The Finished Story

I will remember that I am fearfully and wonderfully made,
not on accident, but on purpose for a good purpose.

Psalm 139:1 -18 (NIV)

You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
15 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.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.

Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Heavenly Father, shall I even bother speaking my own words when the Psalmist has so clearly captured the song of my heart.

Yes, Lord, you formed me.

Yes, Lord, you made me fearfully and marvelously.

Yes, Lord you conceived of me long before I took my first breath and emerged into this world. Thank you, Lord, that you know every hair on my head, every inch of my body.

Thank you, God, for knowing me, like no one else does and loving me all the same.

Thank you that you, who began a good work in me, will carry it out to completion. Yes, Lord, I agree with your Word that you have a purpose for my life. Yes, Lord, you have ordained my life. Please, God, write your story as you desire. 

In the Strong Name of Jesus, Amen.

Thank you, God, for knowing me, like no one else does and loving me all the same.

Will you take a minute to slow down your mind and calm your heart in order to soak up today’s Scriptures? It’s so easy to skim ahead . . . and miss the Holy Spirit’s prompting to go deeper. If you’ve been a walking with the Lord as Bible-reading gal for some time, it’s even more of a temptation to rush through the familiar Word. Wouldn’t you agree?

I suspect that for most of us, Psalm 139 is just that . . . too familiar. Too often quoted. But also too often overlooked. I know I’m quick to quote the highlights . . .

He knows me.

I’m fearfully and wonderfully made.

He searches the heart.

He knows all the hairs on my head.

But, there is so much more in this passage, my friend. Isn’t that the beauty of Scripture? Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God can bring alive His Truth in fresh ways upon every reading. So what is God speaking to your heart today from Psalm 139 and Ephesians 2:10?

As I read it slowly and purposefully, I was struck by this one portion of verse 16:

 . . . all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

I suspect the fact that I’m currently working on a devotional book for Harvest House makes this notion quite personal. Each day when I sit down to write, I have to spend much time in prayer and waiting on God to show me a verse to focus on and a story worth telling. I have no idea as to what will be written in this little book God has tasked me with the privilege of writing. I can’t even conceive of what it would be like to know all the stories in advance! And yet God does.

God knows our stories and the ones we’ve yet to uncover.

God even knew that as I was crafting this devotional, I’d cross paths with a precious woman enrolled in my life coaching training course, who found out about it through reading Meet the New You. She believed I was an answer to her prayers, sharing that my book gave her a fresh sense of purpose after coming through a season of deep loss. And I believed she was very much an answer to my prayers that God would use my words to encourage even one woman in the journey of finding renewed purpose in her life.

God can write our stories simultaneously because He is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20)!

What God does with our lives is for His great purposes. Yet look at how much time we time we spend wondering about our purpose, because we can’t see the end. What if we lived with the end in mind?

What if we lived in such a way that we found our hope and purpose in knowing that God is always busy writing our story while we’re busy living it?

How can you embrace a perspective shift to see the value God has sown into your life while trusting that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion?

 

 


 

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2 thoughts on “The Finished Story”

  1. “God has tasked me with the privilege of . . . ” so many ways I can finish that sentence. Such a good reminder to see every part of my life as a privilege from the hand of God! Good Monday thoughts for me! Thank you!!

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