Epiphany
Celebration of God
Manifested in the World
February 3, 2015
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 40:21-31
He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.
Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint. — Isaiah 40:29-31
God created each and every one of us with purpose. In many instances, I have not understood my purpose in life situations until I viewed them from the wisdom of hindsight. At some point, I let go and decided to live in faith that I did not necessarily have to understand what each of my purpose moments were. In all honesty, some of each of our most mundane actions may have been the most important thing we ever accomplished.
Several years ago I received a telephone call from a person I once supervised. I had lost track of her over time, and was pleased when I heard her voice on the phone. She was one of the best administrative assistant I had ever had. I could hear the anxiety in her voice as she began to speak when she explained that she had called to apologize to me for the way she had treated me when I had never been anything but good to her. I truly did not know what she was talking about. She was reserved, but she had never been anything but polite and respectful to me. I told her exactly that and I told her how much I appreciated her hard work and attention to detail. I could almost feel through the telephone line the weight lifted from her very being. I do not know what precipitated the call, I do know that she needed the affirmation I was able to provide. It was a purpose moment.
God is calling us to satisfy our purposes. They give meaning to our lives. When we are fulfilling our purposes, we experience great joy and fulfillment. It doesn’t matter how tired or frustrated we get, when fulfilling our purposes we are able to mount up with wings like eagles, … run and not be weary, …walk and not faint, because God hardwired us to know God’s joy and because God is with us in every flap of our wings.
Prayer: Gracious God, we thank you for purpose and for sustaining us through joy and love. Amen.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.