purpose Archives - Jacqueline G Wallace.com

May 14, 2015

Keep on Running the Race

All kinds of people run. People of all ages run. They run for all different reasons. I would think it is safe to say most people run because they enjoy it, or some aspect of the running experience. I am not a runner so I am speculating here, based on my observations and what I know of human nature. We get involved in things that we like to do or that are meaningful to us.

I was up early Saturday to be at the site of a 5K Race and 1 Mile Family Walk. You have to seriously like to run or walk to be at the venue that early! Or, in my case, serious about participating in something I believe in: the ministry of She Is Safe (www.SheIsSafe.org). They are reaching out to women and girls around the world to “prevent, rescue and restore” them from lives of slavery, oppression and abuse, in the context of lovingly telling and demonstrating the good news of Jesus Christ.

I was at the race as a member of the newly formed Bakersfield She Is Safe Advocacy Group which sponsored the race. I assisted on the sidelines as others walked and ran, their race fees providing funds for She Is Safe to expand their work to more women and girls in the hard places of the world, bringing hope and new life to them.

Just like I had a specific motivation to be at the race to assist, the runners each had their personal motivations for being there too. And on the strength of their inner drive they accomplished their goal: crossing that finish line. Some wanted to be first. Others simply wanted to finish.

They all met their goals of crossing the finish line on their own two feet (or in their strollers!) because they set their minds to do it. All the runners were applauded and many got trophies or awards for placing in various categories, but the feeling of “I did it!” had to be the best prize of all.

Though I am not a runner of foot races, I am a runner in the race of life. We all are. We each have a race marked out for us and it is our responsibility to set our minds to give it our all, our best. Like Paul, we should be “bringing all (our) energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, (we) strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us” [Philippians 3:13,14, TLB).[1]

“What Christ Jesus did for us” should be all the motivation we need to stick to the race course, regardless of how difficult the going may get at times. Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, “who for the joy set before him endured the cross”[2] for us, should help us keep putting one foot in front of the other with hope burning in our hearts. He finished his race and sat down next to the Father in heaven. He won salvation for all mankind, for any and all who will put their trust in him.

May we keep our eyes on the prize God has for us at the end of our race, motivated by the supreme sacrifice of Jesus Christ. May we live “to win for the Lamb that was slain the reward of His suffering.”[3]

For fun viewing, here’s a video of the 5K and Family walk: http://youtu.be/OtyYT3DPYGI

Photos and Video by www.proshowweb.com

[2] Hebrews 12:2

[3] The battle cry of the Moravian Church’s missionary outreach, based on Isaiah 53:10-12. http://www.globaltribesoutreach.org/articlesmoravian

Originally posted on the Abide Prayer Group blog, a women’s ministry of The Bridge Bible Church of Bakersfield, CA.

December 15, 2014

Chapter 5: Beyond Me … and You

Even when I feel insignificant, or am tempted to feel that way; when I feel powerless, I am comforted because I am part of something much greater than myself. I can with confidence know I have meaning, there is meaning to my life, my existence on this earth. From that flows joy. I am free to delight in God’s good world, even when things are not altogether right in that world.

The roots of my life, the foundation of my life, are set deeply in the Word of God and the God of the Word. Going back to my roots gives me perspective in the midst of pain and struggle and the fear of the unknown, for the unknown is only unknown to me, not to God. I can rest in his goodness even when I cannot see my way ahead. And I know, based on his eternal Word, that he is working everything together for my good and his glory. His purposes are being worked out through my life even in the midst of all this mess. I do not have to know how that can possibly be. I need only know it is so because of the character of God; he can be trusted. My faith is in him, not in my ability to have all the answers myself.

The war has been won; we must press on faithfully, however, through the remaining skirmishes. Being part of this Something Bigger than ourselves should give us not only perspective and a new focus, but motivation to move ahead in confidence in the God who is the final Victor. I know I want to be on the right side at the culmination of it all.

The above is a snippet from Chapter 5. Though I will not be going into these portions in my blog, in this chapter of Brokenness to Beauty I will discuss topics dealing with the significance of our lives, meaning in life and take us to the book of Job, the quintessential treatise on man’s relationship to God. These are rich fields to be mined. I hope you will investigate them with me as I share these insights in the published book form of chapter 5 of Brokenness to Beauty.

November 17, 2014

Chapter 3: On Prayer–Prayer as Relationship

(Continuing on in the process of blogging my book Brokenness to Beauty: Transforming Your Brokenness into a Beautiful Life. I’ve been skipping through the chapter on Prayer, posting portions of it for you. I am convinced prayer is an important aspect of our lives, in both the good times and hard times of life. It is a lifelong learning process as well. I hope you will read on and come along with me on this journey of sharing my thoughts on prayer to encourage us as we go through the ups, and especially the downs, of life. Your feedback is valuable to me. Please leave your comments.)

Prayer is not about conjuring and magic. It is not about coercing God, or persuading Him to do something we ask. Prayer is about relationship with our heavenly Father (Matthew 6: 9), the Everlasting God. He is the God who is Lord and Master over all. He is Sovereign and has the last say, not us. And like the loving heavenly Father He is, He knows what He has planned for us and others, and what will be best for us in the greater scheme of things, because He does have a greater scheme of things. He acts out of who He is, for our good, and to accomplish His greater purposes. In prayer we seek His mind, that is, His will, for how to pray about things and people.

Oswald Chambers said, “Worship and intercession must go together, the one is impossible without the other. Intercession means we rouse ourselves up to get the mind of Christ about the one for whom we pray. Too often instead of worshipping God, we construct statements as to how prayer works….We hurl our own petitions at God’s throne and dictate to him as to what we wish Him to do. We do not worship God, nor do we seek the mind of Christ[1].”

Boy, that hit home with me. How often I have prayed that way, hurling my petitions at God, telling Him what I think is best, trying to convince Him to see things my way, mentally trying to work out the solution to the problem I’m asking God about. I wasn’t seeking the mind and will of God, I was trying to convince God of my will. Thankfully God hasn’t given up on me as a hopeless case! He has been patiently teaching me to pray over the years.

Prayer is about relationship, relationship with God. Prayer is not about demanding from God what we want, telling Him when and how to answer our prayers; it is about finding out what God wants to accomplish. What Chambers said about intercession (praying for others) holds true for prayer for ourselves. We must seek His mind, His purposes, as Christ did in the garden of Gethsemane.

[1] Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, (Grand Rapids: Discovery House Publishers, 1963), March 30 selection