Pastor Al Paulauski, From Your Pal Al, Fair Haven Assembly of God Church

Pastor Al Paulauski

From Your Pal June 2005

"If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed" Proverbs 29:18 (The message)

     Have you ever stopped and asked yourself, "Where in the world am I going in life?" If you're like most people, there has come a time in your life when you have asked that million-dollar question. And it's a good question to ask because all of us need vision in our lives. Proverbs 29:18 clearly shows us that if we know where God wants us to go and what he wants us to do (when we have vision) that we can be most blessed.
     Everybody ends up somewhere in life. A few people end up somewhere on purpose. These are the ones who have allowed God's vision for their lives to impact everything they do. They may have other things going for them as well but they certainly have a vision. Having a clear vision of what God wants for my life, along with the courage to follow through, dramatically increases my chances of coming to the end of my life and knowing that I succeeded. That I finished well and that my life counted.
     Without a clear vision of what God wants of your life, odds are you will come to the end of your life and wonder. Wonder what you could have done for God - what you should have done for God. And like so many Christians, you may wonder if your life really mattered at all.
     So what is God's vision for the life of every believer? What is God's vision for his church? They are exactly the same. His vision for us is to live a life of purpose. To live a life in which we are becoming the people He wants us to become, not who we desire to become. I believe He would want nothing more than for us to throw out all of our own dreams and desires to follow His plans and purposes for our life; to live a life as Proverbs says in which we attend to what He reveals. And He has done just that - He has revealed His purpose for our lives through His word.
     I know that some of you may remember this from the spiritual adventure campaign a while back when we participated in the "40 Days of Purpose" but I want to bring them to your attention again so that we can recommit ourselves to them, so that we can recommit ourselves to God's purpose for our lives and His purpose for the church. God has revealed five purposes for our life through His word.

1. We were made for a mission. We were created to be involved in Evangelism. We were created to tell everyone about God's desire to have a relationship with them.
2. We were planned for God's pleasure. We were created to worship God with our lives. We are to honor him with the way that we live our lives. We are to celebrate his presence in our life.
3. We were formed for God's family. We were created to have fellowship with other believers. We are to make sure that every believer is known, cared for, held accountable, and encouraged on their spiritual journey.
4. We were created to become like Christ. We are to willingly involve ourselves in discipleship. We need to develop the necessary spiritual habits that will ensure a lifetime of growth.
5. We were shaped for serving God. We are to be involved in ministry. We are to be meeting our neighbor's needs with love because of Jesus and what He has done in our lives.
God wants your life to count. Why? Because He created you. He wants you to be pleased with what you have done when your life is over. And you can do just that - as long as you follow God's vision for your life. If we don't, we will, as Proverbs says, "…stumble all over ourselves." We will walk aimlessly wondering what could have been. Commit yourself today to living out God's vision for your life.