When Our Purposes Become God’s Purpose

Posted on by Chris G Thelen

There have been times in my life where I felt the need to do something I thought was for myself, then days, weeks or even months later God reveals his purpose for it. This is what I thought about when I read Matthew 27:57-60 where Joseph of Arimathea gets the courage to ask Pilate for Jesus’ body so he can bury him. Verse 59-60 tell us after he wrapped Jesus’ body in linen, he “laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock (NASB).”

Scripture does not give us any more detail about why Joseph had a new tomb, but the point is that when a tomb was needed it was ready for Jesus’ body. Chiseling a tomb out of rock is not something that happens in a few hours. It takes preparation. It took planning to select a site and hire people to chisel it out of the rock. Joseph may have been preparing for his own burial, but I wonder if he felt an urgency to get it done; perhaps a nudging from God?

Joseph may have prepared the tomb for his own purposes, but it ended up playing an important role in God’s purposes. It became the place for Jesus’s resurrection from the dead. I wonder if Joseph was amazed by the thought he felt months before that he should prepare a tomb. I am always humbled when I act on a thought from God that seems like a small thing, but ends up being something important to God’s plan.

© 2020 CGThelen

12 thoughts on “When Our Purposes Become God’s Purpose”

  1. We are divinely aligned to fulfill God’s purpose. Many of our preparations in our life are preparation for what is ahead that we would never thought about. Nice article.

  2. God uses ordinary people like ourselves for His purpose. He continues to do this each and every day. Your discussion is an inspiring testament to the foresight of our Lord.

    1. God’s attention to even the smallest details amazes me. It reminds me to be attentive to God’s plan and His desires. Thanks for the comment. Blessings.

  3. Pingback: When Our Purposes Become God’s Purpose — 140 Character Christian – quietmomentswithgod

  4. “For me to live is Christ”… from The sufferings of Job at the hands of his “friends”, Rahab dropping the scarlet thread and Rebekah’s watering of the camels these all became part of the tapestry of God’s magnificent ways of His Wisdom… No wonder we are exhorted “whatsoever you do in word or deed, do it as unto the Lord”. His ways are higher than ours… what a gracious and merciful God!

    As always enjoy your sharing.
    BT

    1. Love that imagery of God’s tapestry. I once heard a speaker describe God’s tapestry as us only seeing the backside with all its threads, but God sees the complete picture on the other side. Thanks for the comment. Blessings.

  5. Pingback: When Our Purposes Become God’s Purpose – Tonya LaLonde

  7. Your thoughts of God’s provision made me think of Ephesians 1:11 which speaks of the plan God has to work out everything for the purpose of His will.

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