I want to describe for you a struggle that I have in life. I know that I do not deserve the things that I have been given and I know that I am not worth much in the grand scheme of things. When I look in the mirror, I see a human being; one who is imperfect and sinful, one who, many times, is completely and utterly ugly on the inside. There are days when I wake up and there is simply no hope and no motivation for me. Yet, God has given His grace and His love to me. On those days that I feel utterly worthless, I know I can turn to God for the hope and the motivation that I miss on my own. Now, I wish to encourage you.
“For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified.”[1]
God’s knowledge
I am astounded by the greatness of God’s knowledge, for he knows all things, even those things that have not yet happened. Let us consider the movie producer. He has a vision and produces a movie with a certain plot that has a certain outcome. After the movie is made, the producer reviews the movie and gives his approval before the movie is released. God’s knowledge concerning the universe is much like the producer’s knowledge of his own movie.
Now, imagine that several moments into the movie, it is paused. The scene on which the film rests represents for us the present. The characters within the movie know not what will happen in the next moment, but the producer does. In fact, the producer knows the entire outcome. He is external from the movie and can see, what appears to the characters, events in the future
God operates from a different perspective than we do. He exists even without this world. What God sees and knows from his perspective may not be seen or known by us and the future is a great example of this! When I read from Romans 8, the type of knowledge ascribed to God astounds me. I am in awe because God’s knowledge is beyond me. I am moved to worship God and trust in Him because His wisdom and His knowledge are greater than mine and I can trust His leadership because He does know all things.
When I feel worthless and unmotivated, I remember that I cannot see all things or know all things from my own perspective; but I can trust in a God who does know all things and who has revealed to me that I am worth more than I can possibly imagine. Even while His people were slaves to the Babylonians, God spoke through Jeremiah:
“For I know the plans I have for you” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”[2]
Conformed to the image of Christ
The thing that amazes me most about God’s knowledge is that He knows exactly what I can be and He is working to transform me into something far greater than I can possibly be on my own and the same is true for all those who have trusted in Him. God plans are to prosper us and to give us a future hope! Just as we were designed to be God’s image, He is working to restore us to that image. God is literally conforming us to the image of Christ: to the image we were given in creation!
It is almost as if we are God’s great masterpiece, His ongoing work of art. It is almost as if God is working to perfect us and almost as if He sees us in such a way that He actually wants to place his signature upon us so that the world may know that we are His workmanship!
I have great news for the Christian. No matter how worthless or unmotivated we feel, we are each a masterpiece of the Creator. Ladies, you are beautiful and I don’t care what anyone says about you. You are a child of the creator and a work of art that He treasures and that He will always treasure. God loves you more than any man ever could and He wants to give you a future hope. Men, I know that you’re not able to do everything you feel like you should be able to do. I feel the same way, but I remember that God is perfecting us. He is forming us into the leaders and the champions that He created us to be! When we feel lifeless, brothers and sisters, we remember that God is giving us life beyond anything we can measure!
What God sees in us
Finally I recognize that God has not only saved me, but He has called me, justified me and has glorified me as only He can do. When God looks upon me, He sees all of my imperfection and all of my sin and all of my rebellion and all that I lack; but He also holds the paintbrush. He sees everything that He has planned for me. He sees the details that are missing and He is filling them in and He is ridding my life’s canvas of its imperfections. God sees His finished project when He looks at me. He sees His finished project and that finished project bears His signature. This is the Christian life. I am so astounded by God’s greatness.
[1] Romans 8:29-30 (HCSB)
[2] Jeremiah 29:11 (HCSB)
andrew paul cannon 