I Was Made To Praise The Lord - May 2019
"The creator of the universe is also the creator of every human life, including yours, and all that He does has a purpose. God made you for a reason and has a plan for your life. He's calling you to fulfill a purpose within a story that is larger than you could ever dream or imagine: an adventure beyond all adventures."- Walking with Bilbo
I like that. God made us all for a purpose.
What is that purpose?
You'll find out in a minute.
But let me just start by saying that our society puts so much emphasis on school/education and work that we stress ourselves out about it.
When people are trying to start a conversation what's the first thing they ask?
What's the first thing out of their mouth?
Yep, questions about school and work.
Are you in school? If so, where do you go to school?
Do you work? If so, where do you work?
My whole life these questions have always really bothered me and caused panic attacks because I felt ashamed and guilty that my life is different than most people due to my health issues.
My whole life I've dealt with chronic health issues.
When you have chronic health issues, there is of course the physical side,
but there's also an invisible emotional side that no one tells you about.
For me, that means dealing with uneccessary guilt and shame because I'm not able to do a lot of things due to chronic illness.
I've always felt like my life was never going anywhere.
I’ve always felt like I have no purpose and would never amount to anything because I can’t work.
I didn’t understand why I couldn’t be like normal people.
In Ron Hamilton's children's Christmas cantata/musical titled "Christmas Carol" Carol Bailey was ashamed of her past or the lack of one. She was too afraid to tell anyone anything out of fear that she wouldn't be understood.
Whoa! Boy can I relate to that!
I too, was ashamed of my past or the lack of one. I was ashamed of not going to school and not having a job. I HATED being asked about school or work because I was ashamed. Like Carol Bailey, I too, was too afraid to tell anyone anything out of fear that I wouldn't be understood. So when I got asked about school or work I had panic attacks and would just freeze because I didn't have an answer that was good enough for people.
Psalm 139:13-14 says
13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
ThIs Psalm has been so comforting to me.
Song: "I Am Your Creation" by Ron Hamilton
And this song has been such a comfort to me. To know that God must have some purpose for my life since He put me on this earth.
There is an amazing line at the very end of the Patch adventure “The Evolution Revolution” that completely changed my perspective about my life situation!
The line is this: "Derwin: Captain Patch, why did God put me on this earth? Patch: Derwin, you were made to praise the Lord.”
When I heard that last line, something inside me clicked. That line hit me like a ton of bricks. It was so comforting. All of the sudden a peace washed over me, and all the guilt and shame that I'd been carrying around my whole life because of chronic illness fell away. Why?
Because I finally realized that we were not put here on this earth to focus on ourselves (education and jobs). That's NOT why we were created.
I FINALLY had an answer, the RIGHT answer to the school and work questions. What is my answer?
These next 4 verses are my answer.
Revelations 4:11 says, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
Isaiah 43:21 ”This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.”
2nd Corinthians 4:18- "while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."
1st Samuel 16:7- "for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."
Song: "God Sees The Heart" by Ron Hamilton from the Patch adventure "Down Under."
I finally understood that life was not about and didn't revolve around having a job or high education. Though most people think it does. I finally understood that I didn't have to wait till I got a job or did something big to have confidence and to feel good about myself. I can have confidence in the skills and talents that God has given me. I finally realized I DO have purpose. My purpose is to praise the Lord!!
Can I get an Amen??!!
Just as I’ve heard Ron say, that in music ministry Music is not the main thing. Same principle applies to life. Going to school and getting a good education and having a job is a blessing, but it’s NOT the main thing.
The main thing is mentioned in Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27 where it says,
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and greatest command.”
song: "The Greatest Command" by Ron Hamilton From the Patch adventure "The Calliape Caper."
That’s the main thing.
Just because I’m not able to go to school (not that I even want to) or have a job doesn’t mean that my life isn’t going anywhere or that my life is meaningless. God didn’t put us on this earth to please ourselves with education and a job. He put us here for HIS Pleasure and HIS glory that we should Praise Him. It means that I don’t have to have all the answers. But I CAN tell others about God’s Goodness and what He's done in my life.
An old hymn that I was raised on comes to mind.
”This is My Father's World.”
I was raised on hymns and spirituals. This is one of many hymns I was raised on but never understood...until now. Understanding that we were made for God's pleasure to praise Him, the hymn ”This is My Father's World” takes on a whole new meaning. Just think about that title for a minute. This is God's world. There is a Patch song called ”Make a Joyful Noise”
and its basically Psalm 100 put to music.
