If you've ever asked yourself the question, "Why am I here?" or "What is my purpose?" that would have been the beginning of your quest to figure out the answers along your journey. You would begin to realize that your life has meaning. You would start living your life with an awareness that transcends beyond the physical world.
I began my quest as a child. For as long as I can remember I've always had this strange, yet very normal, awareness that my life was a classroom. It was going to teach me so many valuable lessons. I was going to be tested many times. I was going to graduate to different levels of learning many times as I passed each test. I would grow and mature spiritually all the while knowing that I would remain a student for my entire life. Final graduation would not come while in human form. Final graduation would come when my spirit was allowed to return home.
Having this view point has allowed me to view "death" differently. I view it as a crossing over. I call it my "homecoming". It will be the beginning of my life, where I'm allowed to live for eternity, and share what amazing lessons I've learned on earth. It's the day when all wisdom and knowledge will be made known unto me; all of life's lessons will be understood. It's the day that I get to review my entire life.
For me, to have this vantage point means that I accept ALL things in my life as good. All things come to teach me and to help me grow. I embrace life lessons whether they are viewed as good or bad. I live my life according to Romans 8:28 which says, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose".
So I ask you to think on this. Do you live your life with an outward view? To live this way would be to walk around with a flash light always shining on someone else. Constantly looking at their journey, their mistakes, their life lessons, their blessings.
For some, it might be easier to live this way because you don't have to look within and be taught your own life lessons. Those lessons will not go away however. They still come, they still teach, and you can either pass or fail the test. If you’re too focused on "others" from a competitive viewpoint then you will not pass your own test. Soon you will wonder why the same trials and tribulations continue to show up in your life.
Remember, ALL things work together for our good so your "trial" or "test" is not "bad" at all. It's just an opportunity for growth. Life (our teacher) will not let you fail. Life will give us the same test over and over again until we pass.
Imagine a race with ten lanes and ten runners. Will the runner that continues to look at his fellow teammate's location win? Will he continue to stay in his lane? Will he be prepared to jump the hurdle in front of him with his head turned? It's like Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:24, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it”. We each have our own individual prize! God has designed each of us with our own individual purpose, task, and mission. Obtain your prize!
Be careful when you judge someone else’s journey or race. We should never judge others. We don't know what course God has planned for them. To the outside world their course might look undesirable but from God's vantage point their course is perfect for their growth. If you are focused on running your own race then in the end the lessons will be learned. ALL things work together for our good!
We should always be in prayer for one another. We also have an enemy roaming the earth that would love to get us off course. Not all experiences in life are from God. For this reason we should constantly keep one another in prayer.
I personally pray for each person in my life. I pray Isaiah 54:17 which says, "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment shall be condemned". When a family member or friend asks me to pray for them my prayer is simply, "Lord, let thy will be done in them". I don't know what God has planned for them, but praying that His will is completed in them is praying for God's perfect will to be done in their life.
I embrace my journey. I embrace and even welcome my tests. I know that with each one, once I have passed and learned the lesson, growth is inevitable. I actually get excited for my test because I know I will graduate to another level. This level is not physical or material, it's a spiritual maturity. It's a piece of the veil that is removed from my eyes. In the end, on graduation day, the remaining veil is removed and all things are shown to me. What a glorious day that will be!
Until then, I challenge you to embrace your life and lessons it will bring. Remember that ALL things work together for YOUR good.
From this moment on the flashlight should be shining on your own head so that you can win your race. Once your race is won you can enjoy the win with the other runners, cheer for the ones that are still running, and share your experiences with each other. It wasn't a race of "competition" but a race for continued growth in love and spiritual maturity. Your growth can be shared and all of the runners can learn from one another.
I believe that we are all ONE and as we grow in humility, unconditional love, and kindness towards one another, we shall cause goodness to grow and manifest into this world continuously.
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