The Christian Walk
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10
A 2023 report by the Harvard Graduate School of Education found that a significant number of young adults (ages 18-25) reported having anxiety (36%) and depression (29%). One of the key reasons was the lack of “meaning or purpose” in their lives. (insidehighered.com)
No one can dispute that we are facing an increasing problem with depression within our society—a problem driven, in large part, by a sense of purposelessness and loss of meaning. This should not surprise us, for our society is becoming increasingly secular and materialistic. When the existence of God is denied and human beings are told they are the result of random chance with no future beyond this mortal life, people will have trouble finding any meaning and purpose beyond satisfying their personal wants and needs.
As Christians who embrace a biblical worldview, our lives are filled with meaning and purpose. We are, after all, individuals created by a personal God, who designed us as unique individuals with our own gifts and abilities. We are individuals redeemed by Jesus Christ and called into a renewed relationship with our Savior God. “We are,” as Paul states in our devotional text, “His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” Indeed, we are not saved by good works (Ephesians 2:8-9), but we have been saved for good works! Beyond that, Paul informs us that those good works have been “prepared beforehand” by God, so “that we might walk in them.”
That means that every morning we awaken, we can thank God not only for the new day but for everything He has prepared for us to do in that day. For the child of God, each day is brimming with meaning and purpose!
Dear Father in heaven, reveal to us each day the things You have prepared for us to do, so that our days will be filled with meaning and purpose and our lives then filled with joy! Amen.