A divine assignment?

As the month of gratitude winds down, I'm thankful that my continuing lack of a strong sense of purpose isn't bothering me as much these days as it has in the past.

Much of that has to do with things I've been reading that help me to grab hold of Scriptures to anchor my life.

The strongest guidance is coming from Lysa TerKeurst's new book, "It's Not Supposed To Be This Way." It's subtitled "finding unexpected strength when disappointments leave you shattered."

Even though my disappointments and sufferings pale compared to the author's, I relate strongly to the the emotions and reactions she describes. So I want to also learn to rely on God, especially His words in Scripture, as she strives to in dealing with life on life's terms.

She writes about seeing a disappointment as an opportunity for a divine appointment.

Earlier in the week, a devotional author wrote about how she thought she should respond to a friend going through crisis. Through prayer, she realized that her good-intentioned plan wasn't what God had in mind for her. It wasn't her assignment.

That concept has stayed with me. I tend to be a meddler. I want to know what's going on, and more often than I care to admit, I tend to try to control things or at least influence how they play out. I'm trying to be aware of when I'm getting in the way of the greater good. Sometimes I just need to trust God that He's in charge.

Of course, that brings to mind another term that keeps popping up nowadays: predestination. I've recently become more aware that predestination is a concept most United Methodists don't have much use for. It's been about that same period of time in which I've realized the faith I live and express likely includes some elements that could be described as predestination. I think the difference is that I totally believe God gives people free choice. The thing I express that some think sounds like predestination is that I think God works all things for good. And I agree, at least for today, with TerKeurst's idea that God has a plan for my life. What I'm not as sure about is whether God has a precise plan and timing for my life.

I think God's plan is for me to be in partnership with him.

As for my assignment or purpose, I really don't know. The best I can come up with still seems to be:

Smile. Encourage. Focus on good. Express gratitude to God. Help others. 

And then the Denison Forum ended with this:

Max Lucado: “You can be everything God wants you to be.” As he notes, “DaVinci painted one Mona Lisa. Beethoven composed one Fifth Symphony. And God made one version of YOU. He custom designed you for a one-of-a-kind assignment.”

What is yours?

For tonight, I still don't really know. And I'm pretty sure that's OK.