You Belong To God

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)

The God Who Sees Me

There is a story in the Old Testament about a man and his wife who wanted to have a child, but the woman was barren. Despite their old age, God promised the man he would have a son and as many descendants as the stars in the sky. You have probably heard the story of Abram and Sarai, who were later named Abraham and Sarah. If not, I will fill in the details for you, which by American standards would be against the law on several levels, but at that time were culturally acceptable.

One day Sarai made a suggestion to her husband and he agreed to sleep with Sarai's maid, Hagar, to conceive a child through her. Not surprisingly this arrangement created problems between Sarai and her servant, and Hagar ran away.

There is no hint of any problems between Hagar and Sarai before this decision was made. But afterwards, when Hagar learned she was pregnant, she no longer respected Sarai and became disobedient. Whether this was because she saw herself as being more valuable than a mere slave because she was Abram's wife now too and could give him something Sarai couldn't, or because she hated Sarai for putting her in that position is unclear; but the mistress-servant relationship was lost.

Hagar didn't serve Sarai as she once had and Sarai became harsh with her, causing Hagar to run away. When Hagar came to a well in the wilderness, she stopped and an angel met her there. This reminds me of Jesus meeting a Samaritan woman by a well. When He spoke to her and asked for a drink, she responded with "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (John 4:9) In that day, Jewish men typically did not associate with Samaritans, let alone a woman. And in Hagar's day I don't think an angel of God approaching a slave-woman was commonplace either. Abram and Sarai were royalty, worthy of such a visit, but a maid was just a slave.

Hagar's reaction to the encounter isn't clear at first. The messenger asks her, "Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?" (Genesis 16:8) Hagar responds truthfully and the angel instructs her to go back and be submissive to her mistress, telling her she will have a son and many descendants, more than she can count. At this point Hagar realizes who is speaking to her and declares, "You are the God who sees me." (v. 13)

Her words are similar to the woman at the well who after meeting Jesus told others, "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?" (John 4:29) In both cases the women knew their sins had been exposed, and yet they weren't threatened by that. If you are trying to hide your sin from God, don't bother. He already knows and loves you anyway. Allow that truth to set you free. He sees you for who you really are, and that's okay!

Whether you have been wrong, wronged by others, or both, do you believe God sees you? Does He know your name? Does He know your plight? Does He know where you are coming from and where you are going? Does He know your fears, the lonely road you walk, the mistreatment you have suffered? Do you believe He comes to meet you on the journey of despair, heartbreak, confusion, and pain? Do you believe you are worth such love?

Considering that Hagar did go back, faithfully served her master, and endured more mistreatment later, I think she believed where her true value was found. Not in what she gained or gave in this arrangement; Not in how well she served or didn't; Not in what others thought of her; But in the God who saw her. She knew she mattered to Him, and that was enough.

It's okay to ask, 'Why?'

Last year a friend of mine passed away from cancer. She was young. I had only known her for a few years, but she had a big impact on my life. She's a sweet, kind, and loving person. She has a daughter who had recently gotten married, and her life was full of joy. One day I got a message that she was sick. A few days later she was undergoing chemo treatments, and while they were somewhat effective, it wasn't enough. Other complications arose, and she didn't feel well most of the time. Her attitude was amazing. Her spirit never faltered. She had so many people praying for her, and she believed God was going to heal her. I believed He was going to heal her.

She died.

Why?

I have a very blessed life. I have not encountered much tragedy, sickness, or life-altering events. Some, but not a lot. The most difficult times I've had in life are as a mom. Motherhood is stressful, emotional, and exhausting at times. It's also full of joy and wonderful moments. But it's hard when I'm tired. It's hard when my kids face difficulties I can't fix. It's hard when others tell me I'm doing it wrong. The second-most difficult thing has been medical issues I've had from time to time. I don't tolerate pain well. I am slow to recover from surgery, and I've had six of them. Ugh!

During moments of pain, weariness, distress, frustration, and heartbreak, I've often asked, "Why? Why, God? Why are you allowing this to happen?" (With quiet tears, louder ones, and all-out sobs that shake my whole body.)

I used to feel guilty for asking that. How dare I question God, right? I've heard others say we shouldn't. I've heard people facing great difficulty, sickness, or tragedy say, "I won't question God; I'll just accept His will." If they are sincere, I applaud them. If they're not, I pity them. To not cry out to God in a time of need? That's not right. That's not what He wants.

In God's Kingdom, everything happens for a reason. If we make poor choices that lead to natural consequences, those negative results can wake us up to how we are treating our bodies, how we treat others, time we are wasting, talents we are tossing aside, family and friends we are pushing away, etc. And if things happen through no fault of our own, God has a reason for allowing it to happen. It's okay to ask, 'Why, God?', but don't walk away in disgust, anger, or pain. Run to Him, cling to Him, and wait for the answer.

"Ask and it will be given to you; Seek and you will find; Knock and the door will be opened to you." God invites you to ask, to seek, to knock...to say, "What is going on? Why is this happening? What are You doing? Am I safe? Am I ever going to recover from this? What's Your plan?"

He might not answer immediately, then again, He might. Perhaps He is waiting for you to ask so He can tell you the reason, show you the next step, or provide the way out; or maybe He will ask you to wait, to trust Him for now and see what is to come. But one thing is for sure: He will answer. He will explain Himself. He will teach you something, lead you forward, prove His love, strengthen you, carry you... He will give you whatever you most need.

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" --King David, Jesus, Me


Scripture taken from Matthew 7:7; Psalm 22:1; Matthew 27:46