Isaiah 43:7 - Made for His Glory.
Isaiah 43:7 (NCV) Bring to me all the people
who are mine, whom I made for my glory, whom I
formed and made.
INTRODUCTION
Great philosophical works have been written
on this question, "Why am I here?" or "What is
the purpose of life?" Some say it is the
accumulation of wealth and power; some, to gain fame;
others, to leave a mark, and so on. What do you
say? We should go to the owner's manual of life,
God's Word, the Bible. There is an answer in this
book for every question under heaven. It isn't
magic. Just opening and reading guarantees
nothing. If we approach it with purpose and
determination, we find what we seek. Isaiah had the answer.
God told him. And God tells us the same
thing today. We are here for His honor and His
glory. We have all been "formed and fashioned" for
just this purpose. And in both the Old and New
Testaments of the owner's manual of life, we have the
formula: love and obey. We cannot obey our God,
without bringing Him glory. And we cannot bring Him
glory, without eternal benefit to ourselves. Obey
Him. [In His Time; Walk With Wisdom]
The hallmark of our age is loneliness. Even
the most successful person may frequently eat
alone, going "home" to a vacant house or apartment.
There are also those who may be married, but are
still as lonely as the single person. This is the
norm, not the exception. The lonely are more than
those who are not. And loneliness kills, because
God made humankind to be with another. There is
only one Person who will ever fill that last
aching abyss of the human heart; Jesus Christ, true
man and true God. Don't look to a human to fill
that place, because there is only your own
solitariness beyond Him. God alone can fill that place.
He is the true friend. When you discover this
loneliness which nothing and no one can fill, it is
your call to come to your God. Heed that call if
you are a Christian, because you have been away
from your Friend. Heed that call if you don't
know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. He is
the only true and forever Friend. [In His Time;
Walk With Wisdom]
COMMENTARY PEARL
Made For His Glory
Pop psychology is wrong when it tells you
to look inside yourself and find your value.
The magazines are wrong when they suggest you
are only as good as you are thin, muscular,
pimple-free, or perfumed. Religious leaders lie when they
urge you to grade your significance according to
your church attendance, self-discipline, or
spirituality.
According to the Bible you are good
simply because God made you in his image. Period.
He cherishes you because you bear a resemblance
to him. And you will only be satisfied when you
engage in your role as an image bearer of God. Such
was the view of King David: "As for me, I will
see Your face in righteousness; I shall be
satisfied when I awake in Your likeness' (Psalm 17:15
NKJV).
Lay hold of this promise, and spare
yourself a world of confusion and fear. How much
sadness would evaporate if every person simply chose
to believe this: I was made for God's glory and
am being made into his image. [You Can Count On
God by Max Lucado]
COMMENTARY
We Were Made for This
Ever wonder exactly why God created you?
Or why he placed children in your specific
family? God couldn't have spelled it out any plainer
than in Isaiah 43:6-7. He created you and me for
one purpose: to showcase his glory, to enjoy it,
display it, and demonstrate it every day to all
those we encounter.
What does it mean to put his glory on
display? It means highlighting his attributes and
characteristics. It means making hard choices to do the right
- that is, the righteous - thing. It means
biting your tongue from gossiping, going out of
your way for a neighbor in need, telling the
truth even when it's hard, not snapping back when
someone hurts you, or speaking freely and openly
about your Father in heaven. In short, it's living
like Jesus lived when he walked on earth.
God is invisible. In the Old Testament,
whenever he wanted to display his character, his
innermost being, he did so through something visible
like a burning bush, a pillar of cloud or of
fire, or a "theophany" (an appearance of the
pre-incarnate Christ). In the New Testament, God displayed
his glory through his Son, Jesus. But Jesus
doesn't physically walk on earth anymore, and bushes
that burn are only in prairie fires or piles of
raked leaves. So how does an invisible God display
his glory in this age? Through you. What a
privilege.
Father God, what an honor I've been
given! You no longer choose burning bushes through
which to speak, you choose people like me. Point
out ways I can showcase your character and
glorious qualities to others today. In so doing, I'll
be glorifying you... I'll be living the life I
was created to live. [Joni Eareckson Tada Daily
Devotional:
http://www.joniandfriends.org/daily-devotional]
Whats the Big Deal About Your SHAPE?
Many years ago I started using an
acrostic called SHAPE to talk about the five things
that make you, you. SHAPE is the way God wired
you for your life. Every area of your life is
influenced by the way youre shaped.
