Accept Yourself — Flaws and All by Rick Warren “My friend, I ask, ‘Who do you think you are to question God? Does the clay have the right to ask the potter why he shaped it the way he did?’” (Romans 9:20 CEV) Spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, experiences — these are the five things that make you, you. I call them your SHAPE. Accepting your SHAPE — the unique way that God made you that brings glory to Him — means to believe that God knows best. It all comes down to the matter of trust. Do you believe that God made a mistake when He made you? Or do you trust Him, knowing that He has a plan for your life? Do you believe it? When you say, “God, there are things I don’t like about myself. I wish I had different hair or a different color of skin. I wish I were taller, shorter, skinnier. I wish I had more talent. I wish I could do ‘that.’ I wish I looked like him. I wish I had her smarts” and on and on. This kind of thinking is basically telling God, “You blew it! Everybody else is OK. But you goofed up big when you made me.” When you reject yourself, you are in essence rejecting God, because He’s your creator. When you don’t accept yourself, it’s rebellion against God. You’re saying, “God, I know better than you. You should have made me different, with a different set of strengths and a different set of weaknesses.” But God says, “No, I made you exactly to be you because I want you to be you — with your strengths and your weaknesses. Both of them can give me glory — if you’ll just start doing what I made you to do instead of trying to be like everybody else.” It’s actually quite arrogant to reject yourself. The Bible says in Romans 9:20, “My friend, I ask, ‘Who do you think you are to question God? Does the clay have the right to ask the potter why he shaped it the way he did?’” (CEV) Whenever we doubt God’s love and wisdom, we always get into trouble. The root behind all of your problems is that you don’t trust God. You don’t believe God really loves you. You don’t believe that He really has your best interest at heart. You wish He had made you something different. As a result, there’s a spirit of bitterness in you that keeps you frustrated and keeps you from being all the man/woman God meant for you to be. Job 10:10 says, “You guided my conception and formed me in the womb” (NLT). God wanted you, and He loves you. Believe it, and then trust it! Power Verses: Amplified Bible Romans 9:19-21, 19 You will say to me, Why then does He still find fault and blame us [for sinning]? For who can resist and withstand His will? 20 But who are you, a mere man, to criticize and contradict and answer back to God? Will what is formed say to him that formed it, Why have you made me thus? 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same mass (lump) one vessel for beauty and distinction and honorable use, and another for menial or ignoble and dishonorable use? Jeremiah 18:6, 6 O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does? says the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. Just A Thought: The truth, as it is in Jesus, abases man as nothing, as less than nothing, and advances God as sovereign Lord of all. Who art thou that art so foolish, so feeble, so unable to judge the Divine counsels? It becomes us to submit to Him, not to reply against Him. Would not men allow the infinite God the same sovereign right to manage the affairs of the creation, as the potter exercises in disposing of his clay, when of the same lump he makes one vessel to a more honourable, and one to a meaner use? God could do no wrong, however it might appear to men. It is the Lord alone who made us to differ; we should adore his pardoning mercy and new-creating grace, and give diligence to make our calling and election sure. Reference: Matthew Henrys Concise Commentary Talk It Over: 🔦 Do you believe that God really loves you? 🔦 How does that change the way you view yourself? 🔦 What is it about yourself that youve always wanted to change? 🔦 How might God have intended to use that very trait to bring glory to Him? Memory Verse: Isaiah 64:8, 8 Yet, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our Potter, and we all are the work of Your hand. In Reflection: 💡 God is sometimes compared to a master craftsman in his work of creation. 💡 Scripture identifies God as the giver of talent and ability to certain individuals, in particular those employed in the construction of the tabernacle and the temple. 💡 Human creativity has its source in God, but may be used either to His honor or dishonor. 💡 The descriptions of God as a potter and of His people as clay emphasise God’s sovereignty and also His concern for what He has made. 💡 God depicted as a potter giving God authority over what He has made. 💡 God has concern for what He has made and a purpose for what He has made. 💡 God that prepares saints for heaven; and all those that God designs for heaven hereafter He prepares and fits them for heaven, 💡 We must trust God. 💡 God-given assurance produces spiritual maturity and stability, so that believers may withstand the adverse conditions of life. S- Spiritual Gifts H- Heart A- Abilities P- Personality E- Experiences 💡 We were made in His image Reference: Dictionary of Bible Themes Sent from my Verizon 4G LTE Smartphone
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 13:17:27 +0000
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