February 9, 2008
Hand-Made Heart
Lee Merrill, She Speaks! Graduate
“He made their hearts, so He understands everything they do.”
Psalm 33:15 (NLT)
Devotion:
I love hand-made gifts. Just knowing that someone loves me enough to take the time to create something just for me touches my "I feel loved" button!
Personally, I can't sew, paint, or do anything remotely crafty. In fact, when I was a high school summer missionary working with underprivileged children in
One Christmas, as a money-deprived newlywed, I decided I would take on the creative gift-giving task of decoupaging glass platters with decorative tissue paper. The craft show that inspired me turned out these gorgeous serving platters resembling stained glass. Well, mine looked like crumbled up tissue paper glued to the bottom of a glass platter. I can still remember the shame I felt after giving one of those ugly platters to my creative mother-in-law.
My lack of talent in the crafts department gives me a deep appreciation for the skills of others. I love admiring hand-made scrapbooks, cross-stitched wall hangings, hand-painted pottery, and all kinds of other crafty things. The scrapbooks my mother-in-law have given me over the years are some of my most prized possessions. (Glad she didn't hold the ugly platter against me!)
Did you know that our Heavenly Father is a crafter? Psalm 33:15 says that God, "made [our] hearts, so He understands everything [we] do.” (NLT)
How does it make you feel to know that the Ultimate Crafter--Almighty God--fashioned your heart individually?! You have a hand-made heart!
God is such an amazing crafter that He doesn't even have to spend countless hours toiling over the task. Psalm 33:9 tells us, "For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast." (NIV)
I can just picture my loving Lord almost four decades ago thinking to Himself, Hmmm...the 1970's are quickly approaching. It’s time to create Lee. I'm going to make her tender-hearted and full of compassion. I know she'll have a leaning toward laziness and inconsistency, but I'll give her victory over that when she's ready. I want to use her to point people to me and to the power of prayer. I want her to be there to lift up the downcast and point the defeated to triumph through My power!
If you are feeling less-than-precious today, pray these words based on Psalm 139:13-14 out loud, and take comfort as you their truth them into your heart and soul:
God, You created my innermost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I’ll praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. The works of Your hands – including me – are wonderful, help me know that full well.
Dear Lord, we can be very critical of Your one-of-a-kind creations called “us.” Please forgive my lack of thanksgiving for all the beautiful things You hand-fashioned in me. You and I both know I have flaws that need work, but nevertheless, I am fearfully and wonderfully made by the Master Crafter—You. Polish and shape me into exactly who You had in mind when you knit me together in my mother’s womb. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Shaped with Purpose CD and companion Workbook by Renee Swope
His Princess, Love Letters from Your King by Sherri Rose Shepherd
Application Steps:
In your journal, write out a prayer of thanksgiving to God as you reflect on the beautiful qualities He created in you. Include the qualities that will be made “beautiful in His time.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
Keep an eye out for someone who needs to be reminded that she is a one-of-a-kind creation of the Master Crafter.
Reflections:
When you declare you are “no good,” what are you telling God about His skills as a Creator?
Do you truly believe God’s Word when He says you are wonderfully made? If not, ask Him to change your mind!
Power Verses:
Song of Solomon 4:7, “You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.” (ESV)
Psalm 139: 13-14: “… for you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (NIV)
Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in his own image…” (NIV)
© 2009 by Lee Merrill. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
616-G,
Matthews, NC 28105
Originally published Monday, 09 February 2009.
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