The Material Is Immaterial

He said to me, you are my servant, Israel, in whom I will show My glory. Isaiah 49:3

It is easy to read a verse like this and have no trouble seeing the words as they apply to Christ. I find myself saying, “Of course God was able to show His glory and be glorified through Christ. He walked on this earth for 33 years without sin. He did everything right. He never needed healing or fixing. He was perfect!”

It is more difficult to accept the fact that He says the same words to me. That as His servant, He could be glorified and show His glory through me. I look at the “material” He has to work with and it is not always pretty. I know my own heart. I knew my propensity to sin. I know what I am capable of doing. I know my weaknesses and my wounds.

A couple years ago I remember feeling like my life did not give God much to work with. Anything He found in me seemed damaged and unusable. There came a point when I stopped pretending with God and admitted how I really felt. I told Him I did not feel like I was very good material for Him to work with. The list of failures and defects was long and just poured out of me. As I opened up I anticipated silence at best and condemnation at worst. I expected God to give me a list of things to start doing for Him so what He had to work with would improve.

None of that happened. Instead, God shared a truth with me that completely surprised me. The amazement is not in the wood, it is in the carpenter. It is not the instrument but the musician. It is not the paints, it is the artist . It is not the clay, it is the potter. In other words, the material is beside the point. When placed in His hands, He can work wonders with anything….and anyone! The more defective the material the more wonder over the finished product.

His glory is shown not in what He has to work with as much as in what He accomplishes from the material. My limitations do not limit Him. They showcase His abilities. So now I can rest in the fact that as the Carpenter, Musician, Artist, and Potter of my life, God will do wonders!

Father, You are able to do so much with the little I give You to work with. Glorify Yourself in and through me. I know You always finish what You start. Amen.

His Plan and His Purpose

My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure…truly I have spoken, truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it. Isaiah 46:10 & 11

What a passage of assurance! For those of us who sometimes question whether God has a plan for our life and whether He will accomplish anything with us, these verses are meant for us today! Just look at God’s list! He promises, “I will accomplish it, I will bring it to pass, I will do it.” What is it He accomplishes, brings to pass, and does? His purpose!

I sometimes think of God’s purpose as being the same as His plan. But there is a difference! A purpose is an intentional, determined reason. A plan is the method for achieving an end. In other words, God has a plan to bring about His purpose. He has a way of accomplishing His design for my life.

Jeremiah encourages me with this reminder from God…”For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” I know that ultimately, God is on my side. This is not to say I will not suffer. But I must understand who or what is behind the suffering.

The discomforts of this life can usually be traced back to various sources. I live in a fallen world which includes sickness, loss, death, unfairness, etc… I am a recipient of other people’s wrong choices, motives, and actions against me. I face the consequences of my own intentional or unintentional sinful choices. The enemy of my soul is seeking to destroy me. While God may allow heartache and trouble to come into my life, He is not necessarily the perpetrator of such things. As long as I choose to blame Him I will avoid turning to Him for help, comfort, and strength.

But even those things will not thwart His purpose for me. He will use everything to accomplish and bring about His intentions. My part is to simply trust, follow, and cooperate. As His child, I am in good hands.

Father, I rest in the fact that You have a purpose and a plan. May I daily sense the fulfillment of both. Amen.

A Family Resemblance

To whom would you liken Me and make Me equal and compare Me, that we would be alike? Isaiah 46:5

Throughout Scripture, God proclaims He is God alone and there is no other. While people may claim He is one of many gods, He sets the record straight. There are countless false gods but only one true and living God. He alone created this world and He alone sustains it. He is the only One who deserves to be worshipped and will share His glory with no one else. He said He is a jealous God. So when I read His question in today’s verse I answer it with a resounding “No One”… as far as gods are concerned.

Yet I know that as His child He wants nothing more than to transform me into the likeness of His son. Jesus was the very likeness of His Father. He told His disciples, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” If we want to know what God is like we simply look at Jesus. His desire now is that we would be a picture of Him to others.

