Let me tell you who you are

If we even had the slightest understanding of our true value, we’d be ashamed by our constant self-criticisms and our low self esteems. “Well I don’t have a low self esteem” you might say, well I challenge you to go one day and count the number of times you either put yourself down by saying “oh I can’t do that”, “I don’t like the way I look today”, “no one cares” etc etc. If you get through the day without doubting yourself once – then congratulations, you do indeed have highly admirable, concrete self esteem! But for most of us though … even though we might think we see ourselves as self confident, there’s still a vapour of self loathing that sneaks in. “I don’t like the way I look in this”, “I want to be this, or do that”, “I want to look like her” or “be like him”. Although we might not admit it out loud, our thought lives spit out comparisons and criticisms left, right and centre, of who we think we are, and who instead we think we should be.

Let me tell you who you are.

You are so valuable, that a great price was paid for you. You are so loved, that life was laid down for you (Isaiah 9:6), (John 3:16). You were so fought for that even death itself was conquered, a love so fierce that nothing could stop it (Matt 28:6). This is a love so adoring that it took every hurt you’ve ever experienced, any regrets you’ve ever had and carried them so your tears could be wiped away forever (Isaiah 1:18), (Psalm 147:3), (Rev 21:4). A love so compassionate that it willingly took all judgement from any of your wrongs upon itself so you could walk away free (Isaiah 43:25), (Rom 8:1). A love so persistent that it waits and never gives up, never tires of waiting for you. Even if you reject it, mock it, ignore it … it still waits (Isaiah 30:18), (Isaiah 49:15-16). Even if you don’t know this love, it still knows you (Psalm 139:16) and wants to lavish you in love and goodness “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”. (1 Corin 2:9), (Jer 29:11).

It’s not a romance novel, nice poetry, or an ideal, it’s Gospel.
So stop complaining, criticising, comparing - because you are “holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault” (Eph 1:4). You are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14), How is it we complain of our appearances when he counts even every hair on our head! And how can we question if we’re loveable when his thoughts toward us “outnumber the grains of sand” – not beaches “grains”! (Psalm 139:18). In fact “you’re the apple of his eye” (Psalm 17:8), His “special treasure” (Ex 19:5). And you were “made in God’s image” (Gen 1:27) – and that makes you beautiful and powerful beyond comprehension. Being “made in His image” my friend, makes you very honoured indeed.

With God you don’t just get the new dress, you get the heels and lippy too!

What’s your expectation when it comes to provision?

Well I’ve been a tither for many years, and I’ve always believed in the principles and blessings that tithing brings (Mal 3:10), and I’ve always believed that God is our provider and that we don’t need to ever worry (Matt 6:25). But I’d never tested it. I’d never really needed to because I’d always had a good job, and that end of month pay cheque was always a guarantee. But then this thing called a recession hit, and suddenly my line of work which had once been so “safe” was suddenly becoming more “rare”. And so I’d found myself in a position where I was out of a job and although I’d had some temporary work, as the months went on and the effects of the recession started to show, the work became less and less. And now I’ve found myself in the fortunate position (yes fortunate in my case), of not having had a permanent job for 9 months. It’s a fortunate position for me to be in because it means my dependence has totally gone from my own strength to totally relying on my Father’s (the way it should be!). And he has never let me down. I am privileged to be in a place where I see his miraculous provision all of the time. Your normal might be getting your weekly or monthly pay cheque, my normal has become unexpected blessings. I know God as provider now more in the last 9 months than I had in the 7 years that I’ve walked with God. I have lost count of the number of envelopes that have been passed to me, accompanied by the words “I just had it on my heart to give you this”, with amounts ranging from £50 to £500. And I can promise you one thing, he is into the details of your life, and he takes delight in providing for us. I also can’t tell you the amount of times when I’ve had no money in my wallet, but have been walking along chatting to God saying things like, “gosh I really feel like a good steak right now” etc (I am after all, rather partial to good food) ;) Aren’t we all! Then I’ll get a text from a friend asking me out for dinner etc. What matters to you, matters to God. Recently in my chatters with God (You know nothing you say is boring to God? He listens to every word, every thought, it’s fine to chatter. Prayer is relational, and in relationships let’s face it – there’s a lot of chatter! You don’t need to begin prayer “Oh Father in Heaven who sits in the highest place, who is God of the Universe, Holy and Mighty …” etc etc (he does actually know who he is) ;) He won’t be offended if you approach him as “Sup Dad”! Just approach him, don’t worry about formula! Anyway so I was chattering away, and one thing I’d said was, that the only thing I really miss most about having a job, is being able to go to the movies more. Movies are one of my most f-a-v-o-u-r-i-t-e things! I can never get enough of the cinema. So anyway the next day I get a call from a friend saying she’d really had it on her heart that she wanted to bless me, and that as times were tough for me not having an income, she wanted to pop a bit into my account every month so I’d at least be able to go to the movies etc if I wanted. I can tell you that touched me more than the gifts of hundreds of pounds, because that showed me how our delight is his delight, and he is very much into the little details of our lives, and he is ALWAYS listening. I find it hilarious these religious stingy types that preach on false humility, and see poverty as a virtue. Yes literally to survive all we need is bread and water, but God doesn’t see us as animals that just need to be fed. He loves us, we’re his children, he has a relationship with us, and when we believe for things, not just things we need, but also things we want, he gives them to us. I didn’t NEED movie tickets, and I didn’t even ask for them, but he provided anyway. Here’s one for the ladies … take my birthday for example, I remember saying “God I don’t really need a new dress, I mean I have loads, and I’m already so grateful for what I do have but I’d still like one”. Then a friend “happened” to give me some money as a late Christmas present and said, “I thought I’d give you money instead of a present and then you could buy yourself a dress or something”. Well I did get a dress, with a crazy reduction, and got the matching jewellery, makeup, the works – all for, you guessed it, crazy reductions! When I say crazy I mean CRAZY, like 95% off! I’m telling you with God, you don’t just get the dress, you get the shoes and the lippy thrown in too! Those are just a few examples, I can’t even remember all the stories, now you might think it a “coincidence”, but I don’t believe in coincidences at all. Yes I’m rambling on a bit, but I hope you get my point. I’m not painting God as a gene in a bottle, not at all, but I am trying to show you how intimately he listens to your needs and wants, and that he is “Father” and we can approach him with a “Daddy I want a new dress!” mentality! You are the “apple of his eye” (Ps 17:8) and can come “boldly to his throne” (Heb 4:16) SO WHY DON’T WE! Be open to receive from your Father in heaven, not limiting your mindset about what we can and can’t ask for, remember he sees your heart anyway so just talk to him like a child talking to their Daddy, because that’s what we are. Now some of you might say, yes but God could have also given you a job? Well yes indeed he could have, now I don’t know why I haven’t had the work, but I do know that the work he has done in me in this time has been invaluable. And in whatever you may face he really does cause good to come out of bad situations. For example it took me a long time to start to ask God for things that weren’t a necessity (for me to get out of a “don’t ask” mindset, and because I had always had work, I never really did. But he wants us to! How often though do we not even think to ask? When God says he wants to pour out his blessings, he does actually mean it! Nothing is too big for God and nothing is too small for God either, and don’t forget He’s our Jehovah-Jireh (the lord who provides). So next time you find yourself in a mentality of “oh I wont trouble God with that” … go on … trouble him ;) then you’ll find it’s really no trouble to him at all.

