Finding your destiny can seem like an overwhelming task. Actually, it can seem impossible until you see yourself the way Jesus sees you.
OVERWHELMED?
Most of us have thoughts like this:
I don’t have the skills
I can’t speak well
I’m too overwhelmed
I’m too busy
I’ve made too many mistakes
I’m not good enough in God’s eyes
People will reject me
I can’t take criticism
It’s too hard
I won’t have enough help
I’m too young
I’m too old
Go ahead and fill in the blank.
HOW GOD SEEES US
But that’s not the way God sees us. We are his greatest treasure. He calls us his children for several reasons.
1. He treats us like a good father who provides for and protects his kids:
Remember the prodigal son? His father didn’t treat him like an outcast, even though he had squandered all his inheritance. The son treated his father like dirt, but the father treated him like gold. He simply waited for the son to return. His father never gave up and never stopped loving him, no matter what he did.
2. God sees us as his greatest inheritance:
Your children and grandchildren are your legacy. God sees us that way, too. He busts his buttons when he sees how much we’ve grown in our walk with Him. However, He treasures us, no matter what we’ve accomplished.
When John baptized Jesus in the Jordan, a voice came from heaven that everyone heard. Father God called Jesus His Beloved Son. Father announced this before Jesus had performed any miracles or gone to the cross. He didn’t have to earn the right to be called beloved. He was beloved because He was God’s Son. Likewise, the Father calls us beloved because we are His children.
3. The Father provided redemption:
Jesus redeemed us at the cross. We don’t need to earn the respect or love of the Father.
We’ve heard it so many times it seems trite, but Jesus died for us. Stop and feel the emotion behind that. Imagine you are drowning. Your feet can’t touch bottom. Your arms flail in desperation, and your lungs hurt every time you take a breath. Just when you sink beneath the waves and have no strength to rise once more, powerful arms of love lift you to the surface. As you cough, clinging to His chest, Jesus gently lays you on the shore, wiping the tears from your eyes.
That’s just a slight glimpse of what His resurrection power feels like. We can’t earn it. We can only receive it.
REDEMPTION IS THE BEGINNING
But redemption is only the beginning. We begin to unlock the secrets of our destiny as we explore a deeper relationship with Jesus. The more we get to know Him, the more we discover who we were created to be. Lies we have believed begin to fall away as Jesus reveals His loving nature to us.
He created each one of us with gifts designed uniquely for us. Before the world began, He created the blueprint for each person’s destiny so He could bring His kingdom to the earth. But before He unrolls our plans, He seeks to build relationship. We are not employees working for a boss, we are beloved children who will inherit all He has.
“Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:16 NIV
Put down your to do list and imagine Jesus is leading you by the still waters in Psalm 23. As you gaze into the water, see your reflection.
The more we spend time with Jesus, the more we will begin to look like Him.
“But we all, with unveiled faces, looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV
You can see yourself the way Jesus sees you.