Even Your Weaknesses Bring Glory to God
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 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?
Many of us make these kinds of statements: “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 our lists go. This kind of thinking is basically telling God, “You blew it! Everybody else is okay. 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 differently, with a different set of strengths and a different set of weaknesses.”
But God says, “No, I created you exactly the way you are because I want you to be you — with your strengths and your weaknesses. All of it 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 these 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 produces frustration and keeps you from being the person God wants you to be.
But you don’t have to live that way — there is hope! 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!
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Talk It Over
How can believing that God really loves you change the way you view yourself?
What about yourself have you always wanted to change? How do you think God may have intended to use that very trait to bring glory to him?
How has God used your weaknesses to bring glory to him?
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
Discover God’s blueprint for you!
God shaped you in a marvelously unique way to fulfill a specific purpose here on earth. And it’s the passions, talents, and temperaments He gave you that work together to make you who you are.
We want to help you tap into your God-given identity – so you can discover your next level of purpose – with the Shape Study Kit.
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• How to maximize your spiritual gifts
• The key to discovering your God-given talents
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• How your experiences shape you for God’s purpose
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This devotional © 2017 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
You can listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.
