Friday | Week 13

In the spring of 2019, Barbara and I had the privilege of touring Israel with a group from Redeemer. A particular highlight of that trip was getting to visit the Garden of Gethsemane, just outside the walls of Jerusalem, near the Kidron Valley.

It was impactful to be able to stand in that spot and try to imagine what it would have been like for Jesus on the night He was arrested.

His prayer in John 17 has given us a glimpse into what He was going through that night. It’s a very sobering prayer. You can sense the anguish and the loneliness He was feeling. Yet in the midst of it all, Jesus was able to make this statement, “I have glorified you on the earth, having accomplished the work you have given me to do” (John 17:4, NASB).

When I was in my twenties, I attended a conference put on by a Christian ministry called The Navigators. I heard a message by a man named Skip Gray. Skip told us, if he was alert and coherent when he was on his death bed, he hoped that he would be able to offer the same prayer to God that Jesus did in John 17:4. 

Decades later, his statement still challenges me. My guess is that every follower of Jesus wants to make that statement at the end of their life. But in order to say that, we first have to know what God wants us to accomplish. What is God’s purpose for my life? What has He specifically set aside for me to do? 

Scripture tells us that God has a purpose and plan for each one of us (Jeremiah 29:11; Psalm 138:8). It also says that He’ll give us wisdom if we ask for it (James 1:5). Each of us needs to continually ask God to show us what He wants us to do, what His purpose is for us in every season of our life, and how we can glorify Him. How satisfying to be able to say to God at the end of our time on earth, “I have glorified you on the earth having accomplished the work you have given me to do.” May that be so for all of us.