Snap, crackle, pop… I hear it every morning but it’s not at breakfast. It’s the sound my body makes when I wake up and get out of bed. My eyes that were once good enough to win a sharpshooter award in the Marines have deteriorated so much that I would have trouble hitting a cow with a banjo! My wife complains that I can’t hear much anymore, but that’s more tactical than anything else. Maybe if I hadn’t spent four years in the Marine Corps, all of this would be easier to accept. Although it’s hard to acknowledge the fact that I’m falling apart like this, at least it’s explainable—things wear out. The fact that I’ve treated my body like a rental has just expedited the process.
Unlike my body, my mind hasn’t deteriorated as fast. The problem is that everybody around me just happened to get a whole lot smarter. I’ve managed to hold on to most of the real estate between my ears and maybe even learned a few things in the last couple of years (most of which was taught to me by my kid). At least most of the young people that I interact with haven’t figured out yet that when I shake my head yes, I have no idea what they’re talking about.
Most of us have enjoyed times when our minds and our bodies have worked together like a well-oiled machine. This balance between brain and brawn makes us feel invincible. As believers, we often look back at this period and wonder if we’ve missed our opportunity to fulfill God’s purpose for our lives.
God’s Word provides the answer to our question in 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV): “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’…” These are the words given to Paul from the Lord concerning the request he had made for Him to remove the “thorn from his flesh.” While we don’t know exactly what the burden was, one could assume that it was more than Paul could handle on his own. Although the first half of this verse is the one most quoted, the second half holds the keys to the practical application. “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest upon me.”
Paul understood that by acknowledging his weaknesses and sharing them with others, he was surrendering those things that would otherwise become roadblocks to fulfilling God’s purpose. Could it be that the things that we hold on to the tightest are the same things that become the thorns in our flesh later? Through the act of “surrender,” we recognize our weaknesses and give them to God.
Surrendering is foundational to developing a closer walk with Christ. As our faith grows, the desire to hold on to things that have defined us up to this point will be lessened. “He must become greater, I must become less” (John 3:30, NIV). These were the words of John the Baptist as he acknowledged that someone else would be calling the shots from then on. By embracing the act of surrender, John fulfilled his purpose in Christ.
Finding and maintaining your purpose will bring forth many challenges. For many of us, those challenges will find us at the workplace. Day after day we show up and put our time, talent, and our tenacity to the test. Like a lot of things, what we bring to the table today might not be good enough for tomorrow. Eventually someone may come along and make the tasks you struggle with look simple. Knowing and acknowledging when God is moving us from one season to the next will not only be instrumental in fulfilling our purpose, but helping others fulfill theirs. It is through our surrender to God that allows our purpose while on earth to be filled.
There will come a day when God will decide that we have experienced our last season here on earth. While we might not be taken home like Elijah in a fiery chariot of glory, wouldn’t it be nice to leave this earth with nothing left to surrender?
John Faulkner is the founder and President of Cornerstone Solutions Group,a multi-dimensional company with over 300 employees that has prospered for over two decades. John currently speaks to large groups about implementing God within their business. To find more info, just visit his website!
