When you are living to simply survive…

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I had a moment last week that really awakened my spirit.

I realized that it was February! One-twelfth of the year has already passed, and, quite frankly, I do not remember much of it. There were definite highs and a few lows, but, more than anything, it was all a blur.

This usually happens when you are too busy meeting life’s demands. When you wake and go through your day, you are more focused on a “to do” list rather than a “to be” list. You rush to run errands and rush past every yellow light on the street, rather than being a joyful worshipper. You stress to meet a deadline and please the right people at work, rather than being a powerful child of God. At the end of the day, you are not quite sure what you really did, but you just know and feel like you did a lot.

To live like this is a waste of such a beautiful life.

If you are living to survive, you have forgotten why you live.

Mark 8:35-36 says, “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”

Let’s break that passage down…

Whoever chooses to live for themselves, will never live at all. Whoever lives for Jesus, will truly know what it means to partake in a life worth living. What good is it to succeed at work, purchase nice things, and have a good reputation, when you feel and end up dead inside?

If you are living to simply survive, it’s time to begin living for Jesus.

This means your daily goals shouldn’t be limited to just doing well at work, keeping your kids happy, or completing all school projects. You do not even have to be a Christian to have these sorts of goals. You do not need the Holy Spirit to complete these goals either.

The goal for the day could be to create an atmosphere of worship in your home. It could be to bless your coworkers and show them Jesus through your actions. It could be to evangelize to your neighbor. It could be to teach your children how to read the Word.

Living for Jesus places an eternal significance to everything that we do. It also gives us supernatural power to do them. Rejection is no longer just about you and your ambitions, but rejection for the kingdom of God. Hard work is no longer about pleasing a crowd, but about pleasing Jesus. When you are tired, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that it is because you labor to save the lost, not just because work is annoying and the demands at home are too much.

But this life of significance is the fruit of putting Jesus first in everything you do.

I have been in ministry long enough where I have heard all the First World excuses under the sun. There’s always a reason why people feel justified not to pray, not to gather with the Body of Christ, and not to participate in His mission for the earth. Basically, there’s always a reason why people feel justified to live for themselves rather than for Jesus.

However, a life filled with excuses is also a life empty of power. This is because the Holy Spirit was given to empower Christians to live for Jesus, not to live for themselves. The purpose of the Spirit’s supernatural power was to help ordinary Christians do extraordinary things for God’s kingdom! However, we as Christians easily reduce the name of Jesus as a good luck charm to get through a commute or pass an exam.

Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

God has a destiny for you. It comprises of a good work that He prepared specifically for you to accomplish on this earth.  I sincerely hope and pray that you do not spend your entire life merely getting a lot of temporal, insignificant things done. In fact, getting a lot accomplished is not the same as living a fruitful life. Although hard work and excellence is important, you will not discover and accomplish your God-given purpose simply by hustling for it by your own strength. You see, destiny is a God thing. It comes by abiding in the one who purposefully created you.

Hold onto Him. Prioritize Him. Remember Him in all that you do. Wake up each day with the reminder that each breath is a gift.

As you do, you will do much more than survive. You will reign.