My Place in God's World

The Next Step on Our Journey

We are now turning our attention to the personal place God has for us in the incredible universe He created.

When I take our dog for a walk on a dark night, and look up at the painted ceiling of stars above my head, I really understand what the Psalmist must have been feeling when he saw the same stars and said, ‘What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?’ (Psalm 8:4)

He couldn’t get his head round the fact that the God who made all the created realms claimed to know and love him personally!

The universe itself is so vast that it is beyond measuring. That is not just a statement of Scripture (Job 11:7), but a scientific fact. As soon as man finds a way of measuring the distance to the farthest known heavenly body, astronomers discover a new way of detecting the existence of things even farther out. The edge of the universe doesn’t seem to exist. It is without limit! And you cannot measure the size of something that has no limits or boundaries!

It is hard for us to believe or understand that the Creator of this immeasurable Universe can care about the individual life of any one human being! Or, that the prayers of any one individual can be heard by a God who currently has over six billion children on Planet Earth!

Yet Scripture tells us that not even one sparrow falls to the ground without our Heavenly Father knowing! (Matthew 10:29). Jesus then urges us, in verse 31, to remember that we are worth more than many sparrows.

If something you own is very valuable you really care about it. You look after it, you protect it and you insure it. But all your treasured possessions count as nothing when compared with the value of the life of someone you really love.

If your house was burning you wouldn’t even think about rescuing the furniture, when someone you love was still inside. You would care far more about the person than any of your possessions.

Why Do You Feel Like That?

The reason we care about the people we love is that God created us to be like Him! He cares about the people He loves (1 Peter 5:7). He didn’t create a race of alien creatures with whom He had nothing in common.

Genesis 1:26 says that we are made in His image and in His likeness. That means the appearance (the image) of human beings is a reflection of the appearance of God. Or, to put it the other way round, the Son of God (Jesus) looked like a man and He was the image of His Father.

But we are also made in His likeness – which means that we are like Him in terms of our nature. Scripture tells us that God is love. If, therefore, we are made to be like God, it must also mean that a capacity to love will be found at the heart of every human being, irrespective of whether or not they choose to believe in Him or love Him back.

That’s why unbelieving parents are still passionate about loving their children. And why all unbelievers are still capable of great acts of personal sacrifice, which are often seen as an expression of great love. People may behave very badly and even do evil things, but you cannot totally eliminate love from the heart of man or the capacity to respond to love from others. It’s how God made us.

I recently visited the home in which I was brought up as a child, just after the Second World War. Times were hard and my parents had very little to live on. But as I walked round that house I was reminded of hundreds of things that Mum and Dad did for me – often very sacrificially – just because they loved me.

Because They Loved

Because my parents loved me, they cared for me. That meant they wanted what was best for me as I grew up. They wanted to help me find my place in the world. They were careful to encourage me in the things I enjoyed. They saw the things I wanted to do and was good at, and then tried to help me learn about those things and get better at them.

My mother would play the piano for a boys’ Bible class that was held in our house. Long before I was five years old I would sit at the piano and try and copy her, but I could only make a joyful noise! I really wanted to be able to play like she did. But I needed training.

So, at considerable personal sacrifice for them at that time, they paid for me to have piano lessons from Miss Duxbury, an elderly lady with a very kind heart. I learnt enough to enjoy playing hymns and choruses and as I grew up I developed a life-long interest in Christian music, which led to the compiling of hymn and song books, such as Mission Praise. Without their love and care for me as a child, I couldn’t have done such things as an adult.

I realise that not everyone experienced the same love and care that I was privileged to have, and that for many people their early childhood days were far from happy. But the good news is that God understands exactly what our experience has been and He longs to heal and restore us.

As we journey together I know that many people are going to discover God to be their healer as they enter into a living experience of His love and care. I have seen it happen so many times and I know God can do this for you too.

God Has a Place for You!

Every human being is different. We are all made in the image and likeness of God, but our gifts, interests, abilities and opportunities are all totally different and utterly unique. Earlier we used the illustration of a jig-saw puzzle in which every single piece is different, yet when all the pieces are in their place a complete picture is made.

Each of us is like a unique piece in God’s jig-saw puzzle. In His providence He has equipped us for life and He rejoices when we find the place He has prepared for us.

Sadly, many people have never had the loving care from human beings, that would have helped them discover that best place for them in God’s world. Others have been hindered by their own ungodly choices or the awful consequences of violence, war, famine, accident, trauma or tragedy.

Does that mean God doesn’t love them? Far from it! If you have a child who is hurting, you will pour all the love you can into that hurting child to bring hope, healing and restoration. We are like God in that respect. So if a human being would want to respond like that, how much more would Father God want to respond in a similar way for all His children? (Matthew 7:9-11, Luke 11:11-13).

Many times we have ministered to older people who were never given opportunities to discover their creative gifting in their youth. So often we have seen God heal their past and restore them in the present through discovering the joy of creative expression. The door of their destiny has been unlocked by love!

Healed for a Purpose

These teachings have been deliberately planned as a journey and not just an aid to gaining more head knowledge! It is a journey of discovery - to discover the truth about both God and yourself and then walk forward into God’s plans and purposes for your life.

Healing is far more than getting better after some physical sickness. It is seeing God restore what has been damaged in the past, in such a way that we are able to know God’s fulfilment for our lives in the present, and then walk into the future that He has for us (Jeremiah 29:11).

God created you for relationship with Him – but He also created you to enjoy living in the purposes that He prepared for you in advance – His providence (Ephesians 2:10). When we are being the person God made us to be and doing the things God made us to do, the joy of the Lord is released through our hearts. Life cannot be boring when you are at the centre of God’s will for your life.

Over the years we have helped many people face the reality of their past and see God bring amazing healing into their present. But then, the greatest joy has come when we have seen those people begin to grow in their giftings and find the unique place that God had prepared for them.

I just love that wonderful promise from Joel 2:25, where God says ‘I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten.’ The locust devours, but God promises to give back in abundance when we have a right heart before Him. I am sure many of you will come to experience the blessing of this amazing promise as you journey through the pages of this book. You really can trust the God who loves you so much He made the whole universe for you to enjoy!

Summary

God loves you and cares about you. Just as Jesus promised that when He went back to heaven, He would prepare a place for us there (John 14:3), He also wants us to discover the place He has for us here, as we respond to His loving care and receive His healing.

Prayer

Help me Lord to lift up my eyes and not only see the extraordinary wonders of Your creation, but to realise that You care for every single human being, even me! Thank You for the miracle of Your love. In Jesus' name, Amen.