Our Accomplishments

God did not need to create the universe. He chose to create it. It delighted Him to do so and He was pleased with the good- very good- results. Then He took the time to rest in His accomplishment.

That makes me think of the creativity He blessed us with. Unfortunately, as a result of the rebellion of Adam and Eve, our desire to create is twisted and imperfect. The accomplishments we find ourselves pleased with are all too often empty and our pleasure in them fades quickly. Sometimes, we don’t even take the time to rest in our accomplishments, as God did in His, before we are pursuing the next thing we have convinced ourselves we need to accomplish.

Can we find lasting pleasure in our own accomplishments? If our desire to create is imperfect, how can anything that results be something in which we can rest in and truly be pleased with? Is it okay to be pleased with our own accomplishments when we perceive them to be good?

God has given us the freedom to choose either to glorify Him or fall short of His glory through our accomplishments. All my life I’ve desired to be either an artist or a writer. I have found that I lack a certain amount of perseverance: after a while, I begin to question whether my creations are worthy of even seeing the light of day, whether they will hold up against that which already exists or against that which inspired them.

God did not question His act of creation. He purposed that it would be, He accomplished it and He was pleased with it. Of course He was pleased: He is perfect, so His creation was perfect. We are not perfect, so our own creations suffer.

We need to focus on God and honor Him with our accomplishments. We should not persevere to please ourselves or to glorify ourselves: we should persevere to glorify God. It’s okay to be pleased with our accomplishments when they properly honor our Heavenly Father.