When we were formed in the womb, God had a plan for us. Regardless of our circumstances, He made no mistake when we entered this world. Our parents may have given us a name, but God gave us a purpose. So why do we question His ways?

Respond: Do you believe God has a purpose for your life?

Read: Revelation 2:12-17

As in this passage, we live in a world where Satan has his throne. He has infiltrated our government, our schools, and even some of our churches. Instead of standing firmly on the Word of God, many look for the truth in all of the wrong places, and the enemy is waiting there.

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, —1 Timothy 4:3 ESV

Journal: Have you looked for Truth somewhere other than in God’s Word? Explain.

He makes us question what we know to be right, takes God’s words and twist them to fit his sordid plan. If we are not grounded in the Scriptures, we can easily be swayed and fall into sin, but there is something we can do.

Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth. “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches… —Revelation 2:12-17 NLT

The enemy will always challenge what God says. He will confuse, manipulate, and blind us to the Truth. But God is the Spirit of Truth, and He brings clarity to understand the will of God, the mind of God, and the heart of God. He helps us to know what we should do.

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. —Romans 12:1-2 MSG

God brings out the best in you. Have you ever wondered why you’re not the best version of yourself in certain seasons of life? It’s because our attention is not on Him. We become distracted by the culture around us, the lies of the enemy, and the choices we make. The further we drift away from Him, the more we compromise what we know to be true. Our clouded judgement leads us on a road we were never meant to travel.

But when we fix our eyes on God, we will be changed.

We all want to be the best version of ourselves; we’d be lying if we said we didn’t. But sometimes the work it takes to be that person seems far too hard. It doesn’t have to be. We must stand firmly on the Word of God and let Him do the heavy lifting. Let Him give you clarity so you can fulfill your purpose today.

Journal: What is something that has been clouding your judgement and keeping you from being the best version of yourself and fulfilling God’s purpose for your life?

Application: As stated in Romans 12:1-2, “take your everday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work and walkin-around life - and place it before God as an offering.” Commit each day to do everything to the glory of God.

Prayer:

Holy Spirit, Spirit of Truth and Understanding - I pray that you would give me eyes to see through the lies of the enemey who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. Grant me divine wisdom and strength that only comes from You. Help me to stand firm in Your Truth no matter what I may face. For You have given me eyes to see, ears to hear, and a mouth to speak. You breathed air into my lungs and gave me life. You are the Author of my story and have given my life meaning and purpose. I fix my eyes on You and only You. Help me to be the best version of me that I can be. Amen