Embracing God’s Handiwork

Have you ever fallen in love with a product? Has there ever been an object or item that you found to be so perfectly designed or wonderfully versatile that you found joy just using it? Many times, friends have invited me over just to show off their new grill or let me try their latest gadget. I’ve been guilty of this too. I recently received a cast-iron skillet as a gift from a friend, and I found it worked so nicely that every day I woke up excited about what new things I could cook in it!

Over the years, I have had a lot of people share with me the frustration they experience trying to figure out what God wants them to do with their lives. They believe that God has some carefully laid plan and worry that they may have missed some critical decision and are now irrevocably on the wrong path. I believe these fears fundamentally misunderstand how God relates to us. It imagines that God’s plans for our lives are focused on a goal we are supposed to accomplish, rather than on God’s love for who we are.

I found this Ephesians 2:10 to be helpful in times like this:

For we are [God’s] handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

God created us in love. He finds delight in seeing us do good works, as we were made to do, but God won’t discard us because we stumble along the way. I wouldn’t throw out my favorite skillet simply because I burned an egg one morning. How much more do you think the God who formed you in love will continue to use your life for good?

God’s plan for your life is not some far off mission you need to discover; it is the good which is has been set before you today. I pray that you will walk in it!

Questions for Today

Where have you seen God form your life to prepare you for good works?
What is one way that you can walk in good works that God has prepared for you today?