Facets of Faith

Did You Know You Are Beloved?

02.18.2020 by Megan Abbott //

Happy February friends! This month we have been really digging into words that are a part of our identity in Christ, and I (Megan) have really been loving the “Did You Know You Are…?” series. We prayed together and selected words that are beautiful and sometimes challenging to accept. In the past couple weeks, Tracy shared about being “Cherished” and Jen “Honored“. This week,as you read the words below, I pray you hear God reminding you that you are His beloved.

Whew… so this topic, huh? Here I am, an unmarried woman in her 30s, that has struggled with feeling lovable the majority of her adult life, in the month of Valentine’s Day, writing about love. Did you know you are beloved? I guess before I ask you that question, I have to think about my answer. In the past, it has been a challenge for me to claim this truth — God calls us beloved.

Face to Face with My Thoughts

So I have this book, a journal really, that is filled with only God’s truth. It came out of a season where I struggled to even look in the mirror. I felt unlovable. Honestly, that is even a bit of an understatement. I was challenged by a friend to just keep speaking the truths out loud to myself in front of a mirror until I could actually say them with confidence. The first time I stood in my room looking in the mirror, I opened my mouth to speak the words, and just cried. The second day, something similar. Eventually there were days I could speak truth over myself, and other days that I might even believe what I was saying. It feels silly in hindsight to think I couldn’t speak simple words into a mirror. But the reality of the power and strength of truth, while looking myself in the eyes knowing I didn’t believe it, it was halting. I was face to face with the reality that I didn’t believe God made me without mistake. That He made me lovable. That if He had made me lovable, I hadn’t somehow destroyed that in the previous 25+ years.

The “Truth” in My Heart

Have you ever been there? Face to face with the reality of what your heart believes? I did not believe I was beloved. I would speak truth over any of my friends, strangers even, knowing the value God knit into their being, but never could have said the same words about me. My truth had departed from the real truth. I’m not sure why. Lack of confidence? A conditioning from past experiences? Who knows. I knew it needed to change, though.

Fast forward several years. I found myself in a spot again where experiences led my heart back to “you are not lovable”. This time, I felt convicted by the Spirit to write a letter to myself from God’s perspective. I knew it was needed, but simultaneously thought it was silly. I mean, can God really have me write a letter to me, and it not just be my words? After some wise counseling, I sat down with a stack of note cards and prayed through scripture, writing thoughts and scriptures out on cards and lining them up until I saw where God was leading. I wrote a letter that brought a little healing to my heart. Calling out pains that I didn’t completely know were there, and the loving, gentle, healing truth that God gave us in scripture.

Beloved,

I am your heavenly Father. I created your entire being thoughtfully, uniquely, and without mistake.¹

I do not see you as you do — your flaws, your failures, and days of unfaithfulness. No, I see my priceless, redeemed, and beloved daughter. While you were in that pit of self-hatred and rejection, I CHOSE YOU. I have picked you up from the pit and crowned you with my grace and compassion.

Beloved, I love you exactly where you are today, and I will continue to love you each day no matter where you are. No more, no less.²

I will walk hand in hand with you as your heart is softened and your stubbornness is replaced with my love and compassion.³ When your heart is overwhelmed, I will be there patiently and gently calling you back to my freedom ⁴. The walk will have painful stretches, but I see you on the other side, victorious⁵.

-Your Loving Father

What Does It Take To Believe The Truth?

I think God could write a letter like this to each of us. One that reminds us how precious we are. That we are chosen. That he created us with care, with intention, and with purpose. We are HIS beloved.

I don’t remember at this point where I heard it, but I remember hearing a message where beloved was intentionally pronounced be-loved. Be loved. Live as though you believe you are loved. When you don’t feel lovable, or loved, look back at scripture and read the truth to yourself over and over again until you believe you are the beloved daughter of the mighty God. There is nothing we can do (or not do) to change the reality of this truth.

Join the conversation here or on our Facebook page.

Psalm 139:13-14
Romans 8:38-39, Ephesians 2:4-5
Ezekial 36:26 (NLT)
Psalm 61
1 Corinthians 10:13, Ephesians 6:13

You Are…Honored!

02.11.2020 by Jennifer Howe //

Welcome to FACETS, friend. Take a look around in February, and you’ll see we’re at play and doing things a little differently. We are leaning into a “Did you know you are…” set, and we hope you’ll enjoy it. Each Facet is writing from her heart. Take a peek at Tracy’s post that reminds us that we are cherished. You are honored, beloved, and celebrated, too.

Do you know you are…honored?

I (Jennifer) have a unique moment in front of me. The question floats through my mind, to my heart, and back. If we could sit together over a cuppa right now at my caffeinated hidey hole, I’d relish it! We might chat about Chicago’s unpredictable weather, move on to the extraordinary in the very ordinary of our lives—and then something deeper could happen. The question would hang in the air: Do you know you are honored?

