“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. — John 17:6-10

The focus and accomplishment of Jesus's work in this text is everything we should be concerned about. Notice the three directives of Jesus. Directive number one: Revealing God's name. Directive number two: Stewarding God's people. Directive number three: Communicating God's truth. All these directives begin and end with God and give him this incredible satisfaction that he proclaims here.

And for us, if we want the same satisfaction, we have to remember that nothing we do is ever about our name, our people, or our truth. At the moment we surrender to His Lordship, we submit every hint of these former directives. Our directives must stop, and God's must start. He is the Lord and Leader of our life. We must deny ourselves, take up this burden, and follow his leadership. Everything we do is now about his name, his people, and his truth. When we live this way, we live as the men we were redeemed to be. All our thinking, believing, praying, and obeying are consumed by this.

And this is what it means to live a fulfilling life. And that's why I am doing what I do here with you every day. I want to come to the end of this life knowing I exhausted all my effort on things that have eternal value. Because I figured out a long time ago there is nothing more fulfilling than to be able to say what Jesus says here.

"Father, I have told your people about you and given them your truth so you can be glorified."

That is an epitaph I hope my family will put on my headstone at the end of my days.

So how about you? Are there places in your life where you need to shift your ambitions?

ASK THIS:

1. Are there areas where you need to shift your focus more towards God's directives and away from personal ambitions?
2. Reflect on your own life and consider whether you find fulfillment in aligning your priorities with God's directives. How can you continue to pursue a life that glorifies God in all you do?

DO THIS: Align your focus on revealing God's name, stewarding God's people, and communicating God's truth.

PRAY THIS: Father, we humbly pray that you help us to align our lives with your directives, just as Jesus did. May we find true fulfillment in living for your name, your people, and your truth, bringing glory to you in all that we say and do. Amen.

PLAY THIS: Great Is Thy Faithfulness.