Loved

This essay was taken in entirety from a prayer devotional that our high school pastor, Steven Draeger, wrote for our students for their time this week at camp. It is beautiful, and I hope it speaks to your heart as it will no doubt speak to theirs. Know you are loved!

You are God’s beloved.

Look out towards the ocean; see how far it stretches. Look up and marvel for a moment at the vastness of the sky; how far the universe stretches; how big the sun is and how small the atom is. Consider how complex our personalities are; how diverse humanity is. Consider how marvelous everything in life is. Now consider God, who created the universe and everything in it. In Genesis, we are told that God created everything and saw it as good…but the thing God was most proud of was humanity…you!

Humanity is the pinnacle of God’s creation. That means everything created was created for you, for you to wonder and marvel at. The universe is God’s gift for His most prized possession: YOU!

Are you worthy of love? Are there things you have done that have kept you away from love? Are there parts of you that feel too broken to be mended back together? Are you worthy of love? Do you deserve the love God has to offer you? What are the messages you’ve heard about or told yourself?

READ: Psalms 139:13-16
For it was You who formed my inward parts;
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are Your works; that I know very well.
My frame was not hidden from You, when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In Your book were written all the days that were formed for me,
when none of them as yet existed.

Okay, did you read it? I mean did you really read it? Read it again. Are you getting a sense of how much God loves you? Do you see how God has been intentional about loving you since before you were even born? Do you see what this passage says about your worth and God’s love for you?

The greatest love you will ever experience is a love that you can’t do anything to earn or deserve…which means you can’t do anything to change God’s love for you. God’s love requires nothing from you. Before you were born, even before your parents ever met, God made up His mind that He was going to love you. God chose you before you took your first breath, which means God chose to love you before you committed your first sin; before the first time you turned your back on Him.

God knew who you were going to be this very day…and chose love.
God knew all the baggage you’d be carrying today…and chose to love you.
God knew all the sins you would commit…and chose to love you.
God knew the fears and doubts you’d have today…and still he chooses you.

DO THIS:
Spend some time reflecting on how crazy God is for you and how deep His love runs for you. Then, finish by spending some time in prayer. Ask God to remind you of how much He loves you. Ask God to help you see your worth more clearly. Take time to record your thoughts, feelings, observations, questions, or whatever you may be feeling.