One of the greatest anxieties that we face today, is the fear that we will waste our life.
In the times that we are living in, it is increasingly difficult to feel content on the path that we are on.
Social media allows us to see the lives of millions of people who, we believe, are living life to it’s fullest.
We spend hours on our phones, soaking in the best dollops of other people’s lives, thinking that they have it all.
Forgetting oftentimes, that the posts that make it to social media, are only the posts that people want to show off.
We don’t get the full story.
The only story we see moment by moment…
Is our own.
We see the good, the bad, the ugly and all the real and metaphorical dirty laundry, that we carry around all day… everyday!
There is no filter that can cover up the messes that we have in our own lives.
It’s discouraging to believe that we are struggling while everyone else is excelling.
This discouragement brings on a fear that we may not ever do anything great with our lives.
We fear that we will be working a job that we hate, to pay a mortgage; that might take our whole lives to pay off.
Never getting to enjoy a vacation or event, because we are too busy working or never getting to start the business, because these kids occupy so much of your time and energy.
Worried that it’s too late or afraid that we could be making the decisions today, that will lead us to an undesirable result.
We don’t know if we are focusing on the things today, that will bring us to a great result, later on.
What if I spend my life focusing on one thing, and later find out that it profited very little and at that point, it’s too late to change routes and do something great?
What if I’m headed in the wrong direction; taking the wrong steps today?
What if I shouldn’t be doing all of this, in order to get to the result I desire?
Too many “what if’s.”
What if I waste my whole life, doing what I am doing, and I never walk in the purpose that I was created for?
This question overwhelms us all, but more so Christians, because we believe that there is a purpose to life!
We know that all of creation has a purpose predetermined by the Creator…
We just fear that we are doing things all wrong.
What if we waste our purpose?
I could be making selfish decisions today, that may take away, the calling that God placed on me.
I just wish that I knew what I was supposed to do!
Are you tired of stressing about this?
Do you want to silence this anxiety forever?
Take a breath and keep reading!
First, let’s look at Isaiah 55:8-11 NKJV.
““For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
We need to accept the fact that God is God!
I talk about this a lot, because I know that when we truly realize that the Lord is God of all, and that we are not in control, we can combat fear and worry.
Without understanding this, we don’t stand a chance.
We will still believe that we can control outcomes and we will think that we know what our purpose should be.
The sooner that we grasp the reality that God is God and we are not, the more peace we will have!
We think that we will feel more peace when we have more control, but it’s not true.
It’s only when you experience more power, that you truly realize how little power you actually have, over your life.
I’m not trying to upset you…
I just know how much anxiety came from trying to control my own life, and I have realized that I really can’t control anything.
This realization was the most liberating experience!
I want you to have the opportunity to experience the same!
God’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours.
Our understanding can only reach so high, and God’s understanding is far beyond our highest level of understanding.
This means that, no matter how much we try to understand God’s plan or determine what His purpose for us may be, we ultimately cannot reach that level of understanding.
This should rain peace on the fire of worry in our minds.
Why?
Because, we could be 100% wrong about our purpose but we also could be 100% wrong in regards to our fear of going the wrong direction in life.
We fear that we are wasting our lives, but our understanding is limited, so we could actually be exactly where we need to be, according to God’s purpose.
Only God truly knows our purpose and only He knows how to lead us to that purpose.
So, we actually waste time worrying about whether or not we are wasting our lives and miss out on purpose,
because we don’t know exactly what God has specifically purposed for us.
In verses 10-11, God brings clarity to this subject, by presenting a visual of what He does, as the God over all things.
God says that His word is like the rain and snow, that comes down and does exactly what it was purposed for.
He says that the rain is always prosperous in the area which God sent it for.
Water that falls down to the earth, never goes to waste…
Ever.
God sends water to fall all over the place and sure, some rain falls directly in a river, and we can see it prosper immediately.
What about the water that pours into the gutters, on the side of the streets?
If I was that water, I would feel pretty wasted…
Especially if I could see other raindrops falling on trees, grass and lakes.
This is how we feel when we look at all the other raindrops on Instagram!