Bold to Trust

What does it mean to trust? To trust is to have hope. “To have belief or confidence in the honesty, goodness, skill or safety of a person, organisation or thing” (Cambridge). Therefore to trust is to also take a risk. We can be betrayed, hurt, rejected, disappointed and fail. Yet despite all risks … we are to be bold in our trust. What does it mean to be bold? “To be brave, not fearing danger, daring and courageous” (Cambridge). Did you get that? “No fearing danger”. Because that’s what we’re doing when we can’t face up to trusting …. We are actually living in fear.

But to be bold, doesn’t mean to disregard wisdom, it doesn’t mean to be naive to facts. But it is an attitude to adopt, a decision that you’ll be prepared to face the fears of disappointment, hurt, rejection, failure – whatever your trust issue is. But I say it again, it is not to be naive. If say a friend of yours was in an abusive relationship, and she went back time and time again only for the abuse to continue, would your advice be “it’s ok, just trust him”. No of course not. Because the facts indicate that it’s going to happen again. Yes the partner would have within him the ability to change – but never romanticize notions that put you in jeopardy. If he changes he changes, but until then – the facts clearly dictate a real danger there. So don’t neglect wisdom, Proverbs 2:11 (CEV) “Sound judgment and good sense will watch over you”. Now maybe that’s an extreme example, but its an easy scenario to visualise. What’s not so easy to visualise though are areas in our own lives where maybe we are vulnerable and weak to defend, where maybe we just need to take a bit of time out and consider some facts. Maybe there are some situations or people in our lives that are hurting us which we need to address. We’re to be happy and whole, not half whole and half happy. We’re called to completeness, but we can’t be complete (by letting God fill our lives), if we’re holding onto hurts. Because those hurts actually take up space in our hearts, space that is meant to be filled by God. So therefore to be able to trust boldly you need to first address any outstanding areas of hurt or forgiveness. Because if you are holding on to either, they will act as walls and you’ll always have a struggle with trust.

Ultimately trust always comes back to God, do we trust that God has good plans for us if we’re disappointed? That he’ll be our healer if we get hurt? That if we fail, God can still turn a situation around for good? That the past doesn’t dictate the future and that history doesn’t have to repeat itself, but if it does … that we will be alright. Hebrews 4:16 (Amp) “Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]”.

Abraham was a man who boldly trusted, (Gen 22:1-18), he knew the God he was dealing with. He had a personal confidence in God, knowing him to be good and faithful. So that even when God asked him to sacrifice his only son, Abraham set out to obey. Now we know how the story goes, at the last minute God spoke to Abraham asking him to sacrifice a goat instead. God always responds to faith and because Abraham’s faith was tested and he showed his complete trust in God, God declared that all the nations would be blessed through Abraham’s seed. Hmm amazing what can happen in our lives when we live with bold trust aye, knowing that what ever circumstances arise, God is always in control.