His Beloved

Many, many years ago, a friend of mine wrote out an excerpt from a book she'd read and gave it to me to encourage me. 

I kept that piece of paper tucked away in my Bible and have read it often over the ensuing years. 

Last night as I thought about what I could write for my next post, I decided to share the content of that note with you also. I hope it touches and encourages your heart as much as it did mine! :)

Taken from "Enjoying God" by S.J. Hill

You may not realize it, but the Father is ravished by you. You make Him smile. You make Him laugh. You make Him leap for joy. You make His heart beat faster.

Zephaniah 3:17

"The LORD your GOD is with you, 

He is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you,

He will quiet you with His love, 

He will rejoice over you with singing."

Whether you understand that or not doesn't stop God from responding to you in that way. He looks at you and GRINS :). He sees your hair, your skin, your smile and He rejoices.

The blemishes, scars and extra pounds may weigh on your heart, but they don't weigh on His. God loves your freckles. He loves your funky-shaped toes. He loves you - just as you are. He loves your uniqueness. He loves the smile that only your face can radiate. He loves you when you're awake, vibrant, and full of life. And He loves you when you're down, struggling and lethargic.

He even loves you when you're sleeping. He gets excited when you wake up - even with morning breath and "sleep" tucked in the corners of your eyes. He can't wait to hear your voice. He looks forward to your first thoughts. He loves accompanying you throughout the day. He enjoys being with you at work. He isn't watching the clock or tapping His toe until 5 o'clock. Just being with you is enough. He loves talking with you, traveling with you, and being tender with you. He loves watching you enjoy His creation. He smiles when you look at the mountains, sea or sky and think of Him.

The truth is, God really likes you! In fact, He enjoys you. You may not think you measure up to supermodel or Mr G.Q. status, but He does...

He isn't tolerating you. He isn't putting up with you. He isn't waiting for you to get older or more mature in your Christian walk before He can love you and enjoy you. He loves you right where you are. Through the blood of Jesus, you're perfectly redeemed... He's not keeping a record of your mistakes or the times you blew it. His blood takes care of those things. All He sees is You. Forever you will make Him ecstatic."

If I, if we, truly grasped how intimately and completely God adores, and cherishes and loves us, the worries and fears and insecurities we carry would fade away! 

We would never question His provision of our every need. We would never wonder at His faithfulness to continue transforming our hearts until we are mature and complete and Christ-like. We would never feel forgotten or overlooked. We would never hesitate to run to Him when we do muck it up. Nor would we seek to defend or vindicate ourselves when we are falsely accused or treated badly, because His very own words of love would be ringing in our ears, "Whoever touches you, touches the apple of My eye." (Zechariah 2:8)

I really want to grow in my experiential knowledge and conviction of His love for me! I want to be a woman who personally feeds on the truth of God love for her; who absolutely sees myself as God's Beloved. 

Because I am. Because you are also.

In Him, Laur