I imagine the two of us exploring truth. Are we honored? What does He say? Are we comfortable even speaking the words out loud? I am honored? We do a funny dance around words like that.

Yes? No? Maybe so?

The Christian faith is, first, biblical! And yet, a Moody Founder’s Week speaker reminded me last week, “Some of the worst advice comes from within the church.” What is genuinely true? Do I have “fire insurance” from a prayer I once prayed? If I am saved from my sins, am I saved to something? Am I a sinner halfway dragged from the gutter until heaven? Am I a royal daughter of the King of the universe who has authority over all things and receives a big, ol’ YES! from the heavens in response to every prayer?

I’ve asked all of these questions at some point in over twenty-five years, and the majority of questions like them have been settled in my mind through time reading the Bible, praying to understand the words, and having deep conversations with trusted friends. If you’re still encountering these questions, I want to encourage you—you have the opportunity to silence the slippery tongue that’s trying to confuse you. None of us needs to stay in the place of confused identity when it comes to our relationship with Daddy-God. He will tell us who we are!

Honored? I’m not worthy!

Let’s face it, honored is a big, fat, heavy word for some of us. Can we honor anyone but Jesus? How can I possibly be honored if He is the one worthy of honor and praise:

They said with a loud voice,
Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered
to receive power and riches
and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and blessing! Revelation 5:12 CSB

The truth is plain. He. Is. Worthy!

Honor shared…

But what about li’l, old you and me? What does the Bible say about our honor?

Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 1:12 ESV [Emphasis mine.]

When I read that, I feel all the emotions. How about you? There is honor in living honorably. We honor Jesus with our lives; He is honored, and we share in His honor. The honor is not our own, and that’s as it should be!

Honor given…

You know I was searching for “real food” in the Bible, right? I looked at all the appearances of honor because I needed to know I was, for sure, reading what He had to say about our honor without the sauce of pride dripping all over it. This practically leapt off the page:

Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. James 1:9 ESV

I live in a time (in church history) and place (in the world) that is so rich, many of us have forgotten what it means to be genuinely poor. We have a cultural conversation about “the working poor,” American poverty levels, and the wars on all the things. We talk about the difficulty of being a believer in a culture that rejects truth and substitutes it with their own. It’s a shame we can’t talk about God in the workplace or the neighborhood. What would people say?

Let’s get perspective: generations all over the world, places where professing Christianity is a death sentence, hope for the next morsel, the next pittance-paying job, a wedding to reduce the number of mouths to feed, or an orphanage to give a child a better life.

I don’t know this kind of “poor.” It exists, though. What will I do about that? What will we do?

The poor are honored by God because He loves them, because of the frailty of their lives, and because no one else honors them. Our God is loving like that. And we should be the church. We should live a life that honors them and shares in the honor of Christ who loves and honors like that! We give the honor to them because He does.

Sometimes I must write to myself in these posts: Jen, it’s not all about you.

You are…

Our God is loving! That’s what I love so much about Him—He calls every one of us into deep relationship while we are still sinners (Romans 5:8), and He shares His honor with us when we hide our lives in His and live honorably by His power. By extension of our authentic, godly life with Him, we give honor to the weakest—the ones with no voice or wealth or noticeable honor in this world. We are the church when we do that. That’s our calling.

And then there’s this:

…you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you. Isaiah 43:4 ESV

In His goodness and grace, there’s that. The context of that verse up there offers clarity about God’s preferential treatment toward His beloved (that’s us!). You and I are precious to Him. We are the “loved ones” who bring the light! He desires to draw us close; transform our hearts, minds, and lives; and work in and through us in this dark world.

Jesus’ sacrifice on a rough-hewn cross communicates something deep: He chose to come for us, each of us is loved and honored by His choice, and we share in His honor.

I feel this is how this post wraps up. I pray this for us!

So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. 2 Thessalonians 1:11 ESV

It’s an honor that you visit this space. Thank you! If you think this can be a blessing for someone else, share it. What I’d really, really love? Start a conversation here, at the Facebook Page, or on your own Facebook (if you’re bold).

Did You Know You Are Cherished?

02.04.2020 by Tracy Stella //

I (Tracy) can’t wait for you to encounter what God has planned in advance for you to read, not just in this piece, but in each post in the weeks ahead. We did something a little different this time around: each of us has prayed & selected a word to share with you. Did you know you are …?

Check back each week to see what my friends have to share about the word they were given. I believe God desires to bury each idea into our hearts as an encouragement. That is our prayer for each of you reading, that you are encouraged. Read on and be encouraged friend!

