Created and Called
I'm excited to share with you my second guest blogger and good friend, Julie Gutierrez. Julie is finishing her last semester in Highlands College and has a heart for women's ministry. She is the author of the blog Created and Called and has a passion for helping women know their identity in Christ. Be sure to give her a follow on Instagram @juliechristineg and check out her blog createdandcalled.weebly.com.
Stars. Oceans. Mountains. You. Genesis 1:1. In the beginning, God saw the world, plain and empty, and made everything that exists today in order to give it life. He made everything pure, raw and precious. It's easy to look at things like sunsets and say, "Wow, God it’s so beautiful," or look at mountains and say, "I can't believe God would spend so much time making everything so detailed." But the same God that made those sunsets and mountains made you too! So why do we look at ourselves in the mirror and say things like, "I can't believe God made me look like this,” or "Why am I not skinnier, taller, blonder…" the list goes on and on. My question is why. If the same God that made us, made pretty stars and gorgeous oceans- why do we question his creation?
Here's a little back story about me: I run on an insecurity issue. It started about nine years ago, and I'm still not over it. It all started with a few little words, "Julie, you're not good enough." Those five words changed my life forever. I was told I wasn't good enough to be someone's friend. And that hurt really bad. I wanted to be liked. I wanted friends. But I was told that because of who I was, I wasn't good enough to have friends. There was nothing wrong with me as a person, I just wasn't that girl’s “type” of friend. I did everything I could to be liked by them. I changed my hair, my style, even my activities that I participated in. But all “change” did was make me even more insecure because I was no longer myself. I changed myself, I altered who God created me to be, to be someone of my own creation.
When I found Jesus, I found my identity. Although I’ve been walking with the Lord for almost 7 years now, insecurity is something I still struggle with. But as I was reading Psalms 139 one day, I realized something I hadn't before: God created me the way I am before I was ever born. Yes, I know that's confusing, but go there with me for a second. Psalm 139:16 basically says that God planned out all the days of our lives before we even lived one day. Before we were born, before we were even thought of by our mom and dad, God already planned us. He planned out our entire lives and every detail.
"Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother's womb. I thank you, high God - you're breathtaking. Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration - what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; you know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, the days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day."
- Psalm 139:13-16 [MSG]
We are so special to God, the one who decided that things should be and they were. The one who set the hands of time into motion. The one who created the heavens and the earth and all that's in them. And He looked at His creation and saw that it was good. The same God who created everything created us. You may look in the mirror and see flaws, but God designed every freckle, wrinkle and he even numbered every hair on our heads. And he doesn't just call you good, he calls you very good (Genesis 1:31).
There are people who will try to tell you that you're not good enough. But when the enemy whispers that lie into your heart, you need to remember three things:
1. You were created in the image of God. Genesis 1:26 tells us that when God made us, he created us in his image and likeness. There is no better way to be created. If we were created any differently, there would be no way we'd have any self-worth. We discover who we are through learning about who He is. God wants the best for us, and what could be better than a perfect God?
2. You are a daughter of the most-high King. Before the creation of the world, God chose you and me to be his daughters. You have inerrant value as God's child. No matter what the world says, you are a princess because your father is the king of kings.
3. You are called to something greater. 2 Thessalonians 1:11. You are called. Do not ever forget that. Not only are you called by God, but God will fulfill every good thing he has planned out for you.
You are precious. You are created by God in the image of God. You are called with a kingdom purpose to do amazing things.
Dear Jesus, I thank you for the beautiful soul reading this. I pray that she realizes the divine creation that is herself, and the image she is created in. I pray that you would reveal your calling for her, and that she would walk boldly in the steps you have already planned out for her. Thank you for your love, creation, and calling Lord. We love you so much. Amen.