Shelly Faust is a wife, mama, writer/blogger, aspiring author, and
Proverbs 31 Ministries OBS Team Leader. Her heart is to encourage,
inspire, and love others while sharing Jesus through her words and her
life - past and present. You can connect with Shelly on her blog (www.isthatyoulord.blogspot.
Thank you for sharing your heart for the Lord with us today, Shelly!!!
A Lifetime of Discovering God
As I approached the big 4-0 last year I found myself once again pondering questions such as:
Who am I? Am I enough? Am I doing enough? What have I done with my life that has made a difference? Where do I go from here?
We should ponder these types of questions, I think. But our answer to any of them is not found in the pursuit of titles and positions or college degrees and careers. And certainly it is not found in a different spouse or a new sports car (think mid-life crisis).
The discovery comes in our pursuit of God alone.
In finding Him we begin peeling off layers of false identities and removing masks of self-deception. As we look deeply into the mirror of His Word and sit at the feet of our Savior, our truest self begins to emerge and take form.
Apart from God we can create a name for ourselves, assume various roles and positions, and develop a personal “brand.” We can be many things but none of these are meant to fulfill or define us. We may feel whole and complete for a moment but the emptiness in our soul cannot be filled by anyone or anything other than Jesus.
We were created by and for God. Our beginning is with God. Our ending is with God. So must the middle pages of our story be with God.
Wrapped around the idea that the more we do the more valuable we become is the belief that we are not enough.
We think God cannot love us until we somehow deserve it. We determine (falsely) the cost of His love is too high and we doubt it can ever truly be ours.
The truth is the cost was great but the price has already been paid.
We do not have to spend a lifetime of searching in vain for that one thing to complete or make us feel whole. We can, however, spend a lifetime discovering God and embracing all He has for us and all He has done for us.
We do not have to prove our value or come up with a brilliant marketing plan to convince God to love us. We just have to accept His gifts that have already been given.
His gift of grace frees us from the burdens of perfection and performance and gently nudges us closer to our Father. It invites us to discover and investigate the richness of God’s mercy and frees us to say “yes” to His unconditional love. As we do this, suddenly the name on our birth certificate is not the only name by which we answer. We are given a new name:
Daughter. Son. Redeemed. Forgiven. Beautiful. Loved. Worthy. Enough.
Determine today to begin the journey of discovering and understanding God. Open the Word and find the answers to your questions there.
As you pursue Him and search for Him, you will surely come face to face with your Savior.
You are loved.
You are chosen.
You are enough.
"We are a “chosen people…a people belonging to God….called out of darkness into His marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9.
Thank you so much for sharing with us today, Shelly! Your words are life and they are truth! We are God's children and we are enough because He is.
Hi Sue! Thank you for the privilege and honor of sharing here in your space! Love doing life and ministry with you! :)
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ReplyDeletethanks for sharing this,
Best regard,
Gwendolyn Mui
torrent