Last year I had a rotating family of birds flocking to my window planter. Before you get visions of pretty blooms, fragrant and in season as their host, let me correct that visual. All the flower box contained was dirt and some dead sticks. Nothing warm and welcoming about that. Curb appeal? Not even a little bit!

Each day I’d gaze out the window expectantly to see mama bird sitting patiently in the prickly remnant of the previous season’s foliage. Mama bird seemed perfectly content to set aside any discomfort there might have been and wait. Often by herself. There she sat, perched and on mission. She knew her purpose ─ help those baby birds thrive. Feed them. Nourish them. Protect them.

I never did get flowers planted in my window box last year. They were purchased and sat in the shade waiting for the day when the birds flew the nest, so to speak. But as soon as one family left, another moved in. I didn’t even have to advertise the home was for sale. It was as if I’d started an inn for these peaceful creatures just looking for a safe place to land. They were never evicted, even though I did long to see pretty blooms while working from my desk.

Instead, I got to see an example of God’s word coming alive in an almost literal way.

“What is the price of five sparrows─two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.─Luke 12:6-7 NLT

Often when I looked out my window, I’d think of this verse. God cared so much about those birds that He had provided for them through me.

The provision was left there in advance waiting for the day He knew those birds would need it. It sat there ALL WINTER LONG. Maybe you have been in a winter season. Take heart, my friend, God has provision waiting for you. It’s been there ALL WINTER LONG.

Not only did God provide well in advance, but He stopped me from “stealing” what He had provided for them. I could have taken down the window planter before mama bird laid her eggs. I knew why she was settling in. I could have even tried to transplant them, I suppose, to a home more to my liking. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. God gave me a tenderness for the little bird families who came to my flower box inn. I desired to protect them from any predators, shooing away any other birds who had ill intent.

Mama bird always eyed me suspiciously, always alert, always on duty. God gave her the stamina to sit up strong & observant.

He gives us that provision as well. We can sit up strong and observant to see what He has for us, to protect us from predators, and to receive His provision. Even if it’s through a storm.

I saw the mama bird shelter her babies, shielding them from rain and wind. It’s such a beautiful picture of what the Lord does for us. He is our shelter. He is our refuge through every storm.

And He paid far more that two copper coins to save us. He paid with His life.

That’s how valuable we are!

You, me, we … we’re all more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. You, me we … we are cherished.

Do you know you are cherished?

You are cherished my friend!

Cherish isn’t a word we hear very often in today’s culture. I wish it were. I’m drawn to it like a bug to a light. We might hear it at a wedding ceremony, a command for bride and groom to cherish one another. It’s a good command. But what does it mean, exactly?

cherish

to hold or treat as dear; feel love for

to care for tenderly; nurture

to cling fondly or inveterately

In the synonym study, it goes on to say “giving affection, care, or shelter to something. CHERISH suggests regarding or treating something as an object of affection or as valuable”.

My friend, YOU are the object of God’s affection. He VALUES you so much! I am cherished and so are you.

Remember, God provides for the birds. He will provide for you. YOU are more valuable than a whole flock of sparrows. He has window sill after window sill of provision for each of us. His storehouses are unlimited. We can’t contain the Lord’s goodness. It is immeasurable because HE is immeasurable. No eye has seen or ear heard all that He has for us. (1 Cor 2:9) Not a one. But I can guarantee you this, if you’ve surrendered your life to God, you have an amazing future ahead for all eternity.

Maybe you haven’t let God have your heart yet. He’s pursuing it, because He cherishes you. You’ll have an opportunity at the end of this post to say a prayer and surrender your heart to Him if that is your desire.

Deep down, don’t we all want to be cherished? I think that desire is hard wired into us so that we will seek out a relationship with Jesus. He’s already seeking one with us!

Let this next verse capture our hearts.

“I tell you the truth, everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God’s angels.─Luke 12:8 NLT

The Son of capital “M” Man is Jesus. He cherishes you so much He will also acknowledge YOU in the presence of His angels when you acknowledge Him publicly here on earth.

God cherishes you so much that He celebrates you with the angels.

Let that sink in. Please don’t miss the blessing of that truth.

Imagine Jesus celebrating YOU with the angels. What does that look like? What is He saying? What are they doing? What are the sights and sounds that might be going on as Jesus acknowledges you and I with angels in the heavenly realm? Envision it.

Wow!

God gives us the provision of His Word to reveal His heart for us, to reveal deep truths that we need to bury into our heart as a protection from the toils of this world. It’s not without trouble.

The other day I saw a coyote out my window, definitely not as appealing as the cute little birds. It was a bit terrifying actually. The coyote walked right up our sidewalk. We live in a town home. There are young children and many small pets the coyote could prey upon. My dog, Enoch, could easily be carried off by Road Runner’s nemesis.

