Article June 22, 2009 Issue

A GIFT FROM GOD

BY JANET CLEMENTS

FOR IT IS GOD WHICH WORKETH IN YOU BOTH TO WILL AND TO DO OF HIS GOOD PLEASURE.—Philippians 2:13

Think of a majestic statue already chiseled with intricate detail, splendor, symmetry, and completeness, but with a cloth draped over it. As the cloth is graciously lifted away, the sculpture is progressively revealed.

The God-given purpose for each one of us is much like that illustration, in that God's plan for us is already established, and nothing can displace us from what God has ordained for us to do. This is so beautifully promised in the Bible: "Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: ... For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it?" (Isa. 14:24, 27).