Here with Me

Would this day be more meaningful to you if you knew there was a purpose and plan in store for you? What if I told you I would grant you a reward of great significance at the end of this month if you completed a set number of tasks within the time frame allotted? Would your priorities be different each day, or would you be passive about how you invest your time, talent, and energy?

What if I also told you there is a divine plan and purpose for every second of every day of your life? What if that plan was in the mind of God as He intentionally created you, knitting you together in your mother’s womb and watching you take form and be birthed into this life? He was there, even observing your response to the first sounds you made. I bet His heart skipped a beat when you smiled for the first time. The heavenly hosts probably snickered when your first burp frightened you, and all celebrated the joy of watching you take your first step. Before long, you were running and climbing, and I am quite sure God had to tighten the shift of His angels and earthly guardians He assigned to you.

Over time, you discovered how to dream and became fascinated with His wonderful creation that surrounded you. You explored His creation with all your senses—sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. The sense of taste eventually became a problem because there was nothing you touched that did not end up in your mouth. You did not understand the concept of wealth or poverty, skin color, or education. None of it mattered to you. Though in reality, your world was very small, your imagination saw vast opportunities that had no limits.

As you grew, your childhood discoveries became bleak and were lost over time. The simple wonder of life that once fascinated you eventually began to mirror the faded dreams of the ones who influenced your life. Was it to their blame? Only God can say. Truth is, the guidance that was provided by the ones who loved you was limited because of their broken pasts. And their pasts were broken because they had not been restored to them by their Creator, God.

How were the pasts of your loved ones broken? That is a great question. This truth is discovered in the garden of Eden. Humankind entered a life of brokenness when Adam made one crucial decision to disobey God. The Bible identifies disobedience as sin. The one decision that was made, which seemed very simple, produced an instinct within our created beings to naturally act against the will, and preference, of our Creator God. So no matter what walk of life you are from—be it of wealth or poverty, of the elect or the outcast—we are all prone to sinful behaviors. We are also in need of a Savior to help us turn from those tendencies, free us from their bondage, and teach us how to live lives free from sin that leads to death.