Daily Hope Devotions - Even Your Flaws Can Bring Glory to God

Even Your Flaws Can Bring Glory to God

BY RICK WARREN — MAY 4, 2017

“Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous — how well I know it” (Psalm 139:14 NLT).

When people are hurting, they need simple truth, not simplistic truth. It’s not enough to tell someone to pray, read the Bible, or go to church. You have to help them know how to make changes in their lives.

And we can’t make changes in our lives until we understand our identity. You cannot become all that God created you to be until you embrace your identity — the unmistakably unique you that God intentionally made for a purpose.

You are wonderfully complex, as Psalm 139:14 tells us. To fulfill God’s purpose for you, you have to look at every dimension of your life and understand five factors that influence your identity. Then you have to make the most of what you’re given. We have all been given different parents, pains, problems, and potential, but we will all be held accountable one day for what we did with them.

The first factor that makes you who you are is your chemistry. This includes your DNA, your genes, your hormones, and your chemical makeup. Some of us were born with a low tolerance for pain; others have an extremely high tolerance for pain. Some of us have low energy levels; others bounce off the walls. Some of us have trick knees, weak eyesight, or brittle bones. Some of us have different brain chemistry, such as low levels of serotonin that can cause depression.

We’re all imperfect, and no flaw is sinful or shameful — it’s the way God wired you! I bought a pair of distressed jeans once that had a tag that read: “These jeans have intentional flaws in order to make them unique.” Your “genes” are the same way: They have flaws that make you unique. Those flaws are part of your custom design, and God planned them for his purpose and glory.

You will never be able to make a change in your life or fulfill God’s purpose for your life until you understand that you are wonderfully complex and uniquely designed for God’s glory. The question then, is this: What will you do with the hand you’re dealt?

Tomorrow we’ll look at the second factor that influences our identity: connections.

Talk It Over

• What flaws make you unique?
• How can those flaws bring glory to God?
• Here’s the question we each must answer: What will you do with the hand you’re dealt?