This is only possible as we spend time with Him. It is a daily process of getting into His Word, allowing His Word to get into us, and asking His Spirit to change us at the very core of our being. As we talk to Him throughout our day and allow Him to talk to us as well, we find a connection with His heart that is able to cause us to resemble Him.

My mother is in Heaven now but people tell me I am just like her. I enjoy hearing that! I know the character qualities they are referring to and the comparison is usually meant as a compliment. I inherited many traits from her and watched those traits develop as we spent time together.

I also know that when I admire people and spend time with them I tend to take on some of their qualities as well. They impact my life in such a way that I smile as I see resemblances of them in the way I think, speak, and act.

God is in the process of daily conforming us to the image of His Son. It brings Him great joy when we bear a family resemblance. When we become His through faith in Christ, we inherit many of His traits. As those traits are developed the likenesses become evident.
So who is like God? Hopefully it can be said, “His children!”

Father, You created us in Your image. While sin mars that image, You are restoring it. May I imitate You today. Amen.

God Carries Me

You have been borne by Me from birth and have been carried from the womb; even to your old age I will be the same and even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; and I will bear you and I will deliver you. Isaiah 46:3,4

When my children were born I carried them everywhere. There was no way for them to go from one place to another without being picked up and carried. As they grew, learned to crawl, and eventually learned to walk and run, I carried them less and less. Now at the ages of 15, 17, and 19 I wouldn't think of picking them up and carrying them...physically. Yet I still have ways of carrying them in my heart, my prayers, and by encouraging words.

I am reminded this morning that God has carried me from the womb and continues to do so as an adult just a couple years shy of 50. His carrying implies many things. He holds me, sustains me, equips me, keeps me, provides for me, maintains me, and takes charge of me. He has made Himself entirely responsible for my success, effectiveness, and continuation. My part is to simply cooperate with Him.

There are times when I (like a stubborn child) want to do it myself and go my own direction. I can fight against the very things He wants for me. While never leaving me, He lovingly allows me to squirm away until painful consequences drive me back to His arms. When I come in repentance and brokenness, He does not hesitate to pick me up and carry me again. He is the ultimate Father of the returning prodigal.

May I not desire anyone or any thing else to be my support and foundation. I cannot afford to exchange being carried by Him for any other bearer of my soul, my burdens, or my life.

Father, continue to carry me day by day. Let me sense Your presence at every moment throughout the day and night. I love being carried by You. Amen.

Designed With A Purpose

For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited). I am the LORD, and there is none else. Isaiah 45:18

Rick Warren wrote the book called THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE. I know many people have bought it, read it, and benefited from it. While I haven't finished reading it yet I understand the message within it....to know God's purpose for our life. If a book were written on today's verse it could be entitled THE PURPOSE DESIGNED EARTH.

It would start out with the creation aspect. God fashioned the earth, molded it, and arranged it in just the right way. He created and equipped our planet to sustain life. To this day it is the only planet that possesses all the means for life to continue. For centuries people have breathed the air, drank the water, and eaten the food, yet the supply has not been diminished. What beauty continues as we see mountains, oceans, sunsets, and meadows! Wildlife in all its magnificence captivates us. So much abounds that God Himself spoke into existence.

But what would this planet be without people to enjoy it? A waste place. Desolate, empty, worthless. Over run by plants and animals ~ a glorified zoo or greenhouse. No one to notice and respond with praise to the Creator. What would be the purpose? No, He did not create it as a waste place. He made it to be inhabited!

His purpose for the Earth was to be lived on. It was created for us! Our home, our dwelling place. Not just to exist here but to work, play, relax, enjoy, and thrive here. So much beauty, so much space, so much richness. Take all of the technology and nothing compares to the roar of the ocean, the majesty of mountains, the intensity of waterfalls, the wonder of star lit skies, the fragrance of flowers, the adventures of forests, or the miracle of birth. I will never get over the beauty of changing seasons.

