Pain Produces Purpose

I can’t help but to thank God for carefully choosing a young girl who would say yes to God’s plan of redemption and salvation not only for herself, but for a dying world. I can’t help but to wonder about how afraid Mary must have been, and with good reason. During that time, women were being stoned to death if they were suspected of adultery. Although Mary was a virgin, she had just become engaged and the man that she was about to marry

even had his doubts about her until an angel appeared to him and confirmed God’s plan to save humanity through the baby in Mary’s womb (Matthew 1:18-25). Not only did Joseph have to hide with Mary, but he also had the task of hiding purpose, or an infant Jesus, because King Herod sought to kill Him (Matthew 2:1-21).

Have you ever stopped and wondered what would have happened had Mary said ‘no’ to God instead of ‘yes’? Would the assignment be cancelled or would God have chosen someone else? It’s a scary thought for me because I remember how dark my life was before I surrendered it to Jesus. An even scarier thought is what if Jesus, Himself, had said ‘no’? He yielded Himself to purpose and gave up His power and authority and came to earth as a man to die a very violent and heinous death for people who hated Him. Although He knew how He would be beaten and flogged, He consecrated Himself to God and said “…nevertheless not My will, but Thine, be done” (Luke 22:42) Can you imagine a world without a Savior? ...without hope? Jesus lived a very short earthly life and His time in ministry was only three years but we know by the Scriptures that the years before He preached His first sermon, He was in preparation (Luke 2:41-49). Preparation…until a few years ago, I didn’t realize that the things that brought the most pain in my life were directly related to my purpose. From being sexually molested as a little girl to growing up in a home where I didn’t always feel loved or wanted; from watching my mother be violently abused to becoming a victim myself; from living a very promiscuous lifestyle to being deeply hurt and rejected by the Church… those circumstances were all challenges that prepared me to walk in purpose and to follow His plan for my life. There have been times in my life since I’ve been saved that my spirit has been so deeply wounded that I felt like my next breath would be my last. Every time that I wanted to give up, God would remind me of His plan and He’d give me the strength to press on another day. There have been times when I didn’t have words to put in a prayer to express to God how I felt and all that I could do was just cry out to Him until my body felt limp and tired and my tear ducts had no more tears to shed. Have you ever been there? Each time after I became quiet, that still, small voice would speak to me and remind me of His plan and how what I was going through would eventually set others free.

Mary’s purpose was to give birth to a Child, raise Him and give Him up. I can only imagine how she must have felt to watch her son be brutally murdered and then hung on a cross. I imagine that she cried so fervently and that the pain that she felt was so bad that she wanted to die with him. But she didn’t die; she buried her son and lived and because she said yes to purpose, although it was painful, you and I can live and not die.

 Have you ever felt as if your life is so hard that you just can’t do it, or don’t want to do it anymore? Whatever you’re going through or have been through that caused that much despair is part of your purpose. God is glorified every time that you share with someone else how He brought you through and when you teach others the things that He taught you while you were in your pit.

What has God called you to do that you have not yet surrendered to? What would the world be missing if you never say ‘yes, God, I set aside my own plans to follow Yours?’ What ministry have you not began because you don’t think you’re qualified? Remember, Mary was a virgin; naturally speaking, she wasn’t equipped to have a child because she had never been with a man but God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called.

I want to encourage you to say ‘yes’ to God and allow Him to impregnate you with purpose. If you like to speak, your calling is likely to be an evangelical speaker; if you like to write, as I do, your purpose is likely to author books; if you’re a singer or songwriter, your purpose is likely to glorify God in music; if you’re great with money and budgeting, your purpose is probably to teach others to manage their finances wisely. Both your pain and your gifts or talents are directly related to your purpose. My prayer for you is that if you are like many and don’t know what your assignment is, that God will reveal it to you and that you will obey. Somewhere out there someone maybe cramped in a closet, feeling as though the world would be a better place without them and only what God has placed within you can set them free. Who’s key to deliverance are you holding?