Focus: I Am God-made

Text: Gen.1:27

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."

Nothing in existence in the universe is self-made, and that includes man himself. The psalmist declares, "By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth" (Ps.33:6). God is the maker and master of all things. John says, "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made" (Jh.1:3). All of nature has the signature of God on it, and the stamp of divine ownership. Nothing and no one can boast of being self-made.

Let's narrow it down to the believer in Christ. We were not only made by God, but also redeemed by Him. We are the redeemed of the Lord. He gives us existence and owns it. In other words, we owe our very existence to Him. The psalmist says, "Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath MADE US, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture" (Ps.100:3). John says, "For thou hast CREATED all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were CREATED" (Rev.4:11). He didn't make us because He was in need of us, but because He delighted in making and having us. Surely He delights in us. He is never tired of us. 

We are not creatures of necessity, but of divine delight. He is pleased for making us. The fact that He made us gave Him perfect pleasure.

Now having made us in His image and remade us in Christ, He has also made us to experience certain realities.

Let's see a few:

Sarah said, "God hath MADE ME TO LAUGH, so that all that hear will laugh with me" (Gen.21:6). God who made Sarah laugh will do the same for you. The psalmist says, "Thou, Lord, hast MADE ME GLAD through thy work" (Ps.92:4). God makes us laugh miraculously and He gladdens our hearts as we behold His wonderful works in our lives and around us. Just look around you and see God's creative and redemptive works.

Isaac called the last well he had dug, Rehoboth, because he said, "For now the LORD hath MADE ROOM FOR US, and we shall be fruitful in the land" (Gen.26:22). Your labor shall not be in vain. Through diligence and industry the Lord will make room for us. Our labor shall pay off even in strange places.

We read of Joseph, "And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD MADE all that he did to prosper in his hand" (Gen.39:3). God who made us will also make things happen for us. He makes us prosper through the work of our hands. 

Joseph named his first son, Manasseh, for he said, "For God, said he, hath MADE ME FORGET all my toil, and all my father's house" (Gen.41:51). God makes us forget the pains and toils of the past. He turns our stories around and transforms our sad experiences into joyous testimonies. 

He calls his second son, Ephraim, for he said, "For God hath CAUSED me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction" (Gen.41:52). God makes us fruitful; He increases and multiplies us. 

Joseph said to his brothers, "So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath MADE ME a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt" (Gen.45:8). God exalted Joseph in Egypt, elevated even above Potiphar, who jailed him for no just cause. God made Pharaoh listen to him and took seriously whatever counsel he gave him. The psalmist says about Joseph, "He MADE HIM LORD of his house, and RULER of all his substance" (Ps.105:21). Stephen says of him, "And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he MADE HIM governor over Egypt and all his house" (Act.7:10).

The psalmist says, "Thy gentleness has MADE ME GREAT" (Ps.18:35). In God's kindness He lifts us up; He comes to our level to take us to His level. He shows how gentle He could be by bestowing greatness on us. Again the psalmist declares, "Thou hast MADE ME THE HEAD of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall SERVE ME" (Ps.18:43). Again he says, "For thou hast MADE HIM MOST BLESSED for ever: thou hast MADE HIM exceeding glad with thy countenance… I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast LIFTED ME UP, and hast NOT MADE my foes to rejoice over me" (Ps.21:6; 30:1).

Stephen says of Moses, "This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who MADE thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God SEND to be a RULER and a DELIVERER by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush" (Act.7:35). 

God takes no permission from those who don't like you to bless, lift and use you.

Enjoy all that God is making to happen for you! Enjoy His blessings and liftings! Desist from being proud over the things He has gifted you with. You have nothing that you didn't receive from God. Being different from another is not of your own making; it is rather the Lord's doing. He has given you all things richly to enjoy. Appreciate the grace of God in your life! Give God all the praise and enjoy Him forever!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter