"I am your Creator, you were in my care even before you were born."
- Isaiah 44:2a (CEV)

Your birth was no mistake or mishap, and your life is no fluke of nature. Your parents may not have planned you, but God did. He was not at all surprised by your birth. In fact, he expected it.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">
God doesn't play dice.
- Albert Einstein
</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Long before we were conceived by our parents, we were conceived in the mind of God. He thought of us first. It is not fate, nor chance, nor luck, nor coincidence that we are breathing this very moment.

He prescribed every single detail of our body:

"You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something."
- Psalm 139:15

He decided when we would be born and how long we would live, planning the days of our lives in advance:

"Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I'd even lived one day."
- Psalm 139:16


Most amazingly, God decided how we would be born. Regardless of the circumstances of our birth or who our parents are, God had a plan in creating us.

While there are illegitimate parents, there are no illegitimate children. Many children are unplanned by their parents, but not unplanned by God. God's purpose took into account human error, even sin. His motive for creating us was His love:

"Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love."
- Ephesians 1:4

He didn't make us because He was lonely, but as a way to express His love. He made us for a reason, and our lives have profound meaning! We discover that meaning only when we make God the reference point in our lives.

"...The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him."
- Romans 12:3

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Knowing that God uniquely created us, what areas of your personality, background, and physical appearance do you struggle to accept?

So... you are saying my mom lied to me all those years?? LOLOLOL

Really tho' that concept is so true!

That is a tough question you asked there bud. I don't know that I conciously struggle over any of those (anymore) I used to struggle with forgiving myself for my past, but that is a bit off the subject.

I guess if I have an honest struggle it would be about my place in the Kingdom. For instance am I where He wants me and am I doing what he wants me to do and am I reaching all the people He wants me to reach and often the amazement of even being simply let back in just overwhelms me.

I know that answer isn't exactly in line with the question but......

preach preacha preach... there's an incident from my past I struggle with forgiveness and acceptance of... the Bible says that I'm forgiven, but I thought about it just tonight while at church - truly believing that I'm forgiven for it, and that the past is in the past, is difficult. This thread and it's message of our uniqueness and plan from birth doesn't make it any easier.

I am not one to believe in "predestination" and that word will bring a lot of Christians to fisticuffs all over the 'net. I believe that "post-conversion" we have a broad manifest destiny and like it says in:

Proverbs 16:9
In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.

we have some say in making a real mess of our lives! (or not) I don't believe that prior to conversion we have a destiny here on this earth simply because that would not glorify God. (not that God will not use the unsaved for His purposes eg philistines, babylonians all who invaded Israel to punish them)

I believe that it is God's wish that we each be presented with enough of the Gospel to accept our salvation and ultimately our destiny to walk with and Glorify God thereafter. I also believe that He uses our experiences as opprotunities to touch us and to reach us before we are saved. I am not one to believe that he foreknew that I would kneel on the back of the couch in ninth grade and fall forward outstretching my hand and dislocating my left pinky in the process of trying to stop my fall. Not that he can't. I just don't believe that He gets involved in that deep of minutea without our invitation.


what was your question again???

To go back to your point about forgiveness.

Let me tell you what happened to me. As you know I was a bad seed for a while. Drugs, booze, witchcraft and promiscuous sex. AFTER coming back to God and really developing a passion for Him and having several mountaintop experiences with Him, I still carried a tremendous burden for my past. I knew I had been forgiven. But at the same time I did not feel released from the shame of my past. Odd no? It then hit me. God had called me into a SEASON of repentance. A sincere moment was not what God was asking from me. He wanted a repentant life from me for a season. (keeping in mind that there was NO guilt before God or man, but a pious regret before God.) I will tell you it led me to a closer worship of Him and a greater freedom when He released me from that.

I had offered God ten to fifteen years of *stuff* and if you look at the roots of the word "repent" in the Greek it boils down to a change in lifestyle, and in reality that is all that God asked from me at the time. Looking back I am confident that God asked that of me so that I would not have any shame to tell my friends out here on the net or anyone else I contact. He asked me to go through that so that I would be comfortable in admitting my sin to to others who could possibly discriminate or try to shame me (non christians.) I know that He was over it long before I was done repenting of it and knew it then too. I can remember that warm voice in my spirit saying "son, your not done with that just yet."

I can't tell you what God will or won't ask you to do. But if it is Him that asks, you will feel no shame only love and acceptance.


I will see if I can find an old devotion that spoke on repentance and post it with the others.

OK, was just waiting TO NOT be first to reply. Guess this is the glutton for punishment club.

In answer to the final question, what about personality, background and physical appearance are life struggles.

