Topic: You’re Not Just Wanted—You’re Needed! [RICK WARREN Devotional 19 May 2024]
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You’re Not Just Wanted—You’re Needed!
BY RICK WARREN — MAY 19, 2024
FROM SHAPED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
“We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)
The reason you have value is because of what God says about you, not because of what other people say about you.
Many people lack self-esteem. They don’t feel good about themselves because they’re always trying to pump themselves up by the kind of clothes they wear, the kind of car they drive, or the things they say. They’re constantly striving to feel better about themselves because they really don’t accept themselves—which, really, is rebellion against God.
If God wanted you to be somebody else, you wouldn’t exist. But God wanted you! He made you to be you. We know as believers that real self-esteem comes from three facts:
1. God created you.
2. Jesus died for you.
3. God’s Spirit lives in you.
The Bible says, “We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:10 NLT). The New Testament was written originally in Greek. The Greek word for “masterpiece” is poema. It’s the word we get “poem” from. Essentially, God is saying, “You’re my poem. You’re my masterpiece. I don’t want you copying somebody else. I’ve put gifts in you—spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences—and I want you to use them.” You have worth because of what God says about you and what he has done for you.
You’re not just wanted. You’re needed! The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, “There are different spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. There are different ways of serving, and yet the same Lord is served. There are different types of work to do, but the same God produces every gift in every person” (GW).
You are needed. You’re needed in your church. You are needed in your community. You are needed in this world. If you weren’t needed, God would not have made you. He brought you here to make a contribution with your life.
There are no little people in the family of God. Every single person—every part of God’s family—is necessary. Do you know what the most important light in my house is? It’s not the big chandelier in the dining room. It’s the little dinky light I turn on so that when I get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I don’t stub my toe.
Every role is important. You are important. You have value because God said so and because he paid such a large ransom for your life when he sent his Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for you.
You are God’s masterpiece. Now go out and live like you believe it!
Talk It Over
- When do you tend to focus on what other people say about you instead of what God says about you?
- How has your self-esteem grown as you’ve drawn closer to Jesus?
- What is your role in your church? In your community? In the world? How are you fulfilling those roles?
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