Shut in with God: devotions and prayer from #stayathome – Janet DeCaster
Post 7 – Written April 28 (posted May 5 ) – Essential to God!
Post 1 in this series is found at http://JanetDeCaster.com/shut-in-with-god-devotions-and-prayers-from-stayathome-post-1/
There’s a lot of talk these days about ‘essential workers’ in America during this world-wide #pandemic. Some professionals such as healthcare workers, food plant workers, grocery store employees, supply-chain professionals, refuse haulers, law-enforcement officers, and others have been deemed to have jobs that are ‘essential’ in this time of crisis. I am so grateful for their tremendous gifts and heroic service to our American society as this war with the invisible enemy, an unseen virus, continues. Others among us have lost our jobs, had gig-economy contracts end abruptly (me!), or been furloughed from our normal employment. Many, including those in Assisted Living facilities are sheltering-in-place or following #socialdistancing or #stayathomeorders . While some of us are being told by the government that we are not ‘essential,’ we are still doing our part by staying at home to decrease the possibility of contagion of the #coronavirus.
Don’t get me wrong, I most certainly understand the concept of ‘essential workers,’ and the validity of many of these measures. In short, I ‘get it.’ But, this ‘essential’ v. ‘non-essential’ distinction raises some interesting questions. From my perspective as a Christian writer who holds a Biblical world-view, one of those questions is a spiritual one. In my view, it goes to the heart of one’s very personhood. Let me explain.
The Holy Spirit prompted me to remind you today of another definition of ‘essential.’ God’s definition. He who created you in his own image, and who loves you very much, says that in his eyes, YOU are ESSENTIAL, because He created you.
Genesis 1:27 (NLT)
So God created human beings in his own image.
In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
He created you for a unique purpose that only you can fulfill, irrespective of your earthly ‘career’ or ‘job’. Whether young or old, sick or well, no matter your skills or abilities or whether you are retired or jobless right now; in God’s eyes, you matter. He sees you. You are ESSENTIAL to Him.
Psalm 139:13-18 (NLT)
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me
All human life is precious to God, the one who created it. That includes YOU. God loves you very much. I have His word on it.
John 3:16-17 (NLT)
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
Won’t you take God at His word today, believe it and accept His love? Whether for the first time in your life, or as a #revival of your #faith ; today is a great day to accept God’s love through a simple, heartfelt prayer* of repentance** and faith. It is the most essential thing you can ever do. Your destination in eternity depends on it.
John 1:12 (NLT)
12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.
God has a special, unique purpose for your life on earth, that only you can fulfill. When your earthly life is over, He also wants you to spend eternity in #heaven with Him. Today, he reminded me to remind you that YOU are ESSENTIAL to him and that he loves you very much!
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*prayer is simply a conversation with God that starts in the human spirit.
**repentance is a simple, honest admission of sin (violations of God’s moral law written in the human conscience and Holy Bible) to God and asking his forgiveness.
If you’ve never talked to God before, start a conversation today.
He’s listening. It’s essential.
