Today, we continue our series entitled “Laser Focus,” emphasizing living with a Laser Focus on the Fixed Purpose God established for us before the world began.
Scriptures we have been looking at all year:
(Proverbs 4:25 TPT)
Set your gaze on the path before you. With fixed purpose, looking straight ahead, ignore life’s distractions.
(James 1:2-4 TPT)
2 My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties, see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can!
3 For you know that when your faith is tested, it stirs up power within you to endure all things.
4 And then as your endurance grows even stronger it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking.
(Ecc 3:1 ERV)
There is a right time for everything, and everything on earth will happen at the right time.
Focus for today:
Setting the Stage. (From 1 Samuel 26)
Since it’s Friday, let’s do something different. Instead of focusing on one passage, let’s reflect on what we have been studying over the past week or so.
I sometimes announce when I am giving you a “Faith Refresher.” Well, today, I am giving you a “Grace Refresher.” You will be reminded about God’s grace today in a way that should renew your reliance on Him.
In just the last few messages we have seen David be “the bigger man,” on two separate occasions, by extending grace to Saul when he had an opportunity to kill him. David did not see it as his place to kill a man whom God had once anointed, even though it was clear God’s anointing was no longer on Saul. Saul was fired while still operating in the position, but David did not see it as his place to remove him. However, this same David got upset with Nabal and did not think twice before deciding to kill him and all the men in his household. Once he got offended, David had no consideration for God or His workings in Nabal’s life. The offense clouded his heart, and he almost made a major mistake.
Nabal’s wife Abigail was able to talk David “off the ledge,” and he decided not to kill Nabal. However, in a strange twist of fate, Nabal wound up having a heart attack and a stroke the next day, and he was dead within two weeks. So then David, a man who had his wife taken away by his father-in-law, decided to re-marry as he proposed to the recently widowed Abigail. Abigail’s heart was still bleeding for her husband when she accepted David’s proposal. Along the way, David married Ahinoam of Jezreel.
Finally, as we saw yesterday, David got fed up with Saul’s antics and basically said, “If I am the one in the wrong, then may a curse fall upon me. But if you are the one in the wrong, the Lord will deal with you in His wrath.” The same guy who was operating in love, mercy, and grace towards Saul was ready to call down fire from heaven.
What is my point? The same guy who spared one man was ready to kill another. The same man who lost the woman he loved found a way to move on and married not just one but two more wives. The same man who kept extending grace to his persecutor finally got to the point where he was ready to release the wrath of God. David was not perfect, but God never expected him to be. God still chose to operate through David, by grace, and He does the same with us. That’s good news!
So what does this mean to you today? A few things:
1. The Father does not require you to be perfect to use you – Grace covers our imperfections.
We are saved by grace, and we are then used by grace. If we could only make it to heaven on our righteous deeds or our perfection (even post-conversion perfection), then heaven would be empty. Like He did with David, the Father already knows all the mistakes you will make, and He chose to use you anyway. So don’t allow the devil to cause you to factor in (your mistakes) what the Lord already factored out when He destined you for your purpose.
How this applies to you:
— The Father’s grace is not contingent upon our perfection but upon His purpose.
— When God chose you for His purpose, He factored in every mistake you would ever make, and His grace is sufficient to cover them all.
— Your mistakes don’t disqualify you from God’s purpose because you never did anything to qualify in the first place. Jesus qualified FOR you.
— God’s grace is bigger than your greatest failures.
— Your weaknesses become platforms for God’s strength to be displayed.
— Your imperfections highlight God’s perfect grace.
— Satan wants you to focus on what God has already forgiven you for. In other words, the enemy wants you to factor in what God already factored out!
— If you allow satan to trick you and you start factoring in what God factored out, you will mess around and put a “NO” where God put a “YES!”
2. Life is complicated, and you are unique.
Please don’t waste your time comparing yourself to others because there is way too much going on in your life and their lives for the comparison to be fair. Look at Saul, David, Jonathan, Nabal, Michal, and Abigail. These are just a few of the characters we have dealt with in this story, and they are all very different and clearly unique. The same holds true for us today. Don’t waste your time comparing yourself to someone else because you don’t know their story. There was so much that went into getting them to where they are today that your life could never truly line up with theirs. The only thing you need to measure up to is your God-given purpose. God’s purpose for your life was tailor-made for you.
How this applies to you:
— Life’s complexities make comparing ourselves to others both futile and dangerous.
— God’s plan for your life is custom-designed for you, taking into account your personality, experiences, and even your failures.
— God uniquely crafts your journey for His specific purpose.
— What works for others may not be God’s plan for you.
— Your challenges are part of your unique preparation process.
— God’s timing in your life is perfectly aligned with His purpose.
— Your story is still being written by the Author of Grace. Don’t mess it up by trying to be someone He did not call you to be just because you are comparing yourself to others.
3. Sometimes, the greatest power is the power of divine restraint.
David’s ability to show restraint with Saul while struggling with Nabal demonstrates how grace operates differently in different situations. If David had “lost it” with Saul, like he did with Nabal, he would have killed a man he was not supposed to touch. Sometimes, our most significant victories come not from what we do but from what we choose not to do.
How this applies to you:
— Spiritual maturity is often displayed through exceptional restraint.
— Not every opportunity to act is an instruction to act.
— God’s grace gives you the power to respond rather than react.
— Divine restraint often precedes divine promotion. When God knows you have developed restraint, He also knows you can handle positions of increased responsibility.
— Many of us focus on the faith that is required to act, and we most certainly need that faith. When God says “GO,” we must be prepared to go. But faith is also required when God tells us to stop, pause, wait, and exercise restraint. Honestly, the latter is more challenging for me.
— Sometimes, the hardest thing you are asked to do by God is to wait on His timing.
— David was anointed to be the King of Israel, but he had to wait for God’s timing to align with his calling. Your ability to wait patiently for God proves your trust in Him.
4. History will be kind to you – God’s Grace will tell your story in a way that puts you in the best light.
We all know David was far from perfect. Still, in the New Testament, when the Lord, through Luke, was looking back at the Old Testament to say something about David, this is what Luke wrote: “When he [God] had removed Saul, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.'” (Acts 13:22). When the Lord makes a record of your life, to be displayed in heaven, in the halls of eternity, believe me, He will conveniently choose to leave out the bad parts. Do you know what that’s called? It’s called GRACE!
How this applies to you:
— God’s grace will provide an editorial service on your life’s story, highlighting His work while covering your shortcomings.
— God sees your potential more than your past. This is why, in God’s Kingdom, you cannot judge your future by your past.
— Your failures don’t define your future in God.
— Grace rewrites your story from God’s perspective.
— Your legacy will be determined by God’s grace, not your mistakes.
— God’s memory of you is filtered through His grace. If you genuinely believe this, you will enter this day with an unwavering readiness to be used by God for His glory, knowing your faults, flaws, and failures are not holding you back from the future God planned!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, Your grace is sufficient to accomplish Your purpose through my imperfect life.
I embrace my unique journey, knowing You’ve custom-designed it for Your glory.
Your grace empowers me with divine restraint when facing persecution and offense.
I yield myself as a vessel of Your grace, allowing Your power to flow through my weakness.
Every chapter of my story is being rewritten by Your amazing grace.
I trust Your perfect timing and sovereign power over every situation in my life.
I walk in confidence, knowing Your grace has already covered my future failures.
Your strength is made perfect in my weakness, displaying Your glory through my life.
I declare that Your grace is transforming me daily into the image of Your Son Jesus.
Your grace is why I can boldly declare: GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!
I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it, and prosper!
