Category: Devotions

You are Who God Created You to Be

 

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. Psalm 139:13-14

 

Hey There!!  I hope you had a wonderful weekend.  My weekend was eventful; traveling back to South Carolina on Friday and returning home to pack and come to Columbia; time out with my bff this weekend, and seeing another bff and Jordy-poo today!  I am very tired and return to work/normal life tomorrow.  But I couldn't start the week/end the weekend without a devotion.

 

Of all the things that were covered at the service I went to today, the only things that stuck out clearly in mind was the above.  We are who God created us to be.  The circumstances we face, the intricate things that make us unique, the ups and downs of life, all of these things make us who we are, who God created us to be.  It is when we accept these things that the difficulities of life become easier to deal with.  It becomes easier to handle disappointments at work, irritations at home because we learn to accept people as they are.  We learn that troubles are not singling us out (although at times of bombardment it seems like they do).  In accepting yourself for who you are, and who God intended you to be, you eliminate every issue from low self esteem to comparing yourself to others.  You are unique and precious, there is no one else in the world like you.  So love yourself as you are!

 

Since you are precious to me, you are honored and I love you. I will exchange others for you. Nations will be the price I pay for your life.  Isaiah 43:4

Be Free From Your Complaints

 

"Who has trouble? Who has misery? Who has quarrels? Who has a complaint? Who has wounds for no reason? Who has bloodshot eyes?"  Proverbs 23:29

 

When people face troubles, they react with either crying, anger, or complaining.  Life is full of them, and many times throughout the Bible, we are informed of the possibility of suffering.  Some things are brought on by our own doing as the consequence (good or bad) of a decision we made.  Some things happen just as tools of discouragement sent from the devil.  Some things are allowed to happen to test and strengthen our faith.  In the Bible, people were free from their complaints by exercising their faith.  In Mark 5:29, the woman with the 12 year hemorrhage was healed and the flow stopped by her faith.  Throughout the book of Job relied on his faith and in the end God restored everything he had lost.

 

"I'm not saying this because I'm in any need. I've learned to be content in whatever situation I'm in."  Philippians 4:11

 

This is a great verse, but, this IS hard to do.  It is hard to practice contentment when you are trying to do it alone.  We must die to ourselves daily in order to not allow our shortcomings, issues, and disappointments to dominate our thoughts.  We must purposefully use the strength that God gives us daily to remove negativity from our thoughts.  Because the only way we can survive and overcome our complaints–which, by the way in turn means to surrender them to God for His hands to move them–is to rely on God's power.  We all have things that we go through, or areas that we allow ourselves to fixate negative energy.  But by the word of God, we have grace!(2 Corinthians 9:8)  We can overcome with His power to lead us.(2 Corinthians 12:9, 10)  So be free from your complaints–give them over to God to work them out.  Be content and wherever you fall short, allow God to empower you.(1 Timothy 6:6)

 

"so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." 1 Corinthians 2:5

 

Have a wonderful rest of your day, be blessed and empowered today!  I'm working on giving my complaints and issues fully to God.  Because quite frankly, He is the only one that can change them or get me to a place where I can change them or they don't matter anymore.