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When God Made You

Free Bible Study Materials for
Christian Discipleship E-Newsletter
September 2010

Dear Fellow Disciplemakers,

When God made you what was he thinking? The other day I was considering why God made me who I am. Have you ever wondered that? I am personally convinced that when God made you and me he had a plan in mind. None of us is the leading character in the story of our life.
photo courtesy of Godo-Godaj

The True Story of Mary Clarke

The June 2004 issue of Reader’s Digest reveals the true story of Mary Clarke, a woman who dreamed of being rich, married, and raising a family with seven children. It all came true, but twenty-five years later her marriage ended in a painful divorce that to this day she will not discuss. With her marriage over and her children grown, she began searching for God’s true purpose for her life.

In 1977 Mary Clarke became Sister Antonia and made La Mesa Prison near Tijuana, Mexico, her permanent home. Since then Sister Antonia has lived by choice in a ten-foot concrete cell and devoted her life to serving the prisoners at La Mesa. Over the years she changed thousands of lives. Former inmates have named their children after her. "I live in a prison," she says, "but I have not experienced one day of depression and never felt hopeless. I have never once felt there wasn’t something I could do to make things better."

Mary Clarke’s life has turned out much different than anticipated. She never dreamed of living in a prison and serving criminals. Eventually, she discovered something God wants all of us to recognize: None of us is the leading character in the story of our life.

Read more stories like this one in What's Missing Inside You?
Recognizing God’s Hand

There comes a time when we begin to notice God’s providential leading. It is God’s intervention in our lives that reminds us that He is the leading character. The things that happen in your life are things God allows for a reason. God never makes mistakes. In the various spiritual books I’ve read on the subject of God’s guidance, there are five recurring themes that I have discovered:

  • God is always reliable, but never predictable.
  • God brought me to this place. This is God’s appointment.
  • God will give me the grace to behave as His child. His love is sufficient.
  • God is refining me. In the end this trial will turn into a blessing.
  • God will bring me out in his time. He alone knows when and how.

    • When God made you he had a plan

    No man has any say about the time or the place of his birth. The Bible teaches that God determines that without consulting us (Acts 17:26). Have you ever considered that God is behind everything that is happening in your life - from birth to death? Are you aware that God is leading you right now? Ask him to make his plan clearer.

    Trust his timetable. Credit God with knowing what he is doing. None of us is the leading character in the story of our life.

    photo courtesy of J.Elliott

    Learn more about God's plans for you in this Sunday School lesson.

    Author: Paul Schlieker www.bible-study-lesson-plans.com

    For any reuse or distribution of our free Bible study materials author credit and web address is required.

    Discover the Holy Spirit's purpose for your life.


    Please email us with questions or comments.

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