“You made my whole being; you formed me in my mother’s body.”
Psalm 139:13 (NCV) God planned every single day of your life. Before you took your first breath, God knew everything that would ever happen to you. Long before you were conceived by your biological parents, you were conceived in the mind of God. It is not by fate, chance, luck, or coincidence that you are breathing at this very moment. You’re alive right now because God wants you—with all of your strengths and weaknesses—to be alive. Whether your parents were good, bad, or indifferent, God used them. They had the exact DNA needed to create you. God wanted you alive. From the beginning of time, God has had a plan for your life—and he has a purpose he wants you to complete. And God made you to be you. The Bible says, “You made my whole being; you formed me in my mother’s body. I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way . . . You saw my bones being formed as I took shape in my mother’s body. When I was put together there, you saw my body as it was formed. All the days planned for me were written in your book before I was one day old” (Psalm 139:13-16 NCV). God created you so he could love you—for eternity. Your parents may have contributed your DNA, but God made you. You were not just another baby born. God personally planned for your birth. You are God’s masterpiece. He made you so he could love you and so you could fulfill his purposes in this world. At different seasons of life, you may struggle to see what that purpose is. But you never have to doubt that it’s there. Before you were born, God gave you a purpose!
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“For we fix our attention, not on things that are seen, but on things that are unseen. What can be seen lasts only for a time, but what cannot be seen lasts forever.”
2 Corinthians 4:18 (GNT) Most people rarely evaluate their values or question their perceptions until they have a crisis. It’s when you’re in deep pain that you begin to examine what you’re basing your life on. You may realize you’ve been living your life to feel good, look good, or accumulate wealth or power. The crisis helps you realize instinctively that there has to be more to life. But there’s no reason to wait for a crisis to evaluate your values. Instead, stop today to consider what you should value. Start by asking yourself this critical question: What’s going to last? The world seems to value the here and now. The message is that tomorrow doesn’t matter. Next year doesn’t matter. A thousand years from today doesn’t matter. Eternity and heaven don’t matter. Live for today. But the Bible says something different: “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17 NIV). Consider what happens when you’re tempted. Temptation isn’t just a battle between good and bad or what’s best and what’s not best. Temptation is always a battle between now and later: Will I do what God says and enjoy the benefits later, or will I do what I want and enjoy the benefits now? The Bible teaches us to “fix our attention, not on things that are seen, but on things that are unseen. What can be seen lasts only for a time, but what cannot be seen lasts forever” (2 Corinthians 4:18 GNT). Whether you’re in a crisis or not, take some time to evaluate what you’re basing your life on. Choose to build your life on God’s truth. It will last forever and never let you down. “I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 1:4, 7 (NLT) When God thought you up, he created you with a number of different gifts, talents, abilities, and skills. There are certain ways you think and things you do that you’re just naturally good at. Those gifts and abilities are how God shaped you. But God did not shape you uniquely for your benefit. Your gifts are not just for your own good. Your gifts are for the benefit of everybody else. And that means their gifts are for your benefit, too. You may already know what you’re really good at. Why do you think God made you good at those things? He wants you to use those gifts for others! How should you use those gifts or talents in the time left before Jesus comes back? Well, you should use them to reach others for Jesus. You should use them to be an ambassador of love in the world. In fact, if you’re not using those unique gifts the way God intended, then you’re really just wasting them. God didn’t give you gifts just to use them for yourself. James 4:17 says it like this: “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it” (NLT). If you know what you’re good at and you know that many people in the world probably need your help, what are you going to do about it? Who are you serving? Who are you going to help between now and when the story ends and eternity begins? God has given you—like the church the apostle Paul wrote to in 1 Corinthians—everything you need to serve well. “I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:4, 7 NLT). Don’t waste your God-given abilities. Use your gifts to serve God by serving others. Your lives are echoing the Master’s Word . . . The news of your faith in God is out. We don’t even have to say anything anymore—you’re the message!”