All of this and more makes me appreciate God's gift of life to each of us. And just as He created this world to be inhabited by us, He created us to be inhabited by Himself through Jesus. May He daily transform me into His kind of dwelling place.

Father, the wonder of Your creation overwhelms me at times. Thank you for deciding that I would be a part of it. Amen.

Having the Right Motives

I have aroused him in righteousness and I will make all his ways smooth; he will build My city and will let My exiles go free, without any payment or reward, says the LORD of hosts. Isaiah 45:13

Motives are those needs or desires in us that cause us to act a certain way. As I think about it, each of my words and actions have a motivation behind them. It becomes easy to play the "exchange" game....doing something for someone in order to get a need in my life met. What looks like an act of love may very well be my way of getting love in return.

So what are some of the things that drive me to do the things I do? What needs am I looking to others to meet for me? While this list isn't necessarily easy to write or read it reveals truth. I look for attention, appreciation, applause, approval, affirmation, compliments, assurance, and acceptance. I can tell those are my motives because when I don't get them I walk empty and my emotions become a heap.

What I am learning is the problem is not having these needs. The problem is looking to people to be my source for getting the needs met. God calls it exchanging His supply of water for broken cisterns. When all the while He is offering me the very things I am craving.

How different He is from us! Isaiah reminds me of three incredible things God does for us. He arouses us, makes our way smooth, and sets us free. He helps us to see the very obstacles that are hindering us to live life as He meant it be lived. Two years ago God woke me up to my own spiritual hunger, emptiness, and futility. He started me on a journey that had His direction and made progress possible. It is a continual experience of freedom in many aspects. And to think He does all that without expecting payment or reward.

God is not a god who does something and then wants to know what I plan to do to pay Him back. Salvation is not that way and neither is the Christian life. That would be like parents giving gifts to their children with bills attached to each one for repayment. God is not like that! When I think He is, I begin to live my Christian life out of duty, performance, and debt. I feel like a slave instead of a child.

Father, it is painful to look at these issues. May the new heart You are creating in me begin to transform my motives toward You and others. Amen.

His Choice For Me

I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known me. Isaiah 45:5

So often in Scripture we are told to do certain things. Here are a few of those commands: put on the whole armor of God, walk in the spirit, study to show yourself approved, forgive one another, etc.... How precious it is then to come across a verse that shows me something that God does for me. He girds me.

When I first read this verse, I thought of girding as being clothed or bound. The dictionary helped to expand my definition. It gave me the idea of encircling, making fast, surrounding, preparing, and providing. That’s quite a list! God literally gets me ready for reach day's duties, battles, adventures, and encounters.

There are at least three things the Bible tells me that He girds me with. They are strength, gladness, and power. These are the very things He equips me with as I step into another day of living in a fallen world. They are the tools I can use to come against ANY thing that wants to steal my joy, peace, and security.

I find one of the biggest joy stealers in my life has to do with times when people let me down. Many times they are not even aware they are doing it. My expectations run high and I make them a source they weren't meant to be. It is at that point I can choose the gladness God has girded me with or I can gird myself with doubts, discouragement, self condemnation, self pity, and anger. It becomes a "place" I choose to visit. And though it may be familiar to me, it is not comfortable, encouraging, or good.

I found myself returning to that place just a couple weeks ago. Once I realized it I prayed one of those simple prayers that become so powerful and life changing. I told God I didn't want to go there or stay there. Instead I wanted to resort to the shelter of His wings.

I am not exaggerating in the least when I say my demeanor, mood, emotions, and outlook instantly changed. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I see now that I always have a choice where I choose to abide and with what I choose to be girded.

Father, You have already chosen the right garments for me to wear and the right place for me to abide. Thank you for not allowing my own choices to feel good. Amen.