A Beloved son

One of the demons that I deal with on a regular basis is one that tries to make me feel worthless! My life is filled with good things. I work diligently at my call. I enjoy wonderful friendships and opportunities. Yet, I still often feel like junk! The thought process goes like this: "Pastor Smith's church is really growing and people in his congregation are excited about serving the Lord. If you were a better pastor, the Assembly would be like his church." Or, "If you had real self-discipline you would lose weight, but you're too lazy to do it." Or, "Did you notice that Sam didn't talk to you today? He doesn't like you because he thinks you're stupid." Or, "It's all your fault!" IF I listen to those suggestions, my day goes sour very quickly and I really do become a miserable man. So, where do those things come from? Is it some broken part of my psyche or is it a messenger of the Evil One? I am not sure, but this I know - it is not the Spirit of God!

God tells me that I am a person of incredible worth, a beloved son, for whom He gave His Son. The intimate love with which God sees me is spoken of with a curious little phrase in the Old Testament. Numerous times God refers to those He loves as 'the apple of my eye.' Whatever does He mean? That expression, “apple of your eye,” in the Hebrew text is literally “little man of your eye” and refers to one’s reflection in the eye of another. It refers, then, to constant attentiveness and care. (New Geneva study Bible. 1997, Nashville: Thomas Nelson) God gazes at me and I am so close to Him that I become the little man reflected on the pupil of His eye!

In another passage, the Lord speaks of His love for us, with a very romantic turn of words.
"No more will anyone call you Rejected, and your country will no more be called Ruined. You’ll be called Hephzibah (My Delight), and your land Beulah (Married), Because God delights in you and your land will be like a wedding celebration. For as a young man marries his virgin bride, so your builder marries you, And as a bridegroom is happy in his bride, so your God is happy with you." (Isaiah 62:4-5, The Message) God loves me like a groom loves his bride!

When I listen to that Truth, the feelings of worthlessness give way to joyfulness. My heart sings, "I am loved!" Nothing in the world makes a person feel better than being loved. Poets have written countless words to celebrate love. Songs are sung about being in love! Granted, most of those words are about human love, about romantic attraction, or about sexual stirrings of desire. God's love is even better - of selfless quality, of great depth, and extended even when the one loved is still resisting His love.

Are you tempted to feel worthless, Believer?
Do you compare your situation with that of another and conclude that you are junk? Are you listening to the hiss of the father of lies?

Meditate on the word of the True Father, who is gazing on you with deep love - holding your reflection in His eye! When you believe that He loves you, you will be freed to love those around you, with an extravagant love that does not calculate, manipulate, or even seek reciprocal love.

Here's the Word to take with you today...."God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other." (1 John 4:9-11, NLT)
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Lord, I come to You,
Let my heart be changed, renewed;
Flowing from the grace
That I've found in You;
And Lord, I've come to know,
The weaknesses I see in me,
Will be stripped away
By the pow'r of Your love.

Lord, unveil my eyes,
Let me see You face to face,
The knowledge of Your love
As You live in me.
Lord, renew my mind,
As Your will unfolds in my life,
In living ev'ry day
In the pow'r of Your love.

Hold me close,
Let Your love surround me;
Bring me near,
Draw me to Your side;
And as I wait,
I'll rise up like the eagle,
And I will soar with You,
Your Spirit leads me on
In the pow'r of Your love.

Power of Your Love,
Geofff Bullock© 1992 Word Music, Inc.
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