God Has a Greater Purpose for Your Life
In 1863 a German chemist named Julius Hilbrand was trying to develop a yellow dye for industrial use. He experimented with the molecule Toluene. By binding a Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) molecule to it he came up with a substance he named Trinitrotoluene. For more than thirty years it served exclusively as an industrial dye.
But other chemists began to suspect that Trinitrotoluene might have a future as an explosive. This was because it was similar to two other explosives, 2,4,6-Trinirophenol (picric acid) and Trinitroglycerol (nitroglycerin). However, Hilbrand’s molecule proved too “insensitive” or hard to detonate to serve as an explosive.
But in 1902 German ordnance developers cracked the code on Trinitrotoluene. They decided to use its insensitivity to their own advantage. Since this substance could be melted at 176-degrees (F) without combusting or degrading, they poured it melted into armor-piercing shell casings. Doing this allowed the shell to first penetrate a warship’s armor before exploding, greatly increasing its destructive power. Thus, TNT was born.
TNT’s insensitivity makes it relatively safe to work with, in contrast with most other explosives. All that’s necessary to make it detonate is to add an explosive primer or an electrical charge. TNT has the added advantage of being impervious to water, making it ideal for underwater detonations. And because of TNT’s high detonation velocity (6,924 meters per second), it forms the base line for measuring all other explosives. In fact, all atomic and hydrogen bombs are measured in kilotons or megatons, respectively. A kiloton equals the explosive power of 1,000 tons of TNT and a megaton equals 1,000,000 tons of TNT.
When I read about the history of TNT it brought something to mind. Think of the people in the Bible before God called them and then after God got a firm grip on their lives. Before God came into their lives, they were all like TNT restricted in use as a dye. They were useful, but undistinguished. But after God took possession of them, they became as powerful as TNT the explosive. Their lives became dynamic, and they accomplished things impossible for mere humans.
As a shepherd in the wilderness of Sinai, what leadership gifts did Moses display? He didn’t possess the eloquence of his brother Aaron, the boldness of his sister Miriam, nor the administrative gifts of his father-in-law Jethro. Yet, in the hands of the Lord he brought Egypt to its knees, delivered Israel from its grasp, and gave them God’s imperishable Law.
Gideon described himself as the least in his family and his family as the least in Israel. The hesitance and timidity he expressed in doing God’s will aligned perfectly with his description. Yet, once he placed himself in God’s hands, God used him and his 300-man battalion to overthrow the invading army of 135,000 Midianites.
Before He called David, God described him as a shepherd who followed sheep, as opposed to leading them (2 Samuel 7:8). Yet, in God’s hands David became the leader of a nation and its most powerful king. All of Israel’s longtime enemies – the Philistines, Edomites, Ammonites, Jebusites, and dozens of others – were all crushed by David.
And think of Peter. Before Christ called him – and for a brief time when he no longer considered himself a disciple – we get a glimpse into his skill as a fisherman. In both places (Luke 5:5; John 21:3) we learn that that Peter fished all night and caught nothing. But in each case, when he obeyed the voice of Jesus, fishes filled Peter’s nets to the breaking point. This, of course, was only a shadow of things to come when Peter served Jesus as a fisher of men. In response to just one of his sermons, Peter netted 3,000 people who put their faith in Jesus (Acts 2:37-41).
The same was true for all the apostles of the Lord. When Jesus found them, they were all “men of little faith” (Matthew 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; 17:20). Yet, in the Lord’s hands they all won thousands of souls for the Kingdom of God and all but one faced violent death for their faith. Apart from the Lord they were TNT as a dye. But in His hands, they were TNT as a mighty explosive.
What has any person got to lose by committing their life to Jesus? They’ll only lose a self-centered, nondescript, and undistinguished life. But by giving their life to Jesus they’ll find the purpose they were created for. They’ll discover their true and glorious destiny.
PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, into Your loving and capable hands I entrust my life, future, plans, and destiny. I believe that You, O God, have a far better purpose and plan for my life. So, please, dear Jesus, take me, make me into the person of Your dreams, and use me for whatever purpose You chose. Only help me to be faithful, I pray. Amen.
(Information from: https://scitoys.com/tnt.html; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TNT; https://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2011/05/tnt-was-originally-used-as-a-yellow-dye-not-to-make-bombs/)
