Crafted By God

Crafted by God

[The Lord said to Jeremiah,] “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5

Eve woke up in the cabin at the retreat center and looked over at her roommate, who was sweeping long hair out of her eyes into a quick ponytail. Even though they’d had little sleep from talking with their small group until the wee hours, Courtney looked as if she had stepped out of a fashion magazine. I wish I had her hair, Eve thought. It takes hours to get my hair to look like that. Courtney dated the lead singer in a Christian band, was like a magnet for friends, and seemed to lead a charmed life. If only I had her face, her body, her great singing voice and talents, then life would be perfect, Eve thought. She knew envy was displeasing to God, but she couldn’t help comparing herself to her friend. Around Courtney and cute girls like her, Eve felt unattractive and inadequate.

Much of Eve’s struggle with comparison and her envy of other girls was related to health issues: open-heart surgery at age five, severe asthma, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis since age twelve—all of this kept her from having a straight, girlish walk or the figure the world calls appealing.

One day when Eve was again struggling with her tendency to compare herself with others, she was reminded of what God had said in Jeremiah 1 and realized that he had known her since before she was born. When she researched the Hebrew word for “know,” she learned that it carries with it the idea of intimacy, the same word the Bible uses to describe a man and woman being physically intimate. God’s love flooded Eve’s heart as she realized the Lord cares so much that he formed her with all her intellectual attributes and physical characteristics. No longer did she feel like a genetic accident. God himself had shaped her body and personality.

You, too, have been known and crafted by God for a distinct purpose, and he will complete what he has started in you. —CHERI

Father, I’m so thankful that you knew me before I was ever on planet Earth, and nothing about me is an accident. Thank you for your perfect plan and for the way you’ve shaped me inside and out to accomplish my part in it.

It is such a comfort to know that before we were born, God had already made his plan for us. He gave us gifts and qualities, and he will surely not waste them now that you are a Christian.

—CORRIE TEN BOOM (1892–1983), HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR, AUTHOR