The Days that Were Formed for Us

“For you formed my inward parts;

    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works;

    my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your book were written, every one of them,

    the days that were formed for me,

    when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalms 139:13-16 ESV)

Our God, the one who knows us inside and out, who knows everything about us, is the one who created us, who knit us together in the wombs of our mothers. So, he is the one who placed us in the families where we ended up and with the parents we had and with the siblings and other relatives we had or still have. And he knew beforehand the kind of treatment we were going to receive from all of them, too, whether good or bad.

He is also the one who gave us the skin color and nationalities that we have, and who made us male or female, and who placed us in the nations where we grew up, knowing full well the kinds of treatment we would face because of our skin color or because of our race or because we are female and not male or because we are poor and not rich or uneducated and not educated, and the list goes on. And that was his plan for our lives.

Now God is not the author of evil, and he is not for evil, but against it, but since Adam sinned and we are all born in the image of Adam with sin natures, and we live in a fallen world, sin does exist, and evil people do evil, and God allows evil to exist, for a time. And he allows evil people to do evil against us sometimes, too. But all that he allows in our lives is ultimately for our good, to make us into the people God wants us to be.

For he never promised that life would be easy for us. He never promised that we would not have to suffer. In fact, he promised us who believe in him a life of suffering, of sharing in the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. He promises us that we will be hated and rejected and mistreated and have evil done against us. But he promises that he will carry us through it all and that through it we can grow to be more like Jesus.

And this is why it says here that in his book were written all the days formed for us when as yet there was none of them. And I think Paul said something to that affect, as well, when he told the people “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.” So God had a specific plan and purpose for us even before he made us.

So, the point here, I believe, is that regardless of our circumstances or who our parents were/are and where we live and what nationality we are, etc., God made us who we are to live where we have lived and to experience some of the things we have experienced in order to make us who he wants us to be. But we must accept his sovereignty over our lives and yield to his will and purpose for our lives and then become the people he wants us to be.

And this can only happen as we surrender our lives to him, die with him to sin, and now live for him and to his righteousness in his power, strength, and wisdom. And he will turn our sadness into joy, and he will take what was intended for evil in our lives and turn it into good, perhaps for the salvation of human lives (as was the case with Joseph, the son of Jacob and Rachel). So, let the Lord make you into who he wants you to be.

“Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!

    O men of blood, depart from me!

They speak against you with malicious intent;

    your enemies take your name in vain.

Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?

    And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?

I hate them with complete hatred;

    I count them my enemies.” (Psalms 139:19-22 ESV)

Now, in the New Testament we are taught that we are to love our enemies, not hate them, and that we are to do good to them, and not evil, and that we are to pray for them and to bless them, not curse them (Luke 6:27-28). But we are to hate the evil, as God hates evil, and we are not ever to join in with evil, but we are to forsake it and resist it and expose it for what it is and call people to come out of their sins and to follow Jesus Christ with their lives. And we are to pray to be rescued from all evil.

And we are not to want to get even or to do evil to others who do evil to us, but we are to forgive (not try to retaliate). But forgiveness is not granting permission to evil people to continue in their evil. When Jesus forgave he told people to “go and sin no more.” And when he forgives us it is with the expectation that we will “go and sin no more.” And if we keep on in our sin, then we are not forgiven, according to the Scriptures, unless we repent in truth and in righteousness and we now follow our Lord in obedience.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

But the bottom line for us here who have had evil done to us, like Jesus had done to him, is that we are not to hate and retaliate but we are to forgive and even love those who did evil against us, and pray for their salvation, and show them love and kindness. Can we set boundaries for ourselves, though? I believe so. The Scriptures teach us that we can. Jesus and Paul and Peter and John did, and they stood up for themselves when others were doing evil against them. And we are not to yield to evil nor to willfully participate in it. 

[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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