You belong to God.
Take a moment and let that sink in. Think about what that means.
You belong to God. You are His. He made you for His own possession. God made you because He wanted to. On purpose! For a purpose.
Have you ever made something or done something you're really proud of? Think about the time and effort you put into it. Your heart and soul. Even if it was a simple drawing, craft project, or another form of art. Perhaps you are into photography or baking or making music. Or maybe you are an athlete who helped your team win that big game. These things take time and creativity, and when you create something that is beautiful or do something that creates excitement or enjoyment, you take pride in your effort; you take pride in what you have accomplished.
God feels the same way about you. You are His handiwork. He designed you to be just as you are: from your outward appearance and intricate inner-workings of your body, to your personality, talents, and passions. He designed you, and He is proud of you. Even if you never do things that are great in the eyes of others. Even if you're not exceptionally smart or talented. Even if you make mistakes. You are His. You belong to Him. You matter because you are a human being created in His image. Because you live and breathe and have an eternal soul. There is nothing anyone can do, not even yourself, to change that. You are and forever will be His unique creation, and He loves you dearly.
You belong to Him.
Do you believe that? Does it make a difference in how you think and live each day? It probably does in ways you don't think about much, like getting up every morning and going about your day, doing your homework, participating in activities you enjoy, and interacting with others. Your life has purpose and meaning. You learn, find enjoyment in things, and love others because that's what you have been designed to do. God made you to be curious, creative, social, and to grow in new ways. When we don't engage with the people and opportunities around us, we become bored. Sometimes we get too busy or life gets complicated, and we wish everything would stop, but if it did, we would feel lost because without anything to do or relationships to engage in (even those that are complicated), we cease to matter--at least in our own eyes. We do matter to others and to God--always; but losing touch with life, the good, the bad, and the in between makes us feel lifeless, worthless, and alone.
Living your day-to-day enjoyment and struggles is one way to keep life meaningful, and even the routine, mundane things have their place. After all, if you never did your homework, went to soccer practice, or cleaned your room, you wouldn't learn much, get better at your sport, or have clean clothes to wear. You would also cause frustration for your teachers, coaches, teammates, and family. You can do a lot to enhance the lives of others and make them feel valued by simply doing your part. (Just think how you feel when you are assigned a group project and you're the only one who does any of the work.) Life is often about cooperation, teamwork, and being helpful, so look at your everyday life as a constant opportunity to be a blessing to others, and the best place to start is in your own home, school, and community.
Another way to show your belief that you belong to God and matter to Him is to have dreams and do what you can to make them come true. God has given you specific talents, abilities, gifts, and passions. Some you may have already discovered and others will come later, but what are your current dreams? What do you hope for? What do you want--for today and for the future? You may think those are just your dreams, but are they, or has God given them to you? Is that what He made you for, what He aspires for you to have, to be, to do? Have you ever thought about that? Have you ever asked Him? Do you believe Him when He says 'Yes, and I can get you there,' or 'No, but follow Me and I'll show you something even better.' ?
You belong to God, and He has given you a life to live. You are of great value to Him and to others. Your life has purpose and meaning. You may not know what all that involves yet, and you will never know just how much you mean to God and those you love (and others you may not even know you have touched or will reach in some way), but believe it anyway. Believe you are His. Believe He made you for a reason, for many reasons!
Believe you matter, and tackle one day, one task, one challenge, one goal at a time--with His guidance, help, and love. And no matter what happens, never give up on your God-given dreams. He is doing things in your life already to make them come true, and He won't stop. Listen to Him, trust Him, and follow Him; And He will take you there.
For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)
Take a moment and let that sink in. Think about what that means.
You belong to God. You are His. He made you for His own possession. God made you because He wanted to. On purpose! For a purpose.
Have you ever made something or done something you're really proud of? Think about the time and effort you put into it. Your heart and soul. Even if it was a simple drawing, craft project, or another form of art. Perhaps you are into photography or baking or making music. Or maybe you are an athlete who helped your team win that big game. These things take time and creativity, and when you create something that is beautiful or do something that creates excitement or enjoyment, you take pride in your effort; you take pride in what you have accomplished.
God feels the same way about you. You are His handiwork. He designed you to be just as you are: from your outward appearance and intricate inner-workings of your body, to your personality, talents, and passions. He designed you, and He is proud of you. Even if you never do things that are great in the eyes of others. Even if you're not exceptionally smart or talented. Even if you make mistakes. You are His. You belong to Him. You matter because you are a human being created in His image. Because you live and breathe and have an eternal soul. There is nothing anyone can do, not even yourself, to change that. You are and forever will be His unique creation, and He loves you dearly.
You belong to Him.
Do you believe that? Does it make a difference in how you think and live each day? It probably does in ways you don't think about much, like getting up every morning and going about your day, doing your homework, participating in activities you enjoy, and interacting with others. Your life has purpose and meaning. You learn, find enjoyment in things, and love others because that's what you have been designed to do. God made you to be curious, creative, social, and to grow in new ways. When we don't engage with the people and opportunities around us, we become bored. Sometimes we get too busy or life gets complicated, and we wish everything would stop, but if it did, we would feel lost because without anything to do or relationships to engage in (even those that are complicated), we cease to matter--at least in our own eyes. We do matter to others and to God--always; but losing touch with life, the good, the bad, and the in between makes us feel lifeless, worthless, and alone.
Living your day-to-day enjoyment and struggles is one way to keep life meaningful, and even the routine, mundane things have their place. After all, if you never did your homework, went to soccer practice, or cleaned your room, you wouldn't learn much, get better at your sport, or have clean clothes to wear. You would also cause frustration for your teachers, coaches, teammates, and family. You can do a lot to enhance the lives of others and make them feel valued by simply doing your part. (Just think how you feel when you are assigned a group project and you're the only one who does any of the work.) Life is often about cooperation, teamwork, and being helpful, so look at your everyday life as a constant opportunity to be a blessing to others, and the best place to start is in your own home, school, and community.
Another way to show your belief that you belong to God and matter to Him is to have dreams and do what you can to make them come true. God has given you specific talents, abilities, gifts, and passions. Some you may have already discovered and others will come later, but what are your current dreams? What do you hope for? What do you want--for today and for the future? You may think those are just your dreams, but are they, or has God given them to you? Is that what He made you for, what He aspires for you to have, to be, to do? Have you ever thought about that? Have you ever asked Him? Do you believe Him when He says 'Yes, and I can get you there,' or 'No, but follow Me and I'll show you something even better.' ?
You belong to God, and He has given you a life to live. You are of great value to Him and to others. Your life has purpose and meaning. You may not know what all that involves yet, and you will never know just how much you mean to God and those you love (and others you may not even know you have touched or will reach in some way), but believe it anyway. Believe you are His. Believe He made you for a reason, for many reasons!
Believe you matter, and tackle one day, one task, one challenge, one goal at a time--with His guidance, help, and love. And no matter what happens, never give up on your God-given dreams. He is doing things in your life already to make them come true, and He won't stop. Listen to Him, trust Him, and follow Him; And He will take you there.
For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)
