YOU ARE FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE!!

Ladies as we seek the Lord Jesus in prayer and begin to know Him, we also get to know His purpose for us in this life. One thing is for certain we are all fearfully and wonderfully made to glorify our Savior.  David the Shepherd boy, who God called to be king. As we read the entire scriptures about David we can see his character develop and be transformed by the hand of God.

David was affectionately called, “A man after God’s own heart,” although after reading his story, you might be surprised! Today his life would definitely make a juicy reality show or at least the best seller list. Hopefully none of us in the room would tune in or read about it. Although David was a great sinner, a mortal sinner, he knew that He served not only a holy, but also a merciful God. When David was weak; he knew that his God was strong. David knew where to go to get the grace need to be strengthened, that of course was in God’s presence.  David sinned big but He sought His bigger God, with his whole heart. He prayed, he sang, and he danced before his heavenly Father. He poured out his whole heart to God and most of all he trusted and depended on God for everything.  David found His God to be faithful and true. David knew God, not just knew about God; and because of his personal relationship with God he was able to praise God from His heart.  David did not just go thru the motions; he had a living faith in a living God. David’s heart was set on God and because of His character; God was able to use David.  The purpose of David’s life was to be King.

 Why did God make you?

Not only did God make you to “know Him, to love Him and to serve Him and to be happy with him in heaven”; God made you for a purpose. Yes, you are fearfully and wonderfully made for a purpose. You are created by God to do great things. “For thus says the LORD: Only after seventy years have elapsed for Babylon will I deal with you and fulfill for you my promise to bring you back to this place. For I know well the plans I have in mind for you—oracle of the LORD—plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope. When you call me, and come and pray to me, I will listen to you.  When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart,” (Jeremiah 29:10-13)

My purpose today is to bring you good news.

On Easter Sunday, we celebrate Jesus our Savior, whose death brought us life. Jesus is God’s gift to us. Our lives are to be our thank you gift back to God in response to His unfailing love.

God had a purpose for each bible character. Let’s look at some of them.

Abraham went from childless to the father of many nations with a little help from his wife Sarah. She laughed when God told her husband that she would bear a child in her 90’s. Whenever I read her story I still laugh. Watch what you pray for. God’s ways are not our ways. Abraham was fearfully and wonderfully made! God had a purpose for Abraham’s life.

Joseph was favored by his dad Jacob. What did his daddy give him to show his love, a coat of many colors! What did his brothers get? Jealous!  Joseph went from,” Bragging Brother” to the man with the most Brotherly Love. God does not always change our circumstance but truly he changes our hearts along the way.  He never departed from Joseph whether He was at the right hand of the King or given an unjust jail sentence.  You might say that, “In this world we have much tribulation but our God delivers us out of it all.”  Joseph lived out that scripture. God raised him up to be the right hand man to the Pharaoh, where he was able to provide for his family during the famine. God put him in the right place at the right time, with a small detour by way of a prison cell.  Joseph was fearfully and wonderfully made! God had a plan for Joseph’s life.

Jonah was a prophet. When God spoke His word to Him, Jonah thought that he had a better plan than God. Where did it get him? He found himself in the belly of a fish. I think Jonah would attest to the fact that it was not a “whale of a good time.” Ask him when you get to heaven how it feels to be spewed out of the mouth of a whale. Jonah had a change of heart, and then obeyed God. When Jonah spoke to the people of Nineveh they listened and repented. Then God had a change of heart too. He did not destroy the people of Nineveh. Jonah was fearfully and wonderfully made! God had a plan for his life.

Joseph was a gentle giant of a man. He was called to be the foster father of Jesus, God’s son. His role was to protect, provide and be the head of the Holy family. He was Mary’s husband in every way accept, physically.  Mary was a virgin. Joseph had the fruit of self-control. God chose a man who could parent His Son on this earth. Joseph proved trust worthy. Joseph was fearfully and wonderfully made! God had purpose for Joseph’s life.

Peter, although he walked and talked with Jesus daily, when his friend Jesus needed him most, Peter ran away. Yet, Peter went from being a disciple who was too afraid to stand alone for Jesus to being the first Pope. His name was changed from Simon to Peter to Peter the Rock.  It was upon that rock that God built our church, the one, holy, apostolic, Catholic Church. He may have run away in the early days but the Rock was a firm foundation which holds true to the faith until this day. God was faithful even when Peter was not. Peter was fearfully and wonderfully made! God had a purpose for Peter’s life.

God had a plan for each woman in the Bible

Hannah, while barren, wept from the depth of her soul for a child. Her prayer was answered. She birthed a bouncing baby boy named Samuel. God fulfilled her heart’s desire but her prayer answer came at a price. Once Hannah weaned her son Samuel, she gave him back to God as she promised. Samuel was to be a great prophet and priest. Samuel was raised by the priest Eli, who also taught him the faith. Hannah’s sacrifice, of giving her son back to God, won souls to the kingdom of God.  Hannah was fearfully and wonderfully made! God had a purpose for Hannah’s life.

Mary’s “Yes,” of surrender to God opened her womb to house the Savior of the world. His birth brought forth God’s plan for redemption. His death brought us life. What life will your surrendered, “Yes,” bring to this world? Mary was fearfully and wonderfully made! God had a purpose for Mary’s life.

Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin though old in years, brought a young man into the world named John. He became the fore runner of the birth of Christ. His message became the Lenten message for all times. “Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand.” Elizabeth was fearfully and wonderfully made! God had a purpose for her life.

Was there purpose to the lives of these bible characters? Yes, definitely yes. There was purpose, meaning and there was abundant fruit in each of their lives. The purpose unfolded as they came to know, love and serve God. There is purpose to each of our lives too. It is worth the prayer, effort and surrender needed to get to know God for ourselves. This is “Good News!”

So what purpose ladies does God have for your life?  Do you know or are you still prayerfully seeking God’s plan for your life? He has one, that I can assure you.  He wants to reveal it to you. “No eye has seen. No ear has heard, all that God has in store for those who love Him!”

Discovering your God given gifts as well your natural gifts will aid you in discovering God’s purpose for your life.  Be assured your purpose will fit your gift, your talents and your personality. Knowing your purpose and working with the Holy Spirit to live out the purpose He reveals to you, will bring you the greatest joy and bear the most abundant fruit. Our God’s love is so great that He loves you all best!

The purpose for your life may be as simple as raising godly children. Who knows, right now you could be raising a priest, a nun or perhaps a Saint? Your purpose may be as great as your becoming a Saint, like Blessed Mother Theresa or St. Pope John Paul II. They did not always realize their purpose either. Everyone begins sometime. They begin in prayer, seeking the face of God. This search never ends because God is infinite; so there is always more to know about Him. One thing I can assure you is that, you will never know your purpose unless you begin to seek his face. St. Teresa said, “You must both know yourself and know God.” You must go into the deep.  Be not afraid to seek God’s face. Scriptures says, “When you seek Him, you will find Him, when you seek Him with your whole heart.”  This is a promise. The first step begins in humility, by knowing that you do not know all. No one knows all. No matter what stage of maturity you are in your spiritual walk, begin today to open your heart before Him and let Him reveal Himself to you in a new way. Let Him love you. Let Him heal you on the inside. Let Him take up residence in your soul, where He belongs. “He is the vine, we are the branches, apart from Him, and we can do nothing.” “If you abide in me and my word abides in you, you can ask anything and I will do it.”

When we read the about the different people in the Bible, what did they all have in common: the answer, they all sought God with their whole heart. They all became empty vessels and desired God to fill them. They all placed their trust in God alone. All came to a mountain in their lives that they could not move. They all came to a point in their lives where they knew, like St. Teresa of Avila, “God alone suffices.” They believed their faith with all their heart. They knew first hand that God is, and was and is to come. They knew and experienced the words of the song, “How Great Is Our God!!” Their surrender “Yes,” to God changed their lives forever. They continued to live their lives in the power of the Holy Spirit. Then they became an example of God’s love and grace in this world, actively winning souls for the kingdom of God.

Sisters in Christ, “Are you there yet?” Have you come to that point in your walk that your heart is crying out, “I need you now Lord?”  Are your hearts crying out with John the Baptist, “More of Jesus, less of me?” Are you lost in the desert, like Moses and his people waiting for the Red Sea to part? Are you wailing in prayer like Hannah for God to give you the desire of your heart, and the wait seems way too long? Are you running away like Peter or are you afraid to go forward like Moses? Have you come face to face with a mountain in your life that you cannot move? OR have you already heard the Lord reveal His plan for your life deep in your heart like He did when the angel Gabriel spoke to Mary? However the plan seems too impossible to ever be fulfilled.

I come to bring, “Good News.” You are right, it is Impossible!  It is impossible to move the mountain, without God, that is. With God all things are possible!

When we come to that place where we have discovered the world has nothing that will truly satisfy; when we have the desire to be a “Woman after God’s own Heart,” like David, it is then that God begins to reveal our own hearts to us. We quickly realize how holy He is and how much we need to change.

Mathew had to change careers from a cheating tax collector to a disciple of Christ. Peter had to give up his pride. Paul had to change his religion. Mary had to give up her reputation. Ladies, what do you have to give up in your life to make room for Christ?

When we entered the newly built, St. Mary’s Help of Christian Church for the first time, I am sure, as Deacon Pat said, that an awe of reverence swept thru many hearts. It was a grace!  As I walked through those gigantic blue doors into our amazing house of God in all its beauty and splendor, I must admit, I felt very small. Like a child standing next to their daddy, my littleness was evident.  Our littleness should always be felt as we enter into the presence of a very holy all knowing, all good, all powerful God.  We serve a God who is bigger than life itself. Our Heavenly Father created us, each unique. We are, fearfully and wonderfully made for His Divine purpose. It is in His presence that you come to know the real you. His divine purpose for your life is to do a work that no one else can do. Our God loves you, just as much as He loved David. He likes you too.  Your life counts!  You are in this world to make a difference. In this big world, no matter how small you feel, you were created to make a big difference for Christ. You are to touch lives. You are to be the hands and feet of Christ in your own family, in your own neighborhood, in St. Mary’s Help of Christian Church.  

Today ladies, let us take some time today to prayerfully get to know God a little better, to get to love God a little more fervently, to decide to serve God a little more diligently. Let us set our hearts on the things above. Let us willingly and prayerfully seek His purpose in our lives.  Finally let us make a decision to work with His Holy Spirit daily so as to fulfill His calling on our lives. As you start each day begin with a prayer and remember to always accessorize with virtue. You are fearfully and wonderfully made and no matter what the circumstances in your life, God will sere you through.