Living With Purpose
Have you ever longed to start over because you made mistakes that caused yourself and others heartache and trouble? Sometimes it takes mistakes in life to get our attention. I’ve known people who exhausted all human strength before acknowledging their helplessness. It’s at this point in life that you actually have your greatest potential, for if you truly have reached rock-bottom, there’s nowhere else to go, but up! God stands ready and available to help the poorest and most desolate soul in need. The most wonderful prospect is that the greatest power source in all creation is available to the small and to the mighty. It makes no difference how popular you are or how much money or talent you have. God’s powerful touch is available to all that will call upon his name. I once met a man at a function our church had coordinated. He began to tell me about his life. He grew up in a home where he lacked for no material thing. In fact, he had more than most. As he grew into adulthood he began to drink beer and other strong drinks regularly. He would often function in a drunken stupor. Friends and family would warn him that he needed help and his addiction was going to consume his life. He would always dismiss their warnings and he’d continue to reach for the bottle. One day he started drinking around noon and continued into the night and eventually got behind the wheel and started to drive. He came to his senses after a police chase. He lived in Florida but found himself staring into the gun chamber of a state trooper’s revolver on some unknown highway in Nebraska! He had no idea how he had driven that far. The officer drug him out of his car and said, “Make one move and you’re dead!”
Later that same evening while staring at the ceiling in a jail cell, he told himself. “Maybe I do have a drinking problem.” His mind reverted back to the wholesome upbringing he had enjoyed. Then, he decided to pray: “Lord I really messed up my life with my drinking. Will you forgive me? Will you touch my life with your healing hands and please take away my desire for alcohol? I want to do better at living, please help me.” From that day on, he never drank another drop.
Three things were at work in this man’s life—the desire to make a change, the power of prayer to make it happen, and God’s providential care for human life. My mentor, Norman Vincent Peale once said, “Decisions can be made in prayer if you stick to it. Don’t mumble a few prayers and expect that to do it. You’ve got to stay with it and wrestle with the Lord so to speak.
I believe when a person desires to be divinely touched by God’s miracle-working hand people can be changed instantly. There’s a specific verse in the Bible that says, “There went with him a group of men whose hearts God had touched” (1 Samuel 10:26). The need of individuals, homes, schools, churches, nations, and the world is the touch of the Master’s hand. Christ is waiting to touch all who will receive and trust him.
Scripture tells of a man who desired to be healed. “Lord, the man said, if you’re willing, you can heal me and make me clean. Jesus reached out and touched him. I am willing, Jesus said. Be healed! Instantly he was healed and made clean” (Matthew 8:3). God’s touch is “Cleansing” for those who pray for it. When Christians make a total commitment of their life to God, the Holy Spirit cleanses them with God’s love. God’s cleansing empowers, enables, and encourages people for service. Envy, strife and resentment are washed away (1 John 1:7).
For those that desire it, God’s touch is also “Converting”. It brings forgiveness when we confess, repent, and believe we receive his pardon. It’s a touch that transforms us. Old things pass away and everything becomes new—new life, hope, purpose, goals, and destiny (2 Corinthians 5:17). Christ’s converting touch brings a release from guilt and we’re set free from the bondage of sin that we allow to control us.
All of us become perplexed about problems, we’re fearful of future things, and troubled at the thought of death. Matthew 17:7 says, “Jesus came over and touched them and he said, Get up and don’t be afraid.” God’s touch is a “Comforting” touch.
The Master’s touch gives life therefore it’s a “Conquering” touch. It enables us to see, hear, feel, and know we’re alive in Christ! His touch brings physical, mental, and spiritual healing to those who believe.
If you don’t like where you’ve allowed your life to wonder; if you want to start over and try again, you can! God’s touch is converting, cleansing, comforting, and conquering. Choose this day to allow God to change you from the inside out. And start living with the purpose God intended for you.
• This bi-weekly column is written by Matthew Dobson. He’s the author of the following books: “Living With Purpose (Volume’s I and II)”; “Soldiers of God” and “The Authentic Teenager” and “Spiritual Fitness For Runners” and “Understanding the Higher Power”. He can be reached by email: rmdobson@liberty.edu.
