I wish I would have known God had a special purpose for my life when I was growing up. I had a good personality and made friends easily, but I had low self-esteem and spent too much time comparing myself to others. I didn’t know I was special in God’s eyes and that loving myself was a command from God. If we don’t love ourselves, we can’t love others.
It’s a shame that we don’t hear more often that in God’s eyes each one of us is special. We are unique—one of a kind. We’re not meant to be like anyone else.
Our looks, talents, and abilities are gifts from God and designed for a specific purpose. The problem is that many of us make our own plans without consulting God. When we do that, we miss out on discovering the path God has specifically designed for us and we often burn out.
Once we make a decision to seek God first for direction and align ourselves with Him, He will guide and equip us as He did for the people in the Bible.
When God approached Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and many others with jobs for them to do, they often made excuses for why they couldn’t accomplish what God asked. Some felt unqualified, others thought the job was too big, and some felt they were too old. They pictured obstacles. God saw potential. When they stepped out in faith and did as God asked, He used them in mighty ways.
God wants us to take risks and with faith conquer feelings of self doubt. Past experiences should not stop us from moving ahead. The world equates success with high-powered jobs, large sums of money, big homes, and fancy vacations. God equates success with walking in His footsteps—doing things that have eternal merit.
We can’t take anything with us when we leave this world, but we can be sure of where we’re going if we invite Jesus into our lives.
Take an inventory of your schedule. How much time did you invest this past month on temporary goals and how much on eternal goals? Positions and possessions play a large part in life, but a relationship with God and connections with people are the best investment.
(Photo courtesy of morguefile and Adityaram.)
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Frances, what an thought-provoking devotion. If our families, churches, communities, and nation followed it, we would have a totally different and improved society to live in.