We think that everyone else is prosperous; meanwhile, we fell in the gutter somewhere, unable to do anything that we thought would be so much more valuable.
We don’t see anything good ahead, on the path that we are going on, if we feel that we have hit the pavement, in a rain gutter.
However, God said that the rain does not return without prospering in the job that it was sent for…
Did you know?
Storm drains or rain gutters do NOT lead to the sewer?
It’s true!
Storm drains empty into separate canals, that lead directly to the nearest lake or ocean.
So even if rain falls 30 miles away from a prosperous lake or a fruitful ocean, it is sent directly from the gutters, straight to it’s calling!
This is the same with what comes out of God’s mouth!
God spoke us into being, along with every single thing that exists…
So this scripture applies to us!
Here is what we know for certain…
God doesn’t waste anything!
God doesn’t allow something that He created to return to Him without first fulfilling the need, for which He sent it.
So no matter where you are, God will bring you to your purpose.
It may not look like what you imagined your purpose would look like, but it is exactly where God sent you!
Don’t fear that you are on the wrong path and that you may not be doing what you need to do, in order to get in the position of purpose.
For what God made you for, you are where you need to be!
You think your purpose is being a mom, but you don’t have the children…
Mothering children may be a part of God’s plan for you, but if it is not where you are right now, don’t worry!
God can take rain from a gutter, and directly reroute it to purpose.
Nothing can stop God from doing the same with you!
God brings children in His timing, for a specific reason.
Our job is not to know God’s plan for us,
We are only responsible for trusting Him and believing that He truly doesn’t let anything fall emptily.
God sends rain everywhere, yet not one drop is wasted!
Same with us!
We all may be at different places in life, but we are all still walking in the purpose that God planned beforehand.
We are not able to make what God made, unsuccessful!
We are not powerful enough to ruin God’s plan or waste a life that He created.
It was not us, who made us…
So we can’t determine our purpose either!
This means that, though I don’t understand how I could be right on track at this point in my life… I don’t see, what my Creator sees and I don’t know, what He knows!
To me, I see a gutter ahead…
However, God sees a highway, leading straight to an ocean, that I didn’t even see myself able to reach.
We just need to remember that God doesn’t waste a single drop of rain, so He definitely won’t waste a precious life, that He spoke into existence!
You can trust that you are right where you need to be, because God makes all of His creation prosper in the thing He purposed it for, and He doesn’t let anything go to waste!
Your question, after all of that, is…
“What if I don’t know God?”
“What if I’m too far gone to walk in the purpose that God had for me?”
Maybe you fell away from God years ago, but you recently have been looking for God and trying to grow your relationship with Jesus.
“Am I too late?
Did I already waste too much time?
What if God can’t bring me to my purpose because I spent so much time away from Him; disregarding His calling on my life?”
Let’s go to the verse right before we read that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, in Isaiah 55:7 NKJV.
“Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.”
Again… God is God!
He doesn’t do the things that we predict, based off of our own human understanding.
God doesn’t want to keep purpose from you!
Ask anyone who creates things, if they rather have their creation do what they purposed it for, or if they rather just throw it away because it doesn’t work properly.
Creators never want to waste the investment that they made!
They are determined to get their creation on track and doing what it was created to do!
God is no different, in this way!
He made you for a reason, and He wants you to prosper in the purpose that He created you for.
God isn’t looking for who He can punish.
He actually wants His creation to walk according to their calling!
Though people don’t tell you this enough, God in the Old Testament is the same as He is in the New Testament.
He gives mercy even before Jesus.
God isn’t trying to condemn us!
His desire is that we all walk according to the purpose that He created for us, before our lives began!
He has never been merciless.
His heart is merciful, from Genesis to Revelation.
So, it’s NEVER TOO LATE!
It doesn’t matter how far you’ve gone or how long you have been away from God…
He is ready to pardon you, and turn you in the direction of purpose!
All you have to do is
Return to Him.
No matter where you are in life…
You are not able to be a waste.
God will lead you to prosper in the purpose that He has for you!
Do you want to learn more about your purpose in life?
Check out this post…
How to Find Your Purpose.
Photo by Zeynep Merve Kılıç Çakır
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.