Being a vessel may not be aligned to my desires.

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Recently, while composing a text message to wish a friend a happy birthday, I paused to reread the message before sending it. I read it over and over again, because something felt wrong. The message read, "Happy birthday my friend, may the good Lord grant you your wishes."

This is a standard message that I usually use to wish others a happy birthday, but this time it felt wrong. After reading it a few times, I finally realized why it felt wrong. In this message, I was assuming that God's purpose on earth is to grant me and my loved ones our desires. However, this could not be further from the truth.

God's purpose on earth is to expand His kingdom. My appropriate response to this project is to first accept His invitation to His kingdom and then lay down my desires for His desires, so that I can be well-positioned to be the vessel through which His Kingdom is expanded.

When I respond appropriately to His purpose, three things happen to activate the expansion of His Kingdom
  • His glory is put on display.
  • Many others are influenced towards His kingdom.
  • He builds my kingdom.
After considering all this, I changed the text message to read as follows: "Happy birthday my friend, may the good Lord do what is best for you." I have now turned this into a prayer for me, my family and my loved ones, understanding that what is best for us in God's eyes may not necessarily align with what our finite minds deem good, but if it is good in His eyes, it is ultimately good for us.

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