Early one morning as I was walking Enoch after the coyote sighting, I was fighting away fear. It was dark. No one was around. I was very observant, looking to see if any predator was lurking. I was on high alert. It came to me then, I should pray. After all, I don’t want fear to paralyze and steal the joy of being able to walk my dog. As I was walking I prayed for God’s protection.

He said to my heart, “I will protect you.”

Moments later I found myself splayed out in the snow. I’d slipped and fallen on the icy surface hidden beneath the fresh flurries. I didn’t see the trouble lurking there, because I was very focused on that coyote problem.

A little disgruntled, I grumbled to God, “I thought you were going to protect me.” (Not a completely unreasonable thought since not even a minute had passed since He’d said He would.)

Guess what He impressed upon my heart.

“You didn’t get hurt.”

True that.

Who knows how many angels He sent my way to catch my fall? Maybe one day He’ll show me.

God did protect me.

I was unharmed. I could have hit my head. I could have broken a bone. I could have been knocked unconscious in the snow. None of that happened.

We don’t always see God’s protection when we think we’ve fallen victim to something or someone. But He’s always looking out for us. Always. He provides. We just don’t always see it. I think it’s okay to question and ask God. I don’t think He gets mad at us like people want to portray Him. I’ve experienced so much of His grace and mercy — immeasurable.

Think about how many times you see a child ask, “Why?” They’re curious and they want to know.

I think God can do something pretty amazing with our curious hearts. Ask your questions. And expect He will provide answers. He cherishes you enough to provide divine insight and wisdom. He’ll teach you how to hear what He is saying. I know because He has taught, and is teaching me in new ways, how to “hear” Him. You see, when you cherish someone, you want nothing more than to have a sweet relationship with them. God wants that with each of us. Remember, to be cherished means you’re valued. You are valued by God. You are VALUABLE, a treasure to Him.

So, if you are on a journey to really (I mean really) believe you are cherished, look for ways God is providing for you. You will see His hand of goodness if you look for it. Sometimes it’s hard to see (like when I fell on the ice). Other times it’s easy to see (like the birds having a safe home). Either way, God is providing.

So what it is it that you need? Ask God. Remember, the answer might not look like we think, but He’ll answer. Would you deny your children whom you cherish good things? No. Most parents want to give their children more than they themselves had. God is WAY more generous than we are. Expect good things from Him, not in a spoiled and entitled way. Rather, knowing He is good and faithful, generous and kind.

Do you need peace? Pray He fills that vessel to overflowing. Do you need love? Pray He fills your heart to fullness of measure and then some. Do you need literal financial provision? Pray God provides opportunities and resources. Do you need healing? Pray God delivers it to you, cleansing and purifying every cell in your body.

Because He cherishes you, He will provide an encounter with Him through it all. Watch for Him. There is evidence all around. We just need to notice it. Slow down and notice my friends.

Don’t miss the sweet provision of His presence.

I will praise you every day;

   Yes, I will praise you forever.

Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise!

   No one can measure his greatness.

Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts;

   Let them proclaim your power.─Psalm 145:2-4 NLT

I have a “baby bird”, not so little anymore. I want him to know the greatness of the Lord. God has been incredibly faithful in my life. If you knew me before I knew Jesus, you’d be saying amen (a little on the loud side)! We are never too far from God’s reach no matter how far we stray. And, man alive, when God gets ahold of our hearts, there’s a whole heap of His glory to be revealed.

God provided a way out of our sin. He sent His Son. Jesus was the sacrifice given in advance of our need. Let me reassure you nothing you have done is beyond His forgiveness. Nothing you have done is beyond His mercy. Nothing you have done is beyond the reach of His salvation.

Receive it as a precious provision paid for each of us, His children. Then don’t hold back sharing with every generation the mighty acts the Lord has done in your life. We will proclaim His power.

Join me in receiving God’s provision for the first time, or maybe a renewed strength and vitality as you bask in the fullness of being a cherished child of God.

“I tell you the truth, everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God’s angels.─Luke 12:8 NLT

Prayer: Jesus, I do acknowledge You publicly here on earth. Thank You for the promise that You will acknowledge me in the presence of angels. Thank You for cherishing me enough to send Your Son to pay in advance for my sin. Thank You for providing for my every need, not necessarily how I think it needs to be provided for, but how You see best. You see the unseen. You know what’s ahead, and You protect me. Thank You, Lord! Help me to hear Your voice and to know where You are leading. Help me listen and obey. Help me ask excellent questions and answer every genuine inquiry I have. Thank You that You know every hair on my head. You know everything about me, and none of it phases You. Thank You for helping me bury the truth in my heart that I am cherished, that I am cherished by You. And when I get a grasp on that, help me to help others know how much You cherish them too. You have a heart for all of us that is beyond understanding, but we thank You and praise You that you do, in Jesus’ name, amen!

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