And Isaiah boldly says,

“I was found by those who did not seek me;

I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.”

But concerning Israel he says,

“All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.” (NIV)

Oh, the lovely hands of God! When I was running my fastest, trying to escape him, they were held out to me. In desperation and searching, he held them out to me. Trying to be comforted, he enfolded me in his strong, matchless love. He is always the same, never-changing God, and I love that about him. There is no guessing!

‍

Growing up, I think we’ve all felt the need to earn love. Maybe we competed with siblings or classmates, vying for attention or recognition. It might have been that special boy or girl we just had to capture the affections of.  

‍

But we always fell a bit short, didn’t we? There was always someone a little better, a bit smarter. Maybe we got an A today, but tomorrow the accolades were someone else's. Someone was a little cuter or more interesting than we were; they got the girl or the guy. Sometimes we felt a bit slighted, or we didn't quite know where we stood from day-to-day.

‍

There were even voices in our own heads, trying to convince us that we didn't measure up!  

‍

Unfortunately, in this uncertain terrain, we tried to find out who we were and what we were worth. We were tossed around by the opinions of people we thought we needed approval from. We thought we needed their admiration and their love, but then felt worthless when we didn’t receive what we thought we needed from them.

‍

Guess what? We were wrong. We never needed any of that.

‍

God watches our struggles with his arms outstretched. Patient. Waiting. Loving. Take a breath, he’s there (Ps. 46:10-11). Turn around and rest in his love (Matt. 11:28-30), his love for you (Rom. 8:34-39).

In his children’s book, You Are Special, Max Lucado tells the story of a marionette that earns grey dots from all the other puppets in his village. The grey dots mean he is ugly, plain and not talented, while the “good” marionettes earn bright yellow star stickers. Then, he meets another marionette that doesn't have any dots or stars stuck to her. When he asks why she doesn't have any stickers, she takes him to the carver that made them both. The carver explains to him that it doesn't matter how the other puppets think of him, all that matters is what the carver thinks. After all, the marionettes are all made by the same hand, who are they to judge one another?

‍

The carver tells the little plain puppet how much he is loved and how special he is to him. And then, all the grey dots lose their stickiness and fall off!  

‍

You see, when we let God’s voice be the truth in our lives, when we believe what he says about us and who we are, the stickiness of the world's judgements doesn’t stick anymore. We are free to be the people God says we are. And who does he say we are?

‍

We are more than conquerors (Rom. 8:37), free in Christ (Gal. 5:1), new creations (2 Cor. 5:17), and on and on! How about we ruminate on who HE says we are, instead of dwelling on the things the world (and possibly our own minds) screams at us.

‍

If you have asked Jesus to be your Lord, these things are your reality. Live in them today! If you haven't yet asked him to be your King, these are just the tip of the iceberg for you, promises wanting to be experienced by you, with his outstretched arms just waiting.

My loving Dad, you are never changing. Your opinion of me is steadfast, it is love. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Help me to rest in that love today. Remind me of your promises and graciousness about who I am when the world is so awfully loud. Help me to rest in your outstretched arms today and forever, every moment, Amen.