YOU'VE BEEN DESIGNED BY GOD FOR A PURPOSE.

PART 7:

We all want to make a difference. I have found that most people really want to do

something of lasting value and impact. We want to be involved in doing something

that will make our lives count. And yes, we often want some kind of recognition and

other people's praise for what we do. But it's important to remember that our eternal

significance is not found in doing things that others see as important. God wants us to

experience real significance; and that significance only comes through his unconditional

love and total acceptance, and our fulfilling his plan for our lives. Psalm 139:13–16 tells

us:

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place,

when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

Each one of us has been designed by God for a special purpose! God has fashioned each

one of us individually; he created us, formed us, and knows us by name. And he made us

to be in a relationship with him. You may be thinking, "Really, has God designed little

old me for something special in this world?" There are numerous places in the Bible that

confirm that the answer to that question is a definite "Yes!" In the Old Testament we

read, "From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; Hefashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works" (Psalm 33:14–15,

NKJV).

God is working in us to fulfill his purposes, "For it is God who works in you to will and

to act in order to fulfill his good purpose" (Philippians 2:13). The Word of God is

working in us, "Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks

the rock in pieces?" (Jeremiah 23:29, ESV). God's Word is like a fire that begins to

consume us, burning away the dross of the temporary, refining us, and transforming us

into the Converterlators God wants us to be. The Word of God is truly like a hammer,

breaking the "rock of self" into pieces, so Christ can shine his life through us to continue

his ministry in this world.