01 24 08 MY DADDY LOVES ME

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I,
but the grace of God which was with me.”
(1 Corinthians 15:10 NKJV)

“But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I'm not about to let his grace go to waste. Haven't I worked hard trying to do more than any of the others? Even then, my work didn't amount to all that much. It was God giving me the work to do, God giving me the energy to do it.”
(1 Corinthians 15:10 The Message)

In my studies this morning, I had one passage in mind to concentrate, but as happens quite often, the Lord had something else for me to ponder. As I read through several devotions, this one stuck in my mind, perhaps because my DADDY knows how I am struggling lately. He knows my needs and He knows my heart. He sat me down and whispered these words to me:

“God gave you a unique role to play in his Kingdom. You’re the only person in the world who can live your particular life for the glory of God. There is no one else in the world with your unique mix of spiritual gifts, passions, abilities, personality, and experiences. God shaped you for a very specific ministry and no one else can fulfill your mission.” (Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotional, Jan.24, 2008)

Ever feel the need for confirmation of your parents, your boss, or your spiritual leaders just to be encouraged to push on? Applause from the crowd doesn’t matter. It must come from the one you look up to, the one who taught you, that role model you follow after. It’s that confirmation that you are worth it and you matter and that you are effective.

God does that for us…if we’re only quiet and still enough to listen. So like Paul, we all yearn for His applause. We don’t always have the perfect Dad, the best mentor, the interested family members, or the caring friends. But we have a heavenly DADDY who knows every hair upon our head, even the ones that have gone away! He cares so deeply. That’s the One I work for. He’s the One who gave me the assignment. As messed up as I am, MY DADDY LOVES ME eternally and unconditionally. That’s a comforting and encouraging thought! And He chooses to use me…and you too. So we do it all for Him so others may know Him as well!

“But my life is worth nothing unless I use it for
doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus––
the work of telling others the Good News about
God’s wonderful kindness and love.”
(Acts 20:24 NLT)