"immediately, Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him..." Mark 6:25

Having read a morning devotional book this warm, sunny, somewhat muggy morning, here in Cap Haitian, Haiti...I was re-inspired to live for the day, and not for, "that day..."

I think you know what I mean what I say, "that day."

I know that when I explain to you the battle I have lived within for so long of, 'that day,' that most likely you can relate.

Living with the idea that as soon as whatever it is that we are aiming for takes place, things will be better, this steals our joy.

"When I get my body in the shape and physical condition I want it in, everything will be good again."

"When my family is happy and they are out of the middle of their struggles they face, then I can be content."

"When I have enough money and the time to take that vacation etc., then I will finally have a chance to relax..."

All of these are ideas that many of us live with, but they are a false illusion.

To re-iterate the reading I did this morning, I will type out a brief overview. I think it is important to share this with you, as I believe it is something so common to us all.

We are apt to imagine that if Jesus Christ constrains us, and we obey Him, he will lead us to great success. We must never put our dreams of success as Gods purpose for us; His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have an idea that God is leading us to a particular end, a desired goal; He is not. The question of getting to a particular end is a mere incident. What we call the process, God calls the end.

What is my dream of Gods purpose for my life? Haaa Haa Ha! That would be a few years in the writing, however, I do believe that His purpose is that I depend on Him, and His power, now.
If I can stay in the middle of the turmoil, calm and unperplexed, that is the end of the purpose of God. God is not working towards a particular finish; His end is the process - that I see Him walking on the waves, no shore in sight, no success, no goal, just absolute certainty that it is alright because I see Him walking on the sea. This truth, for most of my life has seemed to be an impossible idea to accept. Nevertheless, once I begun to accept it, I have found more and more freedom, as well as a reason to keep pressing on. It is the process, not the end which is glorifying to God.

God's training is for now...His purpose is for this minute, not something in the future. We have nothing to do with the afterwards of obedience, we get wrong when we think of the afterwards. What men call training and preparation, God calls the end.

God's end, I am learning, is to enable me to see that He can walk in the chaos of my just now. If I have a further end in view, I do not pay sufficient attention to the immediate present; if I realize that obedience is the end, then each moment, as it comes, is precious.