Day Two
“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
I have been working with teenage girls for eleven years now and if I hadn’t learned this from my own life, I have definitely learned it from them- we are our biggest critic! We can pick ourselves apart, from our inability to sing to like the amazingly gifted people on American Idol to the annoying hair that won’t stop growing out of the mole on my chin! We tear ourselves down and compare our lives to others because why?! I think it’s because at our core, we just want our lives to matter, we want to be recognized as someone who is set apart. We all want to be great, to be remembered, to leave a legacy and to really matter to the people in our lives and be known for something amazing. I’m so glad that God knows this longing in our hearts and addresses it in his word. He says that he “knows” us. Now, when we say we ‘know’ someone, we can know who that person is and even know their deepest desires and dark secrets but we can never fully ‘know’ them. God, however, created us. He ‘formed us in our mother’s womb,’ he planned us exactly the way he wanted and then created us. That, my friends, means you were NOT an accident- even if you were a surprise to your parents, you were not a surprise to God! God’s very nature is perfection, he is pure and holy and good- it is impossible for him to make a mistake. You know what that means? You are NOT a mistake, you were NOT an afterthought, God doesn’t make junk! As a matter of fact, in Ephesians 2:10 God calls us “his masterpiece.” Have you ever seen the sunset over the ocean on a partly cloudy night? The way that those pinks, oranges, purples and yellows all mix together and create such an amazing view? It takes my breath away, that to me is a masterpiece, and yet God calls US his masterpiece. Let that sink in! I don’t feel that I can compare to those breathtaking sunsets, but God calls me his masterpiece! When I wake up in the morning with bed head and bad breath, he still adores me, I don’t have to do a thing, he just does. “Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:9-10) God didn’t save us from our sins because we were worth it. We were definitely NOT worth it, not one of us deserved that gift. He died for us because we are his masterpiece and he loves us! Knowing that he loves us that much should move us into action, it says, “he created us anew in Christ Jesus, SO WE CAN do the good things he planned for us long ago.” That takes us back to our verse for today, he knew us before we were born and planned good things for us to do, before we were even born. I think that’s partly why pregnancies are so fascinating. God is literally creating a masterpiece in those nine months. It just dawned on me that he spoke the world into existence in six days, and it takes NINE MONTHS for a human being to be ready to grace that world with its presence. That just goes to prove that he “knows the plans he has for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jer. 29:11)
Let that sink in today as you go about your day. Every time you pass a mirror and start pinpointing all your flaws, just remember- God doesn’t make junk. You are his masterpiece and who are you to critic his work? Look to the future with hope and inspiration, knowing that he has a plan for your life and has known it from the beginning of time. He’s known you before you were even conceived and he put you together and fashioned you just the way he wanted. Embrace who you are and celebrate it!
Todays Exercise: Thanking God for his masterpiece
This may be little weird for some of you but I guarantee it will help you appreciate the person God made you to be. So, I want you to stand in front of the mirror and ask yourself what you think is your best feature. Then thank God for it (ex. Lord, thank you for my hair- not many people have the choice everyday to go with the natural curl or straighten it). Do this with at least five features and then spend some time in worship, praising God for creating you and molding you into the person you are today. Thank him for thinking you up and creating every detail with purpose and passion. Thank him for setting you apart and appointing you as a prophet to the nations. Thank him for the masterpiece he has created!