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Archives for November 2018

Does God Need Us?

November 18, 2018 by Matt Pavlik Leave a Comment

To fully answer this question, we need to have a clear picture of the God who made us. God is almighty—eternally self-sufficient. In this sense, God doesn’t need anyone. But the enemy twists this fact to attempt to make us dull, despondent, and defeated. You don’t really matter to God; you’re on our own. While God is able to carry on and enact His will without us, He chooses not to. He desires to take our shame, self-pity, and self-deprecation and make us His sons and daughters.

Until you see yourself as worthwhile, you’ll underestimate your significance and limit your contribution to God’s kingdom. You must throw off your worthlessness and fully embrace the reality and identity God has for you.

God has a specific purpose for your existence. You’re a unique creation, so your active participation is essential. He chose to make you a vital part of His plans, part of the body of Christ. In the reality that God has created, each of us is irreplaceable. He desires fellowship with us and wants to see us thrive. In this sense, God needs us. If none of us were to rise up to do His bidding, He could make the rocks cry out, but that’s not going to happen. God made us to praise Him and praise Him we will.

God has great plans for you, but you can’t accomplish anything apart from God. We need God’s strength and determination to work in and through us, just as Jesus relied on His Father throughout His life. When we participate by faith, God empowers us. Instead of passively waiting for God to topple the giants in your life, consider that He may be calling you to fight, as David did, with the strength of God’s Spirit within you.

Since God has committed to partnering with us to the very end, don’t hesitate to step out in faith to discover who you are and to seek to advance God’s kingdom. To this end, I invite you To Identity and Beyond (the title of my upcoming book).

Filed Under: Spiritual Formation

How to Feel Closer to God

November 10, 2018 by Matt Pavlik 2 Comments

Does God seem distant to you? Are you struggling to believe God cares? Do you like yourself?

Wait. What does liking yourself have to do with God? It has everything to do with God.

Jesus didn’t have to command us to love ourselves like He did to love others. He expects that you’ll automatically love and care for yourself.

The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

—Mark 12:31

Despite this being a simple truth, most people struggle to genuinely feel good about who they are. This is a problem because when you’re negative on what God made, how can you be positive about God? When you can’t see God as positive, you can’t believe He’s got your best interest in mind.

If you want to feel close to God, you have to feel positive about yourself. If you don’t like yourself, then the you you don’t like is probably not the real you God has in mind. Your identity is who God says you are, while your self-image is who you think you are. When you get the two mixed up, you can’t like yourself.

Not liking yourself is ultimately the inability to see yourself as God really sees you. Putting this all together, if you want to be closer to God, you need to see what He sees. Who does God see when He looks at you? Spend time thanking God for how He made you. Ask Him to help you see yourself through His eyes.

Filed Under: Spiritual Formation, Core Longings

You Have a Purpose at All Times

November 4, 2018 by Matt Pavlik 1 Comment

Your identity is inseparable from your purpose. If God intentionally created you as distinct from others, your uniqueness must have a purpose. While you can’t expect to discover your purpose overnight, you can be sure you have one at all times.

If you always have a purpose, here are some things that are true:

  • Your life isn’t random.
  • Your life has meaning.
  • You’re not an accident; there are no coincidences.
  • Even when you’re doing nothing, you’re doing something.
  • You have significant work to do.
  • You have a destiny to fulfill.
  • You’re needed.

Can you think of any others?

How does knowing you have a purpose at all times help you live each day? Are you able to wake up excited about your day?

What’s your purpose?

Destiny follows identity. Claim your destiny by recognizing you have a purpose because of your identity. If you know your identity, then you will know your purpose. If you don’t know your purpose, then you must not know your identity all that well.

Filed Under: Identity, Boundaries Tagged With: purpose

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