You are profitable
I appeal to you to show kindness to my child, Onesimus. I became his father in the faith while here in prison. Onesimus was unprofitable to you in the past, but now he is very useful to both of us. Philemon 1:10&11
Have you ever felt useless? Like you just didn’t have anything to contribute in a situation or the place you were in the past? Maybe you feel that was today, like you just don’t know if your life has a purpose.
The book of Philemon is about someone like that. Philemon was a pastor of a church that met in his own home. He had a slave named Onesimus. Onesimus was in a place where he was not living up to his potential. Being a slave probably had something to do with it, but for whatever reason, he stole from his master Philemon and ran away. He went to Rome and his path crossed with the apostle Paul there. Paul took him in and discipled him and finally, Onesimus found his place of usefulness and purpose. Now Paul was sending him back to Philemon to deliver messages of encouragement from Paul to the church there. Paul’s message to Philemon was to receive Onesimus back, not as a slave, but as a brother in the LORD. Paul tells Philemon that Onesimus is now useful and helpful to both of their ministries.
This is the way I lived my life. I ran away often only to find another place of being unproductive and useless. Shattered relationships and burnt bridges were always in my wake. Until one day I met someone wise enough to help me repay my debts and reconcile my relationships. No I didn’t become healed overnight, but gradually and over time with consistency in growing in my relationship with my Heavenly Father, I began to become useful and productive. Now, many years later, I have confidence in who I now am as a child of God. Jesus has reconciled me to my Father and given me a place of usefulness and purpose. It didn’t happen over night and truthfully, I never thought it would. I just began to take steps toward Him as He drew me closer and continued day by day.
Today I want to encourage you to first of all, don’t give up! Even if you are at a place where you think your life doesn’t matter, I assure you, your Heavenly Father has the perfect assignment in His body just for you! He loves you and wants you to step into the design for your life. Ask the Lord to bring a friend into your life that can help you stay on course with Him. Then start taking simple next steps and do them consistently. Some suggested next steps would be: Make your relationship with God the priority of your day by spending quiet, personal time with Him and His Word. Start asking Him to reveal the place where you fit. Join a small group or bible study to connect with other believers to strengthen your walk with the Lord. Attend church service weekly and begin to serve in some capacity. Lastly, look for opportunities to bless your family, friends and neighbors. It doesn’t have to be big, something as simple as asking them if they would like prayer for anything or even just being there when they need a friend can make all the difference in their world. Start today to take your next step in God’s direction . Doing this consistently will begin to open unlimited opportunities that you never thought were possible.
Today’s scripture reading: Philemon 1
The Daily Dose 