2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 11 Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, 12 that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 61:1,3 1 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me…3 To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them… the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”

Recently I have been impressed that the Lord is coming soon, and there isn’t much time left. I have sort of been in denial on this point, but I’m more and more convinced it’s true. And even if it isn’t, none of us know how soon our time will be up, so we need to behave like we only have a short time left to live.If that is true, what kind of lives are we supposed to live? Christianity is not about living a happier, more comfortable life here on earth until we graduate to heaven.

That is totally missing the point. Every believer has a specific calling--a special purpose that will glorify the name of Jesus Christ. And when He is glorified, unbelievers receive Christ and believers are built up in the faith. If we fail to fulfill our purpose, not only will others miss out on the blessing, but it will also affect our reward in heaven. So, how do we know what our purpose is?

FIRST, figure out where your anointing is. When does the Holy Spirit work most powerfully through you? When do you have the greatest influence for God? If you can’t figure it out, ask the Lord to show you.

I was meeting with a pastor one day when he said, “The Lord gave me a scripture this morning and I believe it’s for you.” I was very skeptical. It was Isaiah 61:1-3, and Christians like to throw those verses around. I didn’t think they had anything to do with me, but I promised to read them later.

When I was alone later that day, I read those verses out loud. When I got to verse 3, “…the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness,” the Holy Spirit came over me so strongly that I literally could not read any further. I was shocked. People had told me they were touched by the Holy Spirit when I sang, but I didn’t see that as a very important purpose. Now I read those verses out loud almost every day, and the Holy Spirit usually comes over me at the same spot: “the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” I know that I know that I know that’s what God put me here to do.

SECOND, once you know where your anointing is, RUN TOWARD IT. Pursue every opportunity for God to use you in your anointing. I sing a solo almost every Sunday at church. But one night my pastor said to me during a church service, “The Lord wants you to sing more.” My immediate internal reaction was, “I don’t know where I’m going to sing but here on Sundays, Lord…” and I felt Him saying, “You don’t need an audience. Sing to Me.” So I do. And I find that, the more I sing to Him, the more blessed and at peace I feel.

But it’s not just singing. My other areas of anointing are encouragement and teaching. So, every time the Lord shows me something new, I look for an opportunity to share it with someone else to encourage them. Since I came to a turning point in my career recently, I am also offering my services as a Life Coach for Christians who want to live more powerful, spiritual lives.

I find that most Christians don’t have any clue what their anointing is, but once I ask them, they usually think about it and come up with an answer. That’s what I would like you to do this week.

God HAS anointed you. He IS calling you. Are you listening?

Cathleen