I’ve always been a churchgoer.

I pray.

I believe.

But if I’m being perfectly honest . . . I struggle sometimes to comprehend He means ME.

God is good, yes. He is listening. He answers our prayers. He forgives us. He loves us.
Yes. I’m sure that’s true.

But I’ve always felt this applies to the world as a whole.

The people. The masses. Perhaps everyone else.

But ME???

It took me nearly 40 years to even begin to understand and accept . . . He loves ME.

He knows what is best for ME. He is listening to ME. He has already forgiven ME.

HE LOVES ME.

Have you ever really thought about that? Really let that sink in?

Really?

Do you realize He means YOU?

Did you know on the day you were born He already knew who you were? Your name. What you would look like. Where you were headed. YOU. You came blinking into the light and He smiled with awe. At YOU.

You were already so beloved.

Did you know as you learned to laugh and roll and crawl and walk and your little personality emerged, He already knew who you were? What you liked. What you were good at. What made you so happy or sad or angry. And He was filled with joy, at YOU.

You were already so beloved.

Did you know on that difficult day you never told anyone about because you were so ashamed, He was standing right there beside you? You weren’t alone after all. He held your hand. He held you safe in his arms. Already perfect. YOU. And His heart ached at your heartache.

You were already so beloved.

Did you know as you struggled through school and peers and hard days and failure and insecurities, He was walking beside you? And as you celebrated and cheered your successes and became a little more yourself every day He was cheering right alongside. He marveled at your every move, so proud. Of YOU.

You were already so beloved.

Did you know as you grew into an adult and started doing grown-up things like college and a career and marriage and parenting and buying homes and starting over and all the joy and pain and heartache and beauty of life and wondering if you are doing any of it right . . . He was there. He IS there. Right beside you. Sometimes carrying you when it is just too hard to endure on your own two feet. Always loving and smiling and encouraging and beaming. At YOU.

Because YOU are already so beloved.

From your very first day.

Every single day.

Today.

And on every day to come.

He is here RIGHT NOW. With YOU.

The mistake you made. The lie you told. That fear you carry. The little dream you keep tucked away in the middle of your heart???

He already knows. 

He knows YOU.

All those words in the Bible?

They are for YOU.

And that death on the cross??

It was for YOU.

God is good.

He is listening.

He answers our prayers.

We are forgiven.

HE LOVES US.

And that means ME.

And YOU.

We are already SO BELOVED.

This post originally appeared on Ordinary on Purpose, by Mikala Albertson

 

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