Monthly Archives: July 2016

Were You Predestined?

4 Replies

Meditation Journey Day 43   

Hi Friend,

In the sixteenth verse of this Psalm, David takes us up a difficult path in these majestic mountains of Purpose…

“Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” Psalm 139:16

This passage is difficult for us to understand because it implies God planned each day of our lives before we were born. The days were written down in God’s book and we did not get to choose one of them. This is the concept of being pre-designed or predestined. Paul penned a similar thought in Ephesians 1.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved.”

What is difficult for us to understand is the balance between God’s sovereign will and God's will Man's willman’s free will. Understanding how these two opposing positions co-exist is never easy. It is comforting to know no theologian has thoroughly figured this out either. While it is reassuring to us that God is in control; we like to think we are making our own decisions. Both processes are always operating in parallel. God is always in control and working all things together for the good of His beloved. At the same time God allows each person to exercise their free will; and they are totally responsible for every choice they make. We see this in the Bible in many events. Judas’ betrayal of Jesus is a glaring example. When Judas betrayed Jesus to the Jewish leaders he was acting out his own desires. At the same moment God was using Judas’ sinful nature to fulfill God’s plan of sacrificing Jesus to redeem the world.

However, the Bible is clear that God does call and choose us. Rejoice that your decision for Christ began in the heart of God before you were born.

He is holding you; it is not your faith holding on to Him.

Verse sixteen is magnificent, because it tells us God has a plan for our lives. His design of our being, as revealed in verses 13-15, is perfect for the plan that He has set in process. The prophet, Jeremiah revealed the LORD’s plans for God’s people when he wrote, “I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, thoughts of peace and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” Jeremiah 29. How could God say this if He did not already have ultimate control of everything as a sovereign God?

This verse also speaks powerfully about our ultimate purpose for being on earth. The picture, in verse 16, is God looking at our prenatal substance and deciding how we will best impact the world for His purposes. It implies God designed us and sends us into this world as agents of His healing grace and love. We are prescriptions on a mission to reveal the healing love of God through the grace of Jesus Christ. He has prepared in-advance good works for us to do. Remember what Paul wrote, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2

Every person has a God-given purpose and reason for being alive. Human life is sacred because we are made in His image and designed to fulfill good works for His glory. You may or may not know exactly what your purpose is at all times, but trust Him. He is working all things together to accomplish it in your life.

Hand

Here are three things that are His will everyday of our lives: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” 1 Thessalonians 5. As we confidently rejoice, pray and give thanks; we will enjoy His plans for our lives. He has designed each day to give us the hope we need to rest in His Sovereign authority and love.

 

Observation: Verse 13-16 reveals God has pre-designed us for purpose each day. His plans are for our welfare and to give us hope. God’s will and man’s will, may at times be opposite, but God is still working all things together for His beloved.

Interpretation: This truth gave David peace and assurance that God had a divine purpose for his life. It should encourage us too. Our minds, limited by time and space, cannot fully understand how God executes His will without violating man’s free will; yet God constantly works this way. We should rest in the knowledge that He is in control. He designed us to do good works that will glorify Him and bless us. Our focus should be on praying, rejoicing and giving thanks to Him each day.

Application Prayer: Father God, my faith is in you and your loving kindness. I do not completely understand how you ordered my life to give you glory, but I trust your design and purpose for my life. Help me to rejoice each day with prayer and thanksgiving for your Sovereignty and grace. … in Jesus Name, Amen.

What is your take away?

Advertisement

You are Wonderfully Made!

2 Replies

Meditation Journey Day 42                         

Hi Friend,

Did you know you were intricately woven in the depths of the earth? I did not either until I read verse 15 of Psalm 139. David is writing beautiful Hebrew poetry about our prenatal development: “My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.” In these words of wisdom the Holy Spirit is revealing another facet of our unique purpose.

Shine 3The “depths of the earth” is our mother’s womb. The term “frame” does not just describe our skeletal structure. It is metaphor for the frame in which a beautiful tapestry is woven together. Medical science tells us that each person has between twenty to thirty thousand genes that determine everything about their physical make up. Our genes are like the strands of fabric that, in the secret place of the womb, God wove our being together as an artist would weave a masterpiece. Each strand of fabric He chose is of a different color and strength. We are uniquely made and created by God for our moment on the stage of life. He “intricately” wove into our makeup just the right strengths, weakness, talents and abilities to give us an exclusive way to glorify Him and serve others.

The application of this truth to our lives is immensely important. All too often we disregard our uniqueness and compare ourselves to others. The Bible says comparison thinking is unwise “We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise” 2 Corinthians 10.

When we compare ourselves to others it is easy to come to the conclusion we are deficient in some way.  Or just the reverse happens. We compare ourselves to others, and we assume we are in some way superior. Both are traps of Satan and lead to rejecting ourselves or rejecting others. God says, in Isaiah 45, that when we reject ourselves we reject Him. When we reject other people on this criterion we are assuming a position of arrogance that is unwise.  We must stop comparing ourselves to other people, because God has really made us all different. There is no one like us and there never will be anyone just like us!

