topbella

Friday, July 18, 2014

Who You Are, By Sarah P.



Who You Are

By Sarah P.
 
April 5, 2010

          I’m fat.
          I’m as dumb as a doorknob.
          I’m not pretty.
          I’m not skinny.
          I’m as bad.
          I’m lazy.
          I’m horrible.

I wrote the above words in my journal four years ago. At the time, I attended public school. I was an uncool kid. I was bullied. Kids didn’t physically beat me up, but they did emotionally. The bullies, girls at the time, did what girls do: they gossiped, betrayed me, giggled behind my back, and pulled me down. Sure, there were some friendlier kids. I wasn’t completely ignored. As long I was willing to follow the crowd, I had “friends” to hang out with. They weren’t popular or acceptable in my family’s eyes, but I thought they were all I had. I trusted what they said about me for a fact. When I compared myself to their standards, I came up with what I wrote above: I’m fat, stupid, ugly, lazy, and worthless.

Does some of that sound like you? Are you bullied? Do you simply have no self-esteem? Do you not have any real friends? Are you struggling with who you are? If so, I want to tell you who you really are. Not in my eyes, not in the world’s eyes, not even in your own eyes, but in reality.

You are loved. The beginning of John 3:16 says, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son.” Think about this verse for a moment. God loves you. He let His Son die for you. Do you know how much parents love their children? God’s only Child, His Son, was perfect. He was irreplaceable. God also loves you, even though you’re imperfect and sinful. He loves you so much that He gave up His perfect Son so that you could be His child. No matter how hard you fall, no matter how much you sin, that will never change. The worst criminal in the world is still loved immeasurably by God. The Message paraphrase says, “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.” (John 3:16-17)

You are more. You are more than what people think and say about you. You are more than what you have done or will do. You are more than your appearances or your clothes or your attitudes. You are more than your boyfriend or your friends or your smartphone or the fact that you don’t have these things. In God’s eyes, you are cherished. Zephaniah 3:17 says, “[The LORD] is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” In God’s eyes, you are treasured. You are adored. You are loved. To Him, you are worth His only Son. You are irreplaceable. You are special to Him. You are His child. You are redeemed. Hebrews 9:12 says, “With His own blood…[Jesus] secured our redemption forever.” In God’s eyes, you are valuable. Nothing can ever change that. You are more than “just you.” You are the one and only you, who is loved by the Creator of the universe.

You are beautiful. God made you beautiful. You do not need makeup to create a fake beauty for you. Genesis 1:27a says, “…God created human beings in his own image.” Just think: you are made in the image of God, the Creator of the world! Verse 31 says, “…God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!” No one else in the world is exactly like you. Even if you had an identical twin, with the same genetic makeup, you would different than them. Who you are, as a person, is made in God’s image. Your soul, the real you, is beautiful in God’s eyes because He created it. He wants to have a relationship with you. He wants to give you His Spirit and fill your soul with His life and peace and joy. If you don’t have a relationship with Jesus, you can learn more here:

http://ggfgdevotionals.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-abc-of-starting-over-by-anonymous.html

Two songs that I’ve been listening to lately are “You Are More,” by Tenth Avenue North and “In The Eyes,” by 1 Girl Nation. I challenge you to listen to these two songs. I’ll post links to them at the end of this article. I think they’ll show you who you really are: God’s child. I can’t say enough how much God loves you and how much you mean to Him! I hope that you’ll dive into a deeper relationship with your Creator and begin to realize who you really are in His eyes.


0 comments:

Post a Comment

Contributors