The Gratitude Shift - Embracing Six Gifts You Already HaveSample

GIFT 2: THE GIFT OF YOUR DNA

“and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation” Acts 17:26 NASB

Even if you have never thought of it that way, your DNA is a gift from God. Without the DNA we each carry, we would not be the people God created us individually to be. Our DNA is the package into which He dropped the gifts and talents He’s given us.

Now and then, in our reflection, we may glimpse someone in our family that we resemble. Our thoughts, actions, and behaviors may remind us of our origins. Unfortunately, that might not always make us happy.

To embrace our physical DNA is to accept where we come from. One way I've done this is to look at myself in the mirror and thank God for all the parts He created. I talk to Him about the joy He must have experienced as He determined what each part of me would be like. I laugh with Him about what I see as flaws and thank Him for what I like. Doing this exercise shifts our attention away from how we would want to look and shifts our perspective to one of gratitude for the creative genius that went into forming us.

However, more important than the family resemblance in our outward appearance is who we are on the inside. Christ in us defines us more than how we look to others or where we come from. Most important is how He sees and loves us, the spiritual gifts His Spirit gives us, and the fruit of His Spirit in us. That is our authentic spiritual DNA and what we will leave as our legacy.

God designed our DNA without our permission, but He will only shape us from the inside out with our consent. That internal work manifests through our lives and is more an indication of who we are than our background, race, ancestry, and physical features could ever be. Outward appearance does not determine our identity.

"The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7b.

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for creating me the way You did. Thank You for thinking about me as You designed me in my mother's womb. I am a work of art, the handiwork of creative genius, a treasure crafted by the ultimate Potter. Lord, thank You for my physical DNA. May I build on who You created me to be! I allow You to draft my spiritual DNA, shaping me from the inside out so I can leave a spiritual legacy that brings You glory. In Jesus' Name. Amen.