Imposed agendas

What do we do when we are tempted toward work that doesn’t match up with the work God has planned for us to do? Christ encountered something like this and He blamed Satan! 

As Christ told his disciples about His upcoming salvific work on the cross, Peter said, 'I'll never let that happen, Lord!'

  But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.’  (Matt. 16:23)    

William Perkins (my mentor from 16th century England 🙂 ) says this is an example of Satan’s false accusations that arise between man and man. It was Satan who worked in Peter when he tried to “dissuade” Christ “from that work for which His Father had sanctified Him and sent Him into this world.”

*So, how do we know which work God has designated for us? 

*How do we learn to see Satan's false accusations that may come from others? 

Pray! Read Scripture! Pay attention to what you are good at—really good at and what you enjoy doing. Perkins says that vocation is “a certain kind of life imposed on man by God for the common good.” I appreciate Perkins’s word choice—imposed. When God imposes, He teaches and provides clearly, so we’ll KNOW.

However, if we miss, waver, or refuse God’s imposition, we can become susceptible to someone else’s imposition; like Peter who was trying to impose his will upon Christ. But Christ wasn’t having it! I pray for us to have the same strength to know the difference and eagerly accept God's imposition – for He is absolutely good and absolutely trustworthy.   

In life, God may have us veer from the primary works of our calling, for a short time, based on current needs, circumstances, abilities, etc. However, if that side-step turns long-term it can lead to discouragement, general grumpiness, distraction, ineffectiveness, and/or even burnout (consider how the fruit of the flesh versus the fruit of the Spirit can manifest in cases like these).  

Take courage. As we seek God and listen, He always has the last word. He has good works that He prepared for each of us before He created the world (Eph. 2:10). It’s those works that Satan tries to hinder, which makes perfect sense. But, God will help us get (back) to those works   

1. that bring us joy, and   
2. that we do very well: both of which visibly accomplish His good purposes in the world