and speaking at Commencement. I’m very excited about this and I thank God for being bestowed this honor because there is no way I could’ve done it without Him. Now does that mean I’m good now? I can stop praying and reading my Word because an opportunity I couldn’t have even anticipated that I’d receive has been given to me, right? Wrong. There is no point in my or any Christian’s natural born life when we won’t need God and that is not a bad thing nor anything to lament. We need God – that is why we are Christians because, through Him, we have victory, we have hope, we have faith, all the things that we lack living in and relying on our flesh. But returning to my blessing, the other and more important reason God cannot fall to the wayside is because I will always need Him. When I received my nomination to be a student speaker for commencement, I was excited but somewhat uncertain about whether or not I’d actually do it because I had no idea what I’d say, but I was reminded of the fact that it wasn’t me who’d figure it out alone, but God and me and surely, we did and it was the words we wrote together that earned me this opportunity. But my point is when we are given an opportunity by God, it is something to celebrate, absolutely, but what is also important is to remember that it is from God, which means there is a bigger picture and purpose, and it is not about us, but God’s will and about being a vessel and conduit that brings glory to Him. God’s dispensing of blessings and even the things we want doesn’t mean we are finished with Him or that He is finished with us, but rather, it is only the beginning of our work, our praise, and our purpose. Earning and receiving what we desire is only the beginning. How then are we using this opportunity, position, or platform to bring glory to God and how are we seeking God to navigate this newfound territory?
When you pass a test, you don’t then stop studying and throw your books away, but you continue to study to yield the same results and keep the same momentum and success going. Similarly, receiving a blessing from God doesn’t mean we no longer need God and that we’ve suddenly got it figured out and can now do it on our own but rather, we must seek Him more. If He has brought us this far, then that is all the more reason to cling to Him so that our steps might be ordered by Him and so that He may lead us to what’s next. Life is a journey if nothing else and Christ is the solid rock on which we are supposed to stand at all times, especially in the triumphant moments. It is in those moments of victory that we should be drawn to God, to give Him praise and continue to seek Him for what is next, and how to navigate and nurture this new plane we are now on. Acts 17:28 reminds us that we live, we move, and have our very being through God our Father. In other words, our existence is tethered to and dependent on God our creator and because of that truth, we are reminded to seek God always, and regardless of how successful we believe we have become, it is because of Him and as the hymn says, we need Him every hour.