1 Thessalonians 1:8 (The Message) Did you know that God put you on earth for a special reason? He wants to say something to the rest of the world through you. It’s called your life message. Here at the beginning of a new year is the perfect time to think about what your life message is and resolve to share it with people around you. The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 1:8, “Your lives are echoing the Master’s Word . . . The news of your faith in God is out. We don’t even have to say anything anymore--you’re the message!” (The Message). Any time you say, “This is what God’s doing in my life,” you’re giving your life message. When you say, “I was praying about this, and here’s what happened,” you’ve given a life message. If you say, “I’ve got this problem I’m struggling with, but God is helping me,” you are sharing your life message. Only you can share your unique life message. Nobody else can do it for you. If you don’t share your life message, the world gets cheated. God wants to use you specifically. Why? Because the best messages are personal messages. The most powerful messages come through people. I’m so glad that, when God wanted to share his message of love, he didn’t email it. He came in person. The Word became flesh. Jesus Christ came to earth so we could see what God is like. God has a message to share with the world today. Instead of writing it in the sky, he wants to share it through you. You don’t have to be perfect to share your life message. You just have to be honest—real and authentic. You can say, “I don’t have it all together, but here’s what God’s doing in my life. Here’s the difference Jesus Christ has made.” If you don’t share your life message with other people, they may never hear about what God can do for them too. What is the message of your life? “Be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.”
Ephesians 5:15-16 (NLT) Time is your most precious commodity. You only have a limited amount of it! It’s estimated that people will live an average of 72 years, or 26,000 days. You may think you’ve got plenty of days left, but, if you’re over 27, you’ve already passed 10,000 days. You’re not getting any of those days back, and that’s what makes time your most precious resource. You can always get more money. You can always get more energy. But you cannot create more time. You have a certain number of days in your life, and that’s it. When you spend them, they’re gone. So life management is really time management. If you learn to manage your time, then you learn to manage your life. “Be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days” (Ephesians 5:15-16 NLT). The opposite of careful is careless. The Bible tells you not to be careless with your life. Be careful. That means you should be intentional and deliberate with your time. I like to call it being purpose driven! Do you know what it looks like to be careless with your time? On average, people spend three hours and 15 minutes on their phone a day. And Americans spend more than five hours a day on their phones and check them an average of 58 times a day! That’s 35 hours a week that we’ve devoted to staring at a tiny screen—and that doesn’t include time spent on the computer or watching TV. Of course, not all of that time is fruitless. But being careful with your time means being aware of how you spend it and of whether you are spending it on things that really matter. “Someone may say, ‘I’m allowed to do anything,’ but not everything is helpful. I’m allowed to do anything, but not everything encourages growth” (1 Corinthians 10:23 GW). It’s not a sin for you to spend five hours watching cute cat videos on YouTube. But it might not be the best use of your time. Some things aren’t necessarily wrong. They’re just not necessary. It may not be wrong, but is it worth giving your life for? Be careful with your days. You only have so many. “[The Lord] is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”
2 Peter 3:9 (NLT) God only uses imperfect, broken people. If God only used perfect people, nothing would get done because perfect people don’t exist! If you’re willing to be used by God, he will use you no matter what you’ve done in the past. Your mission hasn’t changed. Jonah was an ordinary guy who didn’t even want to do what God told him to do. Yet God gave him another chance, and he did what he’d been called to do. Even though he obeyed God, Jonah carried out his assignment with a bad attitude. Yet God still used him. God gave Jonah a seven-word sermon: “In forty days Nineveh will be destroyed!” (Jonah 3:4 GNT). That simple message led to one of the largest spiritual revivals in history. A huge city humbly turned to God. It’s really a bigger miracle than getting Jonah out of the belly of a big fish. God used this imperfect, reluctant prophet to lead an incredible revival. God was patient with Jonah and never gave up on him. God won’t give up on you either. The Bible says, “[The Lord] is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent” (2 Peter 3:9 NLT). If you wake up tomorrow morning, it means God is giving you one more day—another opportunity—to fulfill your mission. Expect God to use you. And he will. “Things that are seen don’t last forever, but things that are not seen are eternal. That’s why we keep our minds on the things that cannot be seen.”
2 Corinthians 4:18 (CEV) Everything you see around you is temporary. It’s what you can’t see that will last forever. And those realities are what truly matter. The truth is, spiritual realities are more real than physical ones. We need to focus on the spiritual ones--what’s really real. There are five spiritual realities all of us need to take to heart.
We live in uncertain times, so if you haven’t already made the choice for Jesus, don’t hesitate from doing so today. “Being cheerful keeps you healthy” (Proverbs 17:22 GNT).
