Today's chapter is titled "You Are Not An Accident."
A few quotes that stuck out are:
"You are alive because God wanted to create you!"
"God prescribed every single detail of your body. He deliberately chose your race, the color of your skin, you hair, and every other feature. He custom-made your body just the way he wanted it. He also determined the natural talents you would possess and the uniqueness of your personality. The Bible says, 'You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something.'"
"While there are illegitimate parents, there are no illegitimate children. Many children are unplanned by their parents, but they are not unplanned by God. God's purpose took into account human error, and even sin."
"God's motive for creating you was his love. The Bible says, 'Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love.'"
"You were created as a special object of God's love! God made you so he could love you. This is a truth to build your life on."
"Love is the essence of God's character. There is perfect love in the fellowship of the Trinity, so God didn't need to create you. He wasn't lonely! But he wanted to make you in order to express his love."
Today's Point to Ponder is "I am not an accident."
Today's Verse to Remember is Isaiah 44:2
Today's Question to Consider is "I know that God uniquely created me. What areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?"
I have to say. This is sort of a hard chapter for me. I spend a great deal of time stressing our free will and have not thought a whole lot about how much of a role God has played in making me. It is comforting to know that God is in control, but I could see someone looking at this saying "If God is in control then why was a born into such a crappy life?" The person who is abused and neglected by their parents may not take much comfort in this knowledge.
I was born into an abusive situation. My father was an alcoholic and didn't clean up until I was around 8 years old. Before he married my adopted mom I was the object of his wrath. All the stress that built up inside of him was released on me. Honestly, I don't remember being abused. I think my mind has shoved it all out. I remember bits and pieces of being punished. Maybe it was unusually harsh. I don't know, I have nothing to compare it with.
I spent some time in foster homes and even lived with my grandmother for awhile. Do I hate my father? On the contrary. I deeply love him. Even though he abused me I see a tremendous amount of love on his part that has been expressed in many different ways. Do regret being abused? I've got to believe that it has helped shape me and make me the person I am today. Yes it was unfortunate, but God can use anything including "human error, even sin."
There are definitely things about me that I am not happy with, but they all pretty much stem from my sinful nature. I could say I am unhappy with my weight. I could console myself and say "God created me this way though," but I don't think that is telling the truth. Yes God created me and if I were perfect I would not be overweight. I am sure there is an idea in God's mind of what a perfect me would look like. I'm just messing that up.
Isn't that what Rick is saying though. I know it could be easy to take this chapter and say "Look, God made me the way I am. Why should I change?", but I know that isn't Rick's intention. God created us and has the ideal "us" in mind. It is our selfish nature that has marred God's perfect idea of us. There is nothing we can do to become that perfect person. Only God can do it. This is why it is so important for us to realize that God had a hand in creating us and has created us with purpose. We need God to help us become what He has created us to be and to fulfill the purpose He has created us for.
So what do I struggle with personally? I struggle with my weight. I struggle with my selfish nature. I struggle with being skeptical to the point of pessimistic. I struggle with not being disciplined. I struggle with not allowing God to help me take care of all these things.
God, please help me to commit my life into your hands and allow You to shape and mold me into the perfect "me" you have in mind.
A few quotes that stuck out are:
"You are alive because God wanted to create you!"
"God prescribed every single detail of your body. He deliberately chose your race, the color of your skin, you hair, and every other feature. He custom-made your body just the way he wanted it. He also determined the natural talents you would possess and the uniqueness of your personality. The Bible says, 'You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something.'"
"While there are illegitimate parents, there are no illegitimate children. Many children are unplanned by their parents, but they are not unplanned by God. God's purpose took into account human error, and even sin."
"God's motive for creating you was his love. The Bible says, 'Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love.'"
"You were created as a special object of God's love! God made you so he could love you. This is a truth to build your life on."
"Love is the essence of God's character. There is perfect love in the fellowship of the Trinity, so God didn't need to create you. He wasn't lonely! But he wanted to make you in order to express his love."
Today's Point to Ponder is "I am not an accident."
Today's Verse to Remember is Isaiah 44:2
Today's Question to Consider is "I know that God uniquely created me. What areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?"
I have to say. This is sort of a hard chapter for me. I spend a great deal of time stressing our free will and have not thought a whole lot about how much of a role God has played in making me. It is comforting to know that God is in control, but I could see someone looking at this saying "If God is in control then why was a born into such a crappy life?" The person who is abused and neglected by their parents may not take much comfort in this knowledge.
I was born into an abusive situation. My father was an alcoholic and didn't clean up until I was around 8 years old. Before he married my adopted mom I was the object of his wrath. All the stress that built up inside of him was released on me. Honestly, I don't remember being abused. I think my mind has shoved it all out. I remember bits and pieces of being punished. Maybe it was unusually harsh. I don't know, I have nothing to compare it with.
I spent some time in foster homes and even lived with my grandmother for awhile. Do I hate my father? On the contrary. I deeply love him. Even though he abused me I see a tremendous amount of love on his part that has been expressed in many different ways. Do regret being abused? I've got to believe that it has helped shape me and make me the person I am today. Yes it was unfortunate, but God can use anything including "human error, even sin."
There are definitely things about me that I am not happy with, but they all pretty much stem from my sinful nature. I could say I am unhappy with my weight. I could console myself and say "God created me this way though," but I don't think that is telling the truth. Yes God created me and if I were perfect I would not be overweight. I am sure there is an idea in God's mind of what a perfect me would look like. I'm just messing that up.
Isn't that what Rick is saying though. I know it could be easy to take this chapter and say "Look, God made me the way I am. Why should I change?", but I know that isn't Rick's intention. God created us and has the ideal "us" in mind. It is our selfish nature that has marred God's perfect idea of us. There is nothing we can do to become that perfect person. Only God can do it. This is why it is so important for us to realize that God had a hand in creating us and has created us with purpose. We need God to help us become what He has created us to be and to fulfill the purpose He has created us for.
So what do I struggle with personally? I struggle with my weight. I struggle with my selfish nature. I struggle with being skeptical to the point of pessimistic. I struggle with not being disciplined. I struggle with not allowing God to help me take care of all these things.
God, please help me to commit my life into your hands and allow You to shape and mold me into the perfect "me" you have in mind.
1 comment:
It's funny; those same comments stood out to me as well, among others. Thanks for your openness and honesty and willingness to share your struggles. We're ALL a work in progress! Lynette
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