We are made for something greater. It’s an inherent aspect of our very being, we want to do and be more than someone who simply exists. One of the biggest questions we ask is, why am I here? My Pastor yesterday spoke about this idea stating, the reason we feel this way is because we were not made for this world. He’s right, we were made for a different world. The concept sounds like I’m writing a comic book, but stick with me. We were made to live in paradise with Christ, but because of a choice that was made, we became separated from God. Isn’t that so crazy? We were made to be perfect living in the world God gave us, but because of a choice we lost it. So that leaves us in the predicament, we were made for something more, but how do we do that? What does that mean? What’s the point? I’ve had these questions so many times in my life, so many moments where I have no idea what to do or how to run after a purpose. When I have these moments in my life, I think of the idea of surrender. To surrender one’s life is to abandon oneself entirely to a powerful emotion or influence. When I think of this definition, it reminds me that when I surrender to Christ, he makes me greater.

I often wonder if the things I put my time into are really worth it. I love writing and serving the next generation, but often these things I do that put myself out there, don’t always come with recognition. I think that’s the case for most of us, we feel like no one notices what we do, and we start to compare ourselves to others. Our self-worth is challenged because we feel inadequate or feel like we are unimportant to the narrative this world. This is a lie. This is a lie from our enemy, an enemy that doesn’t want you to know that God made us for more. So we have a choice. We can believe the lie from the enemy that we are not worthy or have a purpose, or we can believe what Jesus told us. You see, Jesus came to bridge the gap that was created, he died so that we could have the ability to enter back into relationship with our creator. When we surrender our lives, we save it and enter into the purpose that was meant for us. Luke 9:23-24 says, “Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.’” Today I want to share encouragement, to lift you up and help you be confident in yourself, because you were made for something greater.

Surrender by serving.

One of the biggest things we can do in order to discover our purpose is to serve others. When we serve others we put ourselves aside. Now I know what you may be thinking, isn’t this supposed to help me discover my purpose? It is, and in order to find what God has for you, you have to serve others. This means serving others in your church, community, and even in your family. By serving others we learn to empathize with those around us, we see individuals as individuals. No matter what their background, we are able to see that they have been made by God, and when we serve them we are serving Christ.

Surrender by giving time.

In order to have a relationship with our creator, we have to give up time. As people we run around often with too much on our plates, and we push our time with God off to the side. I know I’m guilty of this, giving excuses that I don’t have enough time in the day or I’ll do it later. It should be done now. It should be my utmost priority. When I fail to do this, God feels distant, like he left me. The truth is, when we don’t choose to spend time with God, we leave him. We need to make time with God a daily activity, not a check list, simply a priority to ask God for his presence as you walk through the day.

Surrender your plans.

In every story, the hero has a plan for what they want in life and it’s only until they surrender to the bigger plan that they become great. Right now, you are not great, you still want what you want and if God fits in then you feel accomplished. That’s the way I used to think, I had a plan for where I wanted to go, but it was only until I asked God to lead me did I feel like I meant something in this world. You have the potential to do great things and be great for the kingdom, but you have to surrender. You have to give up your plans and replace it with what God wants. How do you know what God wants? You need to serve and spend time with him (oh sweet! It’s like what I just talked about in the previous paragraphs!). Surrender your plans, and let God lead your life.

I think it’s important to have moments of self-reflection. To look at who you are and being real with yourself to ask if you are the person you want to be. That’s part of the whole surrendering thing, you have to be real with yourself. Jesus was the example of one who surrendered his life completely, he didn’t have to die, and that’s a big part of his story. He had the power of God, he could have blinked his accusers out of existence, yet he chose to die for us. We have an opportunity, we can lay down our life for something greater, someone greater. I don’t know your future or what God has for you, what I do know is that God is going to use you because he made you.

Knowing that God made you means you have a purpose, and that makes you great.

-Joshua Thomas

 

Authors note:

If you’ve read this far, thank you. Thank you for reading and following me on this journey. You have stuck around during my good days and not so good days as a writer, and I think you are special and will do great things. What I’d like to do is hear some feedback from you, what have you liked and not liked. I’d also like you to write in the comments section down below of any topics you’d like to hear about if I haven’t written about it yet, or write more about a topic I have covered already!

You can write it down below and if you have questions about me or any questions for that matter, check out the FAQ section of the blog(https://warmteaandcomicbooks.com/faq/),  I think it’s pretty funny, but I’d love to hear more from my audience so I can continue to bring content that fills you and lifts you up!