You know how you feel when you have a bad hair day or when your outfit doesn’t fit quite right? (Or the days when you are in grunge clothes because it’s cleaning day at home.) You don’t feel glamorous on those days. You know, those days when we don’t feel beautiful. Guess what? God loves you on those days too and still sees the beauty in you.
God loves us when we fall short. He loves us when we have disobeyed. He loves us when we are slow to obey. He loves us when we are unloving to His children. He loves us even when we aren’t interested in doing His will. When we are distracted, disheartened, and discouraged, He still loves us.
We sometimes beat ourselves up thinking that we have disappointed God. (I can admit that I have.) Well, I have news for you. God is not disappointed in you. That’s a bold statement, I know. You might even be saying, “She doesn’t know what’s going on around here.” I am still wrapping my own head around it. But God is not disappointed in us. Disappointment comes when reality falls short of our expectations. But nothing falls short of God’s expectations because He already knows everything. We can’t surprise Him. He knows what we’re going to do before we even do it. And His grace and mercy are following us each and every day to cover us. So, we have to stop putting our disappointment in ourselves on God. It’s actually a pretty effective tactic of the enemy. It takes our focus away from God and places it on ourselves and our own shortcomings. Then we can’t see beyond our pain. But God doesn’t deal in guilt and shame. He deals in forgiveness and restoration. When those feelings or thoughts arise, cast them down. II Corinthians 10:5 says that we are to cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. You have the authority to do so in the name of Jesus.
God doesn’t see us through our eyes. (Thank God!) He sees His creation: who we really are and are meant to be. God loves us and wants the best for us always. In our moments of loneliness, God loves us. In times of despair, God loves us. In heated trials, God loves us. When we are angry, God loves us. When we feel afraid, God loves us. God’s love for us is unending and not dependent upon our love for Him. Even when we have given up on ourselves, God will never give up on us. There’s nothing that we can do that will make Him stop loving us. He loves us fully and completely, even though we are flawed and weak.
Whatever God has called you to do, do it wholeheartedly. We have all failed, so don’t allow that to deter you from trying again. We’ve all been discouraged at some point in our lives, but nothing can separate us from the love of God. The Holy Spirit is right there to breathe life into us and strengthen us. Some of us may have even quit. But God wants you to stand up and get back in the game. There’s so much more inside of you. Remember what God has promised you. Focus on those promises. You can be problem-focused or purpose-focused. Choose wisely. The body of Christ needs you!
And know that life is full of ups and downs, wonderful days and awful days. Just remember, God loves you even on your worst days.
The Manna Chef 