When you need to be physically recharged, your body gives you various signs. If your stomach growls, it’s time to eat. If your eyelids get heavy, it’s time to sleep. We tend to notice those signs, but we often overlook the other signs that say we need emotional recharging, such as a sense of being overwhelmed, a short fuse, an impatient outburst, or avoiding people. You also have no desire to love people when your emotional tank is running low. To keep on loving well and doing the things God’s called you to do, keep your emotional tank full. How do you do that? First, get some time alone. Even Jesus withdrew from crowds when he needed to recharge himself emotionally. Mark 6:31 says, “Then Jesus suggested, ‘Let’s get away from the crowds for a while and rest.’ For so many people were coming and going that they scarcely had time to eat” (TLB). People who are available all the time aren’t really fully available unless they set aside time to rest. Then figure out what activities recreate energy in your life and recharge you. Each one of us has different things that recharge us because we’re all made differently. It may be hobbies, a sport, a craft, or games for you. Find out what recharges you emotionally, and then make time for it. Jesus was the most intensive, ministry-oriented person who ever lived, yet the Bible says, “The Son of Man came, enjoying life” (Matthew 11:19 PHILLIPS). You weren’t made to be exhausted all the time. You were made to be more like Jesus. Finally, develop the habit of laughter. The Bible says, “Being cheerful keeps you healthy” (Proverbs 17:22 GNT). Laughter increases the number of T-cells in your body, which raises your immunity and releases endorphins in your brain. Laughter is good for your health! It’s God’s gift to you that doesn’t just make you enjoy life more; it also helps you love others well. “Each of us will give an account of ourselves to God” (Romans 14:12 NIV).
One day there’s going to be an audit on your life. On that day, you will have to answer for not only how you spent your money but also how you used everything God gave you. What did you do with what you were given—your talent, your relationships, your opportunities, your mind, your creativity, your contacts, your time? What did you do with what God gave you? God’s church is filled with people at every level of economic status—people who are very poor, others who are very rich, and everyone in between. But it doesn’t matter how much or how little you’ve got. What matters is what you do with what you’ve been given and if God can trust you with more. Your time as a manager on earth is going to end one day, and you will give an account for what was entrusted to you. The Bible says, “Each of us will give an account of ourselves to God” (Romans 14:12 NIV). You’re not going to live on earth forever. You weren’t meant to! But God has entrusted certain assets to you as a manager while you’re here. He is watching you and testing you and wants to see how you handle what you’ve been given. What are you doing with the mind he gave you? What are you doing with the health he gave you? What are you doing with the freedom he gave you? Are you spending it all on yourself? Do you believe the whole purpose of life is to live for yourself? You can decide now what you want your life to be about, and then start making choices that show God you want to live for what really matters. When you use your resources to make an eternal difference, you will hear God say to you someday, “Well done.” “Today I am giving you a choice. You can choose life and success or death and disaster. I am commanding you to be loyal to the LORD, to live the way he has told you, and to obey his laws and teachings. You are about to cross the Jordan River and take the land that he is giving you. If you obey him, you will live and become successful and powerful” (Deuteronomy 30:15-16).
Once you make choices, your choices make you. It’s easy to think your life is defined by what happens to you. But the truth is that your life is defined by the choices you make. It’s undeniable that bad things happen all the time. We live in a broken world. You don’t always choose right. Other people don’t always choose right. We all get hurt. But what happens to you is not nearly as important as the way you choose to respond. Some people are built up through difficult situations. Other people are broken by them. For some people, a bad experience is a stumbling block. For others, it’s a stepping-stone. If you take two people and put them in the exact same pain, one may succeed while the other fails. Why? Because of the choices they make. You cannot control many of your life circumstances, but you can control how you decide to respond. You can choose whether things make you bitter or better. Think about your future. Where do you want to be in 10 years? In 20 years? Without even knowing you, I can tell you where you’re going to be. Just tell me what you’re choosing right now. The choices you make today determine where you will be tomorrow. Wise people are always asking: What do I need to do today to get me where I need to be tomorrow? The book of Deuteronomy tells how God gave his people a choice: “If you obey [me], you will live and become successful and powerful” (Deuteronomy 30:16 CEV). The children of Israel would make their choice, and then their choices would make them. The same is true for you. God puts choices in front of you every day. What you do with your choices will determine the person you become. |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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