“Will what is formed say to him that formed it,
why have you made me thus?”
Romans Nine verse Twenty (b)
Amplified Bible
I love this verse because it speaks to me about questioning myself and the way that God has made me. When I read it I am reminded that He formed me in my Mother’s womb and that He gave me a unique set of qualities. The times when I am harder on myself than I should be, or when I begin to “pick” myself apart in frustration, or even the times when I am afraid to step out in an area of strength that I know the Lord has given to me, these are the times that I should be embracing the truth.
Do you remember when you were in grade school and you traced the outline of your hands? Do you remember how delighted you were when you looked at them and how you compared them to the outlines of your classmate’s hands? Do you remember the joy you had when you colored them in and tried your hardest to stay inside the lines? Do you remember how excited you were to go home that day and give them to your Mother?
These are the times that I should be secure in the knowledge and truth that God has formed me not only purposefully, but also with a specific design in mind. His desire is that I would not only come to the place of accepting myself, but that I would come to the place of truly loving myself also. I believe that when we love ourselves that it brings joy to His heart, for after all, His word says that He “delights” in us.
Do you remember when you were in grade school and you traced the outline of your hands? Do you remember how delighted you were when you looked at them and how you compared them to the outlines of your classmate’s hands? Do you remember the joy you had when you colored them in and tried your hardest to stay inside the lines? Do you remember how excited you were to go home that day and give them to your Mother? One of the reasons that you loved them so much was because they were different from everyone else’s. Those hands represented you. No one else’s hands were exactly the same as yours were. Do you remember how your Mother treasured them and then hung them on the refrigerator so that everyone could see them? She didn’t treasure them because they were a remarkable object of art, let’s face it. She treasured them because they represented you, and who you were. She treasured them because she delighted in you. I believe that is how the Lord delights in us. I believe it brings joy to His heart when we are able to value ourselves in these simple and honest ways.
God does not question Himself because of the way that He made me. He loves me just the way that I am. He loves you just the way that you are too. He knew exactly what He was doing when He was forming us, and He knows exactly what He is doing now. He knows that as we begin to grow in our love and acceptance of ourselves, that our love and acceptance of others will begin to grow as a result.
He wants us to love others as we love ourselves. Since this is one of the commandments that He has given to us, then it must be very important to Him that we do our best to follow it. We don’t even have to know how to do it on our own. All we have to do is to ask Him to show us. I believe that He will begin to do this and then… even before we know it… we will begin to see the distinct outline of a little hand… beginning to take shape… right there before our very own eyes.
Written by Beverley A Napier
June 8, 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment