Life Is Good - Pt 2

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. (Psalm 139:13-14 ESV). The second step in experiencing and living a good life is to remember that you are highly valued, no matter what circumstances you find yourself. Our reading today is so clear. God has specifically created each of “fearfully and wonderfully.” I read a wonderful illustration of this truth recently:

A speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill high in the air, waving it around. In the room of over 200 people he asked. “Who would like this $20 bill? Raise your hand if you would.” Hands started going up throughout the room. The speaker then said “I am going to give this $20 to one of you, but first, let me do this.” He then proceeded to crumple the 20 dollar note up in his hand, crushing it as hard as he could. He then asked the audience. “Who still wants it?” Still the hands were up in the air. “Well,” he replied, “what if I do this?” He then dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He then picked it up, now crumpled and dirty and asked the audience “Now, who still wants it?” Still the hands went into the air, nobody put their hands down. The speaker then addressed the audience and said “My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson here today. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by someone or something. We are tempted to feel as though we are worthless; but no matter what happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. That value did not come from you or anything you did; it comes from the heart and mind of God in His creative act. Examine your thoughts and self-words. Look at what you're thinking and saying to yourself. This is especially true if it has to do with why you can’t do something. My good friend, Sheriff Bucky Rowland, is running for reelection this summer. I can hardly believe it has already been four years since he was sworn in as the sheriff of Maury County, Tennessee. I remember that year well. It began with many hours of thoughts and prayers. He was correctly convinced that God wanted him to be sheriff; however, there were many, both friends and competitors who told him he had no chance to win. It would be a waste of time and resources for him to enter the race. I’m proud to say that he refused to listen to those voices. Even in the face of great personal sacrifice, he persevered. I was with he and his family when the results came in announcing he had won convincingly. That’s living the good life!