Designed by God

We all want to make a difference. 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. 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; He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works” (Psalm 33:14–15, NKJV).

Each one of us is special. When you look in a regular toolbox, you find many different kinds of tools, each one designed for a specific purpose. Inside a typical toolbox you may find a hammer, screwdriver, small saw, tape measure, or even a level of some kind. Each tool has a specific purpose. Using them for something other than the purpose they have been designed for usually results in failure. The same is true for us as Christians. Each one of us is a tool in God’s toolbox. We have been designed in a specific way for a specific purpose and we need to figure out what that purpose is. First Corinthians 12:4–7 tells us, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.  There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.  There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.  Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (NIV) .The Converterlator says, “I want Christ to live and work through me. Here I am, a special person, uniquely gifted by God, designed for a special purpose, and more specifically to do good works that God has created for me to do.”

It’s important that we understand what each tool is designed to do and then use it in the way it is designed. Even though we may think our time, talent, and/or treasure is small or insignificant, God can take them and exponentially multiply them for the advancement of his kingdom. We learn a tremendous Kingdom of God principle from the small boy in the New Testament who gave his two small fish and five barley loaves of bread to Jesus. “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” (John 6:9, NIV). The disciple Andrew questions how so little can be relevant when they were trying to figure out how to feed a multitude of people. But Jesus took that little boy’s offering, which was insignificant in the eyes of the world, and miraculously used it to feed 5,000 people!

Each one of us needs to be a “five loaves and two fish” person, willing to share so Jesus can do great things through us when we make ourselves available to him. This little boy’s life echoes through eternity because he was willing to share what he had and yield himself to the purposes of God. No matter what kind of tool we are, we need to be available to God! God created us and has given us life. He orchestrates all that we do and we need to cooperate with him in every way.

It is critical to understand that what we are talking about here is a work that is being done by God, and not by us. As we seek to accomplish God’s purposes, it is important to stay focused on God’s plans. As we converterlate our resources we need to be careful not to play to the applause of the world. It is easy to be swayed by the praise of those around us, even as we seek to do God’s will.

We read in the Old Testament, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans” (Proverbs 16:3, NIV). When we commit our way to him, having the expectation that he will act, we can have confidence that God will respond to us in his way and time.

What do you need to commit to God in order to accomplish his specially designed plan for your life?