Thoughts for Life: Why Am I Here?

Mary Southerland- In the early days of the automobile, a man's Model-T Ford stalled in the middle of the road. No matter what he tried, he couldn't get it started. A chauffeured limousine pulled up behind the stalled car and a wiry, energetic man stepped from the back seat to offer his assistance. (Google image, Why Am I Here?)

After tinkering with the engine for a few moments, the stranger said, "Now try it!" The engine immediately leaped to life. The well-dressed man then identified himself as Henry Ford. "I designed and built these cars," he said, " So I know what to do when something goes wrong."

When our lives are broken, when the plan falls apart and everything goes wrong, we need to wait on God to show up, knowing, He created us, and that He knows us best and loves us most. We are chosen . . . and He knows exactly what to do when things go wrong.

You and I were created as a living, fleshed out depiction of God's love. We can celebrate the precious truth of Psalm 139:14-16 (NCV) that says, "I praise You because You made me in an amazing and wonderful way. What You have done is wonderful. I know this very well. 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 d ay old."

Think about it! God supervised our formation. We were created in love-for love-and with a specific and holy purpose in mind. Wow!

We can rejoice with the Psalmist who wrote, "Know that the lord is God. He made us, and we belong to Him; we are His people, the sheep He tends" (Psalm 100:3 NCV).

Many women buy into the lie that we are little more than puppets in the hands of God; that He created us as tools for His personal use or slaves to do His bidding and carry out His plan. In this verse, "Lord" literally means "Father" or "dearest Daddy," indicating an intimate relationship between a loving Father and His child.

God undoubtedly has plans for us, but we misunderstand the character and heart of God when we assume those plans serve as a punishment or penalty for not being good enough. The best plan, the highest plan for our life rests in the hands of the One who created us and loves us most.

We are all desperate to be loved and to love. We innately search for significance and are created with the powerful need to belong. We pursue worth in worthless place. We demand validation from invalid sources.

It is only through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that we can truly experience authentic love, a love that displaces thoughts of rejection and banishes feelings of abandonment. It is in this priceless gift that we comprehend the amazing truth that even if we were never wanted or planned by human heart and mind, we were planned and wanted in the heart and mind of God! And that, dear friend, is enough!

[Taken from Mary Southerland's book, "Life is so Daily," a devotional, pp. 13-15, You can get your copy through her home page: www.marysoutherland.com]

Let's pray-

Father, if You so loved us that You gave us Your only begotten Son, Jesus, may we believe in Him so we will not perish but have eternal life! (see John 3:16).

576-580- one-line Scriptures for those of you who want to learn some more verses this week- or to review them from when they were first posted-

576- Is. 33:22 "For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us."

577- John 3:30 "He must increase, but I must decrease."

578- Ps. 34:18 "The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit!

579- Ps. 145:10 "All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee."

580- 1 Chron. 16:8 "Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people."

Quote for today-

Joel Comiskey- "A pastor can grow a church numerically without prayer. But it will be a weak church that lacks power. Transformed lives will be the exception, rather than the norm. How much better to build a church that breathes New Testament life from every pore—where people can feel the power of the Spirit and sense that the church has been laboring on its knees."

Words of wisdom-

"Never water down the Word of God, as there must be unflinching faithfulness to it. When we deal with others and testify of God's grace through faith in Christ Jesus, let's remember who we are, that we're also sinners saved by grace.

Today's guest post-

A Strip Search?

Nancy Alvarez

"Would you like to teach women at the city jail?”

“Yes, sure.”

“Are you willing to go through a strip search?”

Screeching halt. What? No way. Yes, I wanted to teach these women about God’s love and truth, but to be stripped and searched? Lord, please don’t ask that of me! Wait. Didn’t I surrender myself to the Lord completely? With trembling knees, I said yes.

Once I entered that jail—no strip search happened—I made an immediate connection with the women. This was an opening to teach women who had nothing else to do, who were at their lowest point in life, who were lonely and eager for distraction. An opportunity to shine Jesus’ light in a dark corner."