March 9, 2023
Melissa Valerio
Jeremiah 1:4-9
After dropping the boys off at school one morning, I took a quick look in the backseat to make sure they didn’t forget their lunch boxes. No lunchboxes left behind, but I did notice the windows smudged from top to bottom with their fingerprints. Sigh… fingerprints AGAIN. Halfway annoyed, I decided I’d turn it into praise instead of complaints. “Thank you, Lord, for my children’s uniqueness. Each fingerprint is different and precious.”
So that got me thinking about what God’s fingerprint looks like. So, I asked Him, “Lord, what does Your fingerprint look like?” And He answered “Like the ones on the window. And the one on your hand. And the one on Holly’s hand.”
You see, when God forms us, He stamps us with His fingerprint. Each of us is made in His image, and each of us has His stamp. But because each of us is uniquely different, the print looks different on me than it does on you. Same God, same stamp, different print because we are different people. It’s the vessel that’s different, not the God. Similarly, He makes us all uniquely different for different purposes. Each of us has a creative way to bring God glory and each of us has a specific job to do on this Earth, in this lifetime. Same God, same Master, different job for you and different job for me. I cannot do what He created you to do, and you cannot do what He created me to do. That’s the power of His plan. That gives us a new perspective on the importance of our roles here on Earth!
Paul’s job was to minister to the Gentiles and Peter’s job was to minister to the Jews. Both had individual strengths that they used to bring God glory and to bring good to the people. So it is with us, you and I have individual strengths that we can use to bring glory to God and to bring good to the people around us. We are as different as our appointed tasks are different. Just like God told Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in your mother’s womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart. I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5 NET) Since He has formed us with intentionality and for a great purpose, let’s not waste another second. Let’s seek Him out with all our hearts to find out what incredible job He has appointed to each of us. Remember, no one else can do it but YOU. That’s how essential YOU are to His Kingdom.
Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for making only one of me and only one of everyone else. I see Your beauty and creativity in all the different types of people You made! Along with that, You made each of us for a specific task. Guide us into knowing Your personal will for our lives and in what direction you want us to move in order to do the greatest work for Your Kingdom. With You, we can do anything. We pray this in Your holy and blessed name, Amen.
Action: Memorize Jeremiah 1:5. Consider this — God has an appointed task for you and you alone, just as He did for Jeremiah. Our appointed tasks are always related to our gifts and abilities. Get with God in prayer and ask Him to show you how He wants you to use your gifts and abilities for His purposes. Keep this in mind — whatever the appointed task is, it will always bring glory to God, it will always grow His Kingdom here on Earth, and it will always be for the good of the people.
image:freepik.com