Fit for the Purpose
by Yulia Kariuki
You’ll probably agree with me that new year is a great time to look back at our lives and say thank You to the Lord for what He’s done. And at the same time, it’s a great opportunity to pray for His direction in the year ahead.
As I was speaking to the Lord about the year ahead, I was challenged to examine my ‘service’ for Him. We know that our goal in life is to worship the Lord in all the different ways we can, through the talents and gifting He’s given us. Our methods of reaching that purpose can vary, but the goal is the same for each of us. We want to extend the Kingdom of God, we want to bring glory to His name, and we want to see many lives saved. As I was pondering on that, the Lord reminded me about the way a football team works. The main purpose of footballers is to train so they can score goals and win. But, when we look at the team itself, we see that the whole team doesn’t consist of strikers. There are also defenders, goal keepers, and a captain of the team. All of them have different positions in the game, but each one is trying to reach the same goal, to score goals and win. This picture really spoke to me. In the body of Christ, we’re called to do different things in His Kingdom, but we’re all going the same direction and trying to reach the same goal. Yet, as in a football team, we can’t just rely on others to ‘score a goal’ for us. All the players must train individually if they are going to perform well as a team. And so is with us, we’re responsible for our relationship with the Lord, and our personal growth in Him, so we can bring glory to Him corporately.
Today, I want to encourage you, as you look at the year ahead. Ask the Lord to show you whether you’re in the right place, or whether there’s something else the Lord wants you to do in His Kingdom. Ask Him to challenge you and examine your heart, so you can be more fruitful in His Kingdom by doing what He’s called you to do.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I pray that You’d help me to walk in Your ways in my life so I can be fruitful for Your Kingdom. Help me to grow more, spiritually, this year, and may my service for You be a sweet aroma. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
Yulia Kariuki was born in Russia and studied translation and interpretation as her profession. She joined Ellel Ministries in 2009, after graduating from university. The same year she met her husband and Bernard and Yulia served on team for many years both in Scotland and at Ellel Grange.
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