By design, He created us to reveal His workmanship. This is exactly what Paul wrote: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” Ephesians 2. How could we compare ourselves to anyone when we are all designed differently to glorify God in distinctive ways?

It is also unwise to compare yourself to any one because God is the only one that knows all the twists and turns your life will take. He designed us to shine for Him in the mist of darkness, trials and tribulation that we cannot imagine. We may envy someone’s strength or beauty thinking they are so healthy looking not knowing they are filled with cancer! Only He knows the health issues we will experience. Only He knows the people we will meet and places we will go. There are no circumstances we will encounter that God does not know. He prepared us in advance to face all of life with His grace.

This is the key to appreciating our individual differences. Every strength, weakness, talent Shine 2and ability God has “intricately woven” into our being was given to glorify Him through His grace and strength.  We fulfill His purpose for our lives when He is living and loving through us. We are like light bulbs of different shapes, sizes and colors that only glow when the electricity of His Spirit radiates through us. If you think you have limitations, flaws or special “birth marks”, commit all your weakness to Him and allow them to become reminders of His design. Do not be distracted from His grace by comparing yourself to others. Allow the strong points and the weak points of your humanness to turn your heart to Him in humble gratefulness. We need to remember He works all things together for our good and His glory Romans 8. Then we will sing with David the song of the redeemed, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”

Walk in peace today knowing your Father prepared you in advance to glorify Him in the mist of your joys, trials, and struggles. Pray for others too and share this post; we all need this encouragement.

Observation: David wrote a beautiful poetic description of our prenatal development in verse 15. We are uniquely created. We show how unwise (ignorant) we are when we compare ourselves to others.

Interpretation: This verse reveals how God wove into our lives all the special strengths and weakness that makes us unique. We are designed to glorify Him at all times and in all places. We need to allow our strong and weak points to remind us He especially created us.

Application Prayer: Father God, thank you for making me. I do appreciate and thank you for designing my strengths and weaknesses. Help me to turn my focus to you every time I am tempted to compare myself to others. Help me to allow the electricity of Your Spirit to flow though me so that I can shine Your light into the darkness of this world. I am grateful for the way you wove me together. I accept myself as a gift from you. … in Jesus Name, Amen.

What is your take away?

 

You are a Special Creation!

Leave a reply

Meditation Journey Day 41                             

Hi Friend,

Special UDo you ever think about why you are here? Why were you born in this time and place; to your parents and your family? Some children live with the message that they were an accident or a mistake that should never have happened. Other children were born into families that were desperate to have children; their parents planned and prayed for them daily. Regardless of our parents intention each of us are a miracle planned by God.

The Holy Spirit penned, through David’s Psalm 139:13-16, the amazing wonder of our prenatal development. It is a physical development and a spiritual one. In verses 13-16, God reveals not only the purpose for our unique physical appearance, but also the spiritual reason He created us!

For eternal change, give these verses a quick read several times today.

13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Special u 2The Expanded Bible says it this way:  “You made [created] my whole being [inward parts]; you formed [knitted] me in my mother’s body [womb].” Any way it is read the message is the same; God designed, created, and made you. He is the Author of our lives. He personally over sees the creation of every baby. Seven times the pronoun “You or Your”, referring to God, is written to underline the fact that God was personally involved in our development.

The message today is that we are not mistakes! No baby ever is an accident or an error. Our parents may or may not have planned or expected us to be, but God in His wisdom chose the moment of our conception.

Allow the thought of you being a special creation personally shaped and formed by the hands of God roll over in your mind. Stop rejecting yourself in any way. You should reject sin and negative thinking, and there maybe things you can do to improve your appearance or health, but stop beating up on yourself! God made you, all of you, for a reason. The rejection of our form is a rejection of Him and His design. Listen to what He says about rejecting ourselves.

“Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’? Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to his mother, ‘What have you brought to birth?’

“This is what the LORD says– the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands?  It is I who made the earth and created mankind upon it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts.” Isaiah 45

In the Bible, “Woe” means stop quickly; it is severe warning to avoid wrong behavior or thinking. When we reject our physical shape and do not thank God for His creation; we build a wall between us and God. We judge His work and dictate to Him what He should have done and what He should be doing now. Each of us was created just as God designed because purpose and design are interconnected. We take away from our own purpose when we do not accept His design. We must humble ourselves to His wisdom and recognize ourselves as gifts from Him.

You are not a mistake. Nor is your body, mind or spirit unable to achieve God’s designed purpose for you. Do what you can to improve yourself, but stop rejecting who God made.  Give thanks for His creation and begin to say with David, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”

Observation: God formed, created, and made us each unique. We are strongly warned against rejecting His design and creation.

Interpretation: Our loving Father planned our moment of conception and all that is designed into us. We need to give thanks and praise for His purpose and enjoy the particular shape, gender and genes He knitted into our being. When we reject His design of us, we reject Him and the work of His hands. This sets up our prideful judgment of His plans and purposes for our live.

Application Prayer: Father God, thank you for making me. I know I have limits and restrictions because of the body you designed for me. I think my genetic makeup maybe better than some and worse than others, but Father I trust you to use me to glorify you with all my strengths and weaknesses. Please give me grace to yield to your design and plans   … in Jesus Name, Amen.

What is your take away?