You are Accepted

Thank you to Jennifer Rothschild for today’s message:

Several years ago, my friend Lisa was going through a crafty phase and wanted to make a piece of word art for me. So, she texted this question: “If one word could become a reality in your life, what would it be?”

Girl, this took me awhile! The one word that kept coming to mind was “accepted,” but I was too embarrassed to admit that feeling accepted was what I really longed for.

I was a Christian, so I knew God accepted and loved me unconditionally. Wasn’t that already a reality in my life?

The reality was, I was afraid God accepted everyone but me.

In pondering my one word, God began to show me that I associated my performance with my acceptability.

Here’s what I (wrongly) believed: If I am good, I am acceptable. If I help people … if I am a blessing instead of a burden … well, then I am accepted. But, if I fail, blow it or mess up, then I feel like a reject — not acceptable to me, not to others and certainly not to God.

My skewed belief was I was acceptable only when I was at the top of my game or in the center of God’s will. Clearly, I had not truly embraced my identