Made for impact
A Point of Light with Rick Edwards

Did you know that God made you to impact the world? Just think about the power of that statement. Almighty God has fashioned you in a very specific way to impact this world for Him.

Isaiah 49:1 says, "Listen to Me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar." The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name." Isaiah tells the world here that God marked him out

for a special purpose before he was even born (if that's not a

pro-life verse, I don't know what is). But did you know that God also saw you in your mother's womb? He not only knew you before you took your first breath, but he actually formulated a plan for your life. Write yourself a note and post it somewhere: "I was born for a purpose."

Now sometimes we lose sight of this and live far from our God-given purpose. We think we have all the time in the world to get things done. But we don't really know how long we're going to be on this planet; only God knows. Maybe you will live into your thirties or forties; maybe you'll live into your eighties. Scripture says that God gives us a certain number of days (Job 14:5). The psalmist prayed, "Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12). Whatever days Almighty God gives you, you can be sure that He has a plan and a purpose for you. There is a reason why you're allowed to draw another breath.

Isaiah then says: "He made my mouth like a sharp sword" (verse 2a). That's encouraging, isn't it? Sometimes my mouth gets me so messed up. Know what I mean? Yet God has a redeemed purpose for our speech. There are some good things that He wants to accomplish through the fact that we can talk. Just as a soldier cannot fight without his weapon, we cannot fulfill our God-given purpose without a mouth. There is some stuff that must be said. And if you were to reach into the bucket of stuff that must be said and lay your hand on the most important thing, you would pull out the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's the good news. It's the fact that Jesus Christ came into this world 2,000 years ago and gave His life as a payment for your sin and mine, and for the sins of the whole world. Now everyone can be forgiven, if they place their faith and trust in Him.

Isaiah gives another picture: "In the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away" (verse 2b). What do you think about that? Now we are being compared to arrows. But we're not just any old arrows; we're arrows in God's quiver. What does God do with arrows? He shoots them. We should be like, Shoot me God! Send me where You want me to go. I want to go there God - Put me in the bull's eye. Fire away!

God has made us to impact the world.You are an arrow in the hand of God.The bull's-eye is the heart of someone on this planet who needs Jesus. The heart of every Christian should be, "Shoot me, Lord." Shoot me into the heart of that person. Open my mouth and let me say the words that will bring that person into Your presence for all eternity. That's why God made you and me. He made us to impact the world.

Peace, Pastor Rick Rick Edwards is pastor of Murphy First Baptist Church.