You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed and placed and purposefully planted you, so that you would go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit will remain and be lasting, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name [as My representative] He may give to you.” John 15:16 AMP
I don’t believe in coincidence or fate. I believe in God’s planning and design. Everything He does, everything He allows, is intentional. And yes, I understand how painful that statement might be in the current circumstances of the person reading this. Believe me, I’ve been there. I’ve been violated, I’ve given birth to two stillborn children, I’ve had irreplaceable items stolen from me, and I’ve grieved the losses of multiple family members in the space of five days. I’m not heartless; I get it.
Through It All
And yet, despite all I’ve been through, or maybe because of it, I believe that God, in His sovereignty, appointed, placed, and purposefully planted each of us where we are right now. There are things we go through in life for no other reason than because of sin in the world. But our God can use those hurts, heartaches, and frustrations to cultivate the fallow soil of our hearts. God can use any and all circumstances to teach, shape, and refine us for His glory. We are the good soil He can use to plant fruit that will last.
Purposefully Planted
It is essential that we allow God to do His work. He alone knows the plans He has for us. And it is equally vital for us to do our part. Disciples are not meant to be passive beings soaking in His lessons for the sake of soaking. We learn so we can act, receive so we can give, and experience so we can lovingly comfort. We are purposeful, intentional, and valuable.
Sixty-one years ago, I entered the world as a blank slate, on which so much has been written over the past six decades. I pray that even when I don’t understand it, don’t like it, and am totally ready to get over it, that God, in His wisdom and love, will use it. For each of us, I pray, “Use it all, Lord, right here, right now, where we are purposefully planted. For Christ’s sake, amen.”
*For those of you who prayer walk, try meditating on the phrase “purposefully planted” as you walk.