LESSONS FROM CREATION: by Marnie Pehrson

As each day of creation came to a close, God surveyed His handiwork and "saw that it was good" (See Genesis 1). At a glance, one might say, "Of course it was good! After all, this is God we're talking about. Everything he does is wonderful!" So why do the scriptures bother to tell us at the end of each day that God stopped to survey his work and saw that it was good? There are at least four lessons we can learn from our Creator through this:

First, he wanted us to see our own worth. It's interesting to note that each day, God saw that his handiwork was good, but on the sixth day -- when he created man and woman, he said that "it was very good" (see Genesis1:31 KJV). God wants us to know that we -- his creations -- are good -- very good! As a friend of mine is fond of saying, "God doesn't make no junk." He wants us to have a feeling of self-worth!

Second, God took the time to survey his progress. He stopped and took stock of what he'd done that day. He evaluated the progress and saw that it was good. We too can take time at the end of each day to evaluate what we've accomplished. We can think about what we did right that day. And if we did anything wrong, we can take the opportunity to repent and renew our dedication for the next day. Daily evaluations help us stay on the right track. You can't get too far off course if at the end of each day you evaluate your progress, repent where necessary and count your blessings for the day.

Third, he didn't stress out over what he hadn't done yet. On each day, God appreciated the work he'd accomplished for the day. He saw that it was good. He didn't say, "Yes, today was good, but I have so much more work to do. I'm not near done." Sometimes I think we get so overwhelmed and impatient that we can't accomplish everything in one day or in a short amount of time that we don't fully appreciate what we have accomplished. God knows that things take time. He appreciated what he accomplished each day.

Fourth, he took satisfaction in his day's work. Have you ever completed a project, cleaned your house, or built something and then stood back and surveyed your work and thought, "Now that turned out well"? There's nothing wrong with taking satisfaction in your work. Of course, never in our lives will we do anything so magnificent as creating the world, but in our own small way we can take the time to appreciate what we have accomplished and take satisfaction in a job well done.

I think many of us -- especially as women -- never want to give ourselves any credit. We're always so busy thinking about what we haven't done or the mistakes we made that we don't see the good we do or the lives we touch. Satan would have us believe that we don't really do anything worthwhile, that we don't really make a difference. If he can convince us that we are worthless, then we won't try anymore. We'll give up and quit. Women of God are among the greatest forces for good in this world. We influence the lives of our friends, our families, our children, other people's children, our co-workers and the communities in which we live.

If the adversary can convince us that nothing we do is good enough, that nothing we do will ever make a difference, that we aren't any good, then he can neutralize us. Now I'm not saying that we should get conceited or self-righteous. I'm just saying that when we evaluate our lives, along with repenting of our mistakes, we should also take stock of the good that we do and thank the Lord for the strength, support and ability he's given us to do it! Look for the good, enjoy life and keep on making a difference!

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