You Were Created for God's Pleasure

by Rick Warren

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb .… Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:13, 16 NIV)

Your life matters. We all want to believe that — no matter what religious background we come from. Even atheists long to know their lives count for something.

The Bible says your life matters because God uniquely designed you. In Psalm 139 the Bible says,“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb .… Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:13, 16 NIV).

God made you unique because he has a unique plan for your life. He personally oversaw your creation because he had something for you to do that only you can do. Your parents may not have planned you, but God did.

God has set you apart for a special use. How do we know this?

·         God designed you in his image. Unlike all the other animals in the world, you are designed in God's image. Cows, goats, sheep, and ducks aren’t designed in the image of God. You are. You can choose between right and wrong. You have a conscious, and animals don't. You can talk to God. You can pray to God. Animals can’t do that. In fact, the Bible says in Psalm 8:5, “You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.”
 

·         God planned your life before you were born. God says to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). God had a purpose for your life before you took your first breath. God thought of you before your parents conceived you. God said, "I’m going to use these parents. I'm going to use them because I want to bless the world through this man."
 

·         God made you for his pleasure. Revelation 4:11 says, “For you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” Look around at the universe. God made everything you see for his own enjoyment. Now look at yourself in a mirror. God made you to enjoy you. It’s why you were created.

You’re not an accident. You have great value because you were designed in God’s image, he planned your life before you were born, and you were made for his pleasure.

Talk It Over

·         How does understanding that you are a unique creation of God enhance your sense of personal worth?

·         What sense of responsibility are you aware of when you realize God personally created you?

·         Looking back over your last 24 hours, what did God experience pleasure from in your life?

This devotional is based on the current Daily Hope radio series at www.rickwarren.org.

Rick Warren has helped people live with hope and on purpose for more than 40 years. He’s the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California and author of several books, including “The Purpose Driven Church” and “The Purpose Driven Life,” read by more than 100 million people in 137 languages. He created the PEACE Plan (plant churches of reconciliation, equip servant leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, educate the next generation), which is used by churches in 196 countries. His radio teaching and daily devotional, Daily Hope, is offered across America.