This part of the lyrics come to mind. ”know ye that the Lord, He is God. It is He that hath made us and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”
Song: "Make A Joyful Noise" by Ron Hamilton from the Patch adventure "Camp Kookawacka Woods."
When I finally realized that school and work are NOT the main focus of this life, I felt like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. The best way I can describe it is with some some lyrics from Ron’s song ”Tho’ It's Midnight.”
"there are times the pain seems endless, and my suffering seems so long. But my Savior bears each sorrow and He gives to me a song......tho my body's held in shackles, Christ has set my spirit free. Chains are broken, doors fly open, tho it's midnight.”
the Patch adventure ”Once Upon A Starry Knight” deals with this subject very well.
2 servants, Stormy and Starry end up becoming knights and one becomes the next king. King Arthuritis gives both Stormy and Starry a royal cloak, a royal horse, and 3 bags of gold to use as they please. He warns them to use their treasures in a manner worthy of a king, and the throne may be theirs.
In the course of the adventure, the crew runs into King O’Matic the king maker. A gypsy type character who's self-centered and ends up winning Stormy’s confidence. Stormy goes with King O’Matic while Starry stays with the crew.
King O’Matic turns Stormy into a self-serving king while Starry stays with the crew and remains humble. King O’Matic gives Stormy royal clothing and anything he wants, making Stormy feel like a big shot with all his riches. On the other hand, Starry ends up giving away all his belongings to the poor and needy, making him a servant. He puts others before himself. At the end of the adventure Starry becomes the next king of Lumbago.
Stormy loses all his riches and realizes his behavior was wrong. He apologizes to Starry. Starry lets him take his original place as servant in the castle. Stormy learns that being rich and selfish doesn't get you anywhere.
This is a lesson for all of us. This meant a lot to me because it drove home the point that feeling important with a job or success won't help you.
1 Peter 5:5b, James 4:6, Proverbs 3:34, Proverbs 29:23, says, ”God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.”
Matthew 23:12, Luke 1:52 ”And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.”
Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”
Song: "Pride Goes Before A Fall" from the Patch adventure "Operation Arctic Viking Invasion."
I'm not afraid of the school questions anymore. Haven't been for a while. But I was still ashamed of being different and having to have a very different lifestyle. THIS was the missing piece.
These 2 quotes really sum it up for me.
"When something other than Christ becomes our goal, our goal becomes our God."
"When you find your identity in the one who created you, it will change your whole perspective."
I was letting the fact that I can't work and didn't go to school define me.
When we go to heaven to be with Jesus, none of this worldly stuff is going to matter anyway. We're gonna leave it all behind.
The Patch adventure ”The Kung Phooey Kid” does an amazing job of expressing this thought. There is an amazing Chinese proverb in this adventure that sums up this thought very well. It goes like this: “The gold and silver of today, will soon take wings and fly away.”
Matthew 6:19-21 ”Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Song: "It's All Going To Pass Away" by Ron Hamilton from the Patch adventure "The Kung Phooey Kid.
In the Patch Adventure ”Shipwrecked on Pleasure Island” it mentions a verse in 1 Timothy (actually 2nd Timothy) where is says, ”Man shall be lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.”
Song: ”Treasure of My Heart” by Ron Hamilton from Patch adventure ”The Kung Phooey Kid”
My brother just graduated from college. Although this is hard for me in the sense that I want to make my parents proud, but I know I most likely won't do big worldly things like most people.
Matthew 16:26 ”For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Four quotes that I just love come to mind.
1. ”God often hurts us to draw us close to Him, to get us on our knees and to get us to realize where the real power is.” - Ron Hamilton
2. ”The struggles of life is one of our greatest blessings. It makes us patient, sensitive, and God-like. Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering.”- Hellen Keller
3. ”I walked a mile with pleasure,
She chatted all the way.
But left me none the wiser,
For all she had to say.
I walked a mile with sorrow,
Not a word said she.
But oh the things I learned from God,
When sorrow walked with me.”- Robert Browning Hamilton (Ron would like to think he's a relative. He doesn't know if he is or not. )
4. ”Wisdom was not found at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandpile at Sunday School.” -From a book ”All I Ever Needed To Know I Learned In Kindergarten.”
How true are these quotes?? I think these quotes sum it up very well.
So before we go asking people about school or work let's remember what our REAL purpose is here on Earth. We were made to praise the Lord!