Knowing the Lord: DEVOTIONS

DEVO #4 | Identity

    THINK:

    Self-consciousness.

    Teenagers aren't the only ones who struggle with it.

    People with a "messed up" family tree aren't the only ones to battle it.

   It affects all of us. 

   We want to put on a good image, for a friend, for a boss. We want to look nice to make people think well of us. We just desperately want to be accepted. 

  Why is it that being 'accepted' is so hard?

  Why is it so hard to be confident in yourself?

 Why?

 Why can't we all just get stop the judging and embrace each other?

 SO WHAT?

            Something we as people tend to forget is that God is nothing like the humans he created. Yes, we are made in His image, and, yes, we share many of His characteristics such as creativity... However, God is on a whole 'nother level when it comes to a lot of things.

          God doesn't judge like people do. He loves you, mistakes and all. That's why He died for you, remember? If you'd only give Him the tangled mess of thread your heart has become, God would weave it into a tapestry. A beautiful piece of art. 

      He's not about shame.

      He's not about appearances.

     He's in the business of redeeming. 

  LIVING IT OUT:

             But the Lord said to Samuel, "Don't judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn't see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

                                   - 1 Samuel 16:7 (NLT)

             Your heart may be a mess right now. You may be thinking, I really don't want to let God see my heart. I've been holding it together so long, I'm afraid I'll fall apart if I try to be myself.

             That's only true if you try to "fix" it all by yourself.

            Go to God right now and ask Him to help you unravel the knots in your heart. Ask Him to show you how you can live without shame, without guilt. Ask God to help you get away from legalism and rituals into a relationship. Because God wants you to have life to the fullest (John 10:10), not an average do good-er kind of life.

           He wants you to be on fire, not to blend in with the rest of the crowd. You're amazing, friend, even if the world doesn't know it yet. But God does.

          And He's just waiting for you to say, "I'm available" and He'll take you places you've never dreamed.

         "[Jesus said] I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." - excerpt from John 10: 5 - 7 (MSG)