You are a beautiful treasure!

You are a precious gift!

Those are words I write so very frequently as I work to live out my mission to encourage with love, passion, and enthusiasm.

Sometimes I wonder if I use them too often, but then I look around at the world we live in.  The brokenness, the hurt, the anguish, the anxiety, the pain, and the stress that is all around.  I become even more deeply convicted that I do not use them enough.

Those are statements of love and of truth.  We need more love.  We need more truth.

Who you are is a gift from God.

You are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), the Latin term for this is imago dei.  In the image of love and truth, of a God whose character is eternal goodness.

The creation of who you are is a gift, a loving deed of the Lord.

“Let the one who is wise heed these things and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.”  Psalm 107:43 (NIV)

Heed & Ponder

I made note of this verse in Psalm 107:43 when I was doing a personal study on wisdom.  But today it is the words heed and ponder that caught my attention.

To heed is to pay attention to or to give consideration too.  It is when we observe, make note, and are attentive to.  To ponder means to give thought or to reflect upon something.  It is when we contemplate and wrestle and meditate in our minds.

How much time in a day are we heeding God’s wisdom and pondering his loving deeds?  Do we see our selves, the creation of who we are as humans crafted in the image of God and preciously unique individuals who are fearfully and wonderfully made, as His loving deeds?

Or have our thoughts, our attentions, our considerations been captivated by other things?

Work.  Family.  Chores.  Finances.  Volunteering.  Pain.  Stress.  Anguish.  Achievements.  Comparison.  Loss.  Longing.  Hurt.

There are many circumstances that we could focus on in our days that can turn us away from heeding God’s wisdom and pondering His loving deeds.  Our broken world is quick to create a “crisis” that captivates our attention and in turn steals our contentment.

A truth that has been twisted in our minds, will quickly turn the gaze of our eyes and the meditation of our hearts.  Twisted truths tie up our thoughts and lead us down paths of plight.

Just as the serpent questioned Eve in the garden, “Did God really say…” (Genesis 3:1), we too are questioned in the same manner, did God really say. 

Did God really say...
you are precious treasure and a beautiful gift?

Did God really say...
I have loved you with an everlasting love 
and drawn you with unfailing kindness? (Jeremiah 31:3) 
  
Did God really say...
I know the plans I have for you? (Jeremiah 29:11) 

Did God really say...
do not fear, I am with you? (Isaiah 41:10)  

Did God really say...
I will sustain you? (Isaiah 46:4) 

Did God really say...
I have summoned you by name; you are mine? (Isaiah 43:1)  

Did God really say...
those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength? (Isaiah 40:31)

In this life we have pain.  If you start reading in Genesis you won’t make it to chapter 4 without finding the plight of pain into our world.  The pains of childbearing.  The painful toil of working the ground.  The pain of imperfect relationships.  All stained by sin.

All that pain is greatly surpassed in the power of God’s redemption.  His loving deeds and the sacrifice of His son Jesus is the redemption of any “crisis” my sins or the twisted truths of this world will produce.

Believe me, I struggle deeply with keeping my train of thoughts on the track of truth.  I succumb more often that I wish to admit to twisted truths, doubt, and fear.  I ruminate with regret, complicate and question, until I tremble with discontent and dread.  If I am a beauty, I’m certainly a broken one.

Me…as is while I write this morning

Lately, I awaken each morning to thoughts of “I can’t do this.”  I can not make it through another day.  I am exhausted.  I am weary.  I am frustrated.  I am not getting done all of the things that I need to accomplish on any given day.  Instead of feeling as if progress is being built, it feels like a deteriorating decay has set in breaking down what I am straining to build.

Then the doldrums of doubt blow in.  Times when I really thought I was doing my best, painted with bright vibrant hues, now look drab, dull, and dreary.  What seemed like a good choice then now seems like a dumb decision.

In my brokenness I feel not so much like a gift of goodness, but like a debt of disadvantage.

God’s fingerprints are all over this broken life of mine, His blood shed for mine.  All because of His love and truth.  Truth that my life has invaluable purpose; priceless and beyond estimation.

Several years ago, I had a prayerful prophesy spoken over me that included this:

“I have gifted you to be who you are.  You are a care giver; with a mother’s apron on.  You take the time to nourish and nurture.  You cherish, honor, and love children.  I have special things ahead of you because you care.”

I keep these words on a tattered, aging piece of paper inside my Bible.  I re-read them often.  I need to work hard to keep my truths from being twisted.  Father God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, scripture, a community of believers, prayer, and worship, all working together for the good of those who love the Lord.

It is through the Lord’s wisdom and loving deeds, that I may know and live a truth that who I am is a gift.

Live it Out

My dear reader, it is much easier for me to tell you that You are a beautiful treasure and a precious gift than it is for me to believe that I am one.  So I can’t help but wonder if any of you have a similar struggle; is much easier to recognize the gift of those around you, but harder to see the gift of who You are?

Do you feel the doldrums of doubt blowing through your mind?  Is it hard to keep your thought train on the tracks of truth?  Are there circumstances that are captivating your attention and capturing your contentment?

Then as someone once spoke over me, allow me to speak over you.  You are a beautiful treasure.  Who you are is a gift.  You are fearfully and wonderfully made.  Your life has priceless value.

Do not dread this day or the details that lie ahead.  You may be weary, exhausted, frightened, frustrated, and filled with doubt.  You may even be steeped in a greater pain now than you have ever felt before, burdened beyond belief.  It may feel as though your heart has been dismembered and separated from the love of God.

Remember to seek truth, the truth in Romans 8:37-39 says, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

God’s love for You, His deed of love weaving You together wonderfully, can never been taken from You.  It will always be what makes you the Gift of Who You Are.

Pray Through It 

Beloved and Treasured Lord, 

Thank You so much for making each of us a beloved treasure and precious gift.  The goodness of who You are is beyond the scope of our wildest imaginings.  But, with the best of our limited selves, may we heed Your wisdom and ponder Your loving deeds. 

Lord, help us to be captivated and content in Your truths.  May we speak them boldly and confidently to our selves, as well as others.  When doldrums of doubt and dread blow through, please keep the train of our thoughts on track.  Use Your Spirit, scriptures, and believers in our lives to untwist what has been wound up. 

Lord, help our trust to be in You.  May we trust Your love, may we feel Your presence and the boldness of Your strength in our burdened brokenness.  May we have a fortitude of courage that begins in our minds, turns our eyes towards a horizon of hope, and leads our steps down the path You have set before us. 

In the wise and loving name of Jesus, amen