Your SHAPE is made up of your Spiritual
gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and
Experiences. These are the five things that make you who
you are.
No one else has your particular
combination of gifts, talents, and passions. Why do you
think you have your particular makeup? Because God
gave it to you for his glory. If all Christians
liked to do the same things and were good at the
same things, we would accomplish a lot less for
the Gospel in the world.
So God made you unique, and theres
nobody else like you. Your SHAPE is yours alone.
Why does this matter?
Your SHAPE reveals Gods purpose for
you.
You find out what God wants you to do
with your life by discovering how he shaped you.
But heres the thing: God wont force you to
do his plan. You can waste your life. You can
use it on all kinds of personal, self-centered
things and end up totally missing Gods purpose
for you. In fact, most people do. Thats a
tragedy. And its also why so many people are so
frustrated! Theyre trying to be something somebody
else wants them to be rather than what God wants
them to be.
Your SHAPE equips you to serve God.
God has a life mission for you that
nobody else on this planet can do. Maybe youve
missed that mission. Maybe youve missed serving
God. But you can start today and make the rest of
your life the best of your life. God will never
ask you to do anything in life that he hasnt
already given you the ability to do.
Your SHAPE prepares you for a life in
heaven.
If youre a follower of Jesus, this
life is preparation for the next life in heaven.
God says, This is a test. Im testing you
to see what you will do with what youve been
given on Earth. Based on that, I will determine
what I give you to do in heaven for eternity.
Your SHAPE shows Gods glory.
When you use your SHAPE and do what God
made you to do, it not only feels good, but it
also makes God smile. We are only fully alive
when we live connected to God and according to
the way he created us. You know what makes God
smile? When he looks down and sees you and me using
the talents that he gave us for his glory.
Isaiah 43:7 says, Bring to me all the
people who are mine, whom I made for my glory, whom
I formed and made (NCV). God made you to
enjoy you!
Next time youre wondering why you are
the way you are, remember that God gave you your
particular SHAPE. Take time to discover and live in
your SHAPE. Your SHAPE will help you understand
Gods purpose for you, serve God effectively,
prepare for life in heaven, and show Gods glory!
[Daily Devotional by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
CLOSING THOUGHT
A poll was taken not long ago that asked
Americans what they thought was their main purpose in
life. The responses were interesting. You would
think that some would maybe say, "To make a
contribution to society" or "To have a meaningful life."
But what most people said was, "The main purpose
of life is enjoyment and personal fulfillment."
It's interesting to note that 50 percent of those
polled identified themselves as born-again
Christians.
According to the Bible, the purpose of
life is not enjoyment and personal fulfillment.
The Bible teaches that we are put on this earth
to bring glory to God. We need to mark that
well in our minds and hearts. Speaking in Isaiah
43:7, God said, Everyone who is called by My
name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have
formed him, yes, I have made him." Therefore, we
are to glorify God in all that we do with our
lives.
Are you using your resources and talents
for His glory? Sometimes we think that God has
given us this life to do with what we will. We
will say, "Lord, this is mine. This is my week.
Here is Your time on Sunday morning. The rest of
it belongs to me." Or, "Here is the plan for my
life, Lord. Here is what I want to accomplish."
Or, "This is my money. Here is Your 10 percent,
Lord. I give a waitress more, but 10 percent is
all You get."
The fact is that it's possible to have a
saved soul but a wasted life. If you were asked
today, "What is the main purpose of life?" what
would you say?
If you ask God that question and keep on
asking Him every morning of your life, He will lead
you into His purpose which is the best place
you could ever be. [Greg Laurie from Harvest
Ministries; https://www.harvestdaily.com re 1
Corinthians 3:11]
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
Matthew 5:14-16 - Shining for Jesus!
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220113-0822.html
Ephesians 2:10 - Created in Christ Jesus to
Do Good Works.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20211211-0851.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo
Steps to Peace by Billy Graham:
https://stepstopeace.org/
Seeking God Made Real:
http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies:
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Voice of Prophecy Discover Bible Study
Guides:
https://www.voiceofprophecy.com/study/discover
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies:
http://www.bibleresearch.info/
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of
Adventist World Radio: https://www.awr.org/bible
Panorama of Prophecy with Pastor Doug
Batchelor: https://www.panoramaofprophecy.com/
Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW:
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
