That is what God wanted...

I am beginning to read the book of Colossians, and this verse jumped out at me...

"From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am an apostle because that is what God wanted. Also from Timothy, our brother." Colossians 1:1, New Century Version

Here it is in NIV...

"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother." Colossians 1:1, NIV

The part of this verse that stuck out to me was "because that is what God wanted." God wanted Paul to be His apostle so he was. It was part of God's will for Paul to go from the persecutor of Christians to His apostle. In a book I'm reading called Christianish by Mark Steele (I'm almost done with it and will post a review soon), the author talks about how we just try to fit into positions or jobs because that's what we want and we don't really stop to see if that is where God wants us.

I was thinking about how this applies to my life. How can you fill in the blank?

I am a _________ because that is what God wanted.

For me the blank could be filled by any number of things.....Christian, wife, stay-at-home Mom, friend, writer, reader, volunteer.

What about you? How do you feel about what you put in that blank? The important thing is to ask yourself is this answer how God would fill in the blank right now? Do you accept that this is the position or place that He has for you now? Or are you trying to put something in that blank because it is what YOU want right now and not really what He wants for you?

Obviously, some of these roles stay the change, but I think as we go through seasons in our life these roles may change. God may want us in different roles and positions to give us opportunities to use our gifts for Him. We need to be open to these changes. Something I've been reminded of recently is just because others may think they have the answer to how I need to fill in my blank, that isn't really someone else's choice for me. I don't have to worry about not filling my blank with whatever role they want to put on me if it is not what God wants for me right now.

What are you doing today because that is what God wanted?

Have a day of blessings!