Personality first. I struggle with being bottom lined. I struggle with telling it like I see it sometimes coming off as arrogance, meaness or even knowing it all. If people choose to view me as a know itall or arrogant, not much of problem they are entitiled to their opinion. Being mean is another thing entirely. Honesty or bottom lining as I tend to do can easily be mistaken as being mean or demeaning. I guess I'd rather be thought of as mean than tell people what they want to hear or perhaps even worse, say nothing. Had people done that with me, perhaps much of my past would have been different than it was. Instead I was allowed to continue believing I was alright as well as the things I did and thought. I finally heard what I needed to and my life chnaged for the better remarkably. Selfishly I want others to find the better life waiting for them too. Over enthusiasm can be a major struggle.

My background. I struggle with being a former drunk and drug addict in my own mind often. I'm not ashamed nor do I feel guilty about using myself as an example hoping that others will learn from my mistakes. In fact, it's probably why God let use my free will to make those mistakes. Lessons learned brought me to being the person I am today. Sharing those mistakes has helped others and I know this because I've been told so. But shame and guilt within myself are another story. I'm a relatively intelligent person and I know my trespasses have been forgiven me by the only one it matters for forgiveness, but still struggle with having been dumb enough to do some the things I've done. For wasting as much time as I have and for not having accomplished more than I have.

Physical appearance. I'm 5'3" tall. This world is large oriented. In simple shopping situations, standing next to people of larger stature I'm often passed over as if I don't exist. Although children and small animals find me appealing and don't run screaming from me, adults of more size, perhaps better looks, and now of fewer years get treated better in both personal and professional situations. So, from time to time I find myself asking God " Why does he/she have it all?" Why did you make them taller, why better looking, why a better body, nicer eyes, teeth, etc." "Why have you short changed me?" (pun intended.)

I believe the reason for any of my hangups was to make me work harder to have the life I do. Had I NOT been coddled I may have seen the errors of my thinking and acting and gotten my act together sooner. But I wonder if I'd have learned as much or believed the mysterious ways HE works in. Had I NOT experienced the drinking and drugs I'd be like so many people who just know the text book parts of addiction. People I've talked to about my past and what I did and why and what I needed to change to stop those things from ruining and wasting my life may not listen as closely and openly. Text books can make us smart, life makes us wise. Had I been born tall dark and handsome, perhaps much would have been easier but would probably have meant much less or been taken for granted both personally and professionally.

So, the struggles have been good. I learned that only what's between me and God matters. I'm still bottom line, and if I realise doing that has caused someone pain, the words "I'm sorry" are forthcoming and sincere. I've learned to some degree honesty is a good thing but honesty with tact is a better thing. I've learned that trying to do the right thing all but dispels shame and guilt. I've learned that making bad choices, doesn't necessarily make me a bad person. Owning, the mistakes I've made and chnaging them as well as making ammends to those injured by my mistakes is all I can do and so I've begun to learn to forgive myself. As for the physical things, I've stopped struggling with what is, I simply make the best of it and work harder at making my mark in this world. I can change things about my personality, I can't change my past it's too late but I could learn from it and try to be a better me now. I can't do much about the physical things either except be proud of who I am. I gues it boils down to, the only things shame and guilt do is stall and maybe even make our lives backslide. If forgiving me is good enough for God who am I to do any different for myself. Repentance is good, obsession is crippling. Moving on is good, wallowing in our humaness can also be crippling. All HE asks is that we do our best, isn't it arrogant to one up HIM on the shame and guilt?

Just my thoughts, blow them off or give them some thought.

Although children and small animals find me appealing and don't run screaming .........

Well you got me beat there.........


You are right we can't wallow in shame because shame doesn't come from God... and if its not fomr God then.....

You have some great points about God allowing us to do those um... less than admirable things, shall we say. They are the things that make us who we are, we are simply the sum of our experiences. Those who have been forgiven much find it easier to forgive much. Those who have been loved... those who have slipped etc.

I agree about pre-destination - I believe we are created with everything we need to fulfill the best He has for us, but it's our choices that determine the actual path we take. He knows the paths we'll choose and the the results, but still allows us to choose them

Kris, your personality makes appear to be a much bigger person It's always good to get a little bit more of the picture that makes us us.

He, he. My friends and coworkers have always said that I have NO idea of my actual size. Haven't found anything I couldn't do yet ane sometimes even more easily because of my size. Of course, I forgot to mention I weigh 465 libs. Kidding! Only 144lbs and just happen to have a black belt too. After some of the stuff I've experienced selfprotection/preservation came to the fore. I'm actually a pacifist for the most part.

I believe most of us who take up martial arts are pretty passive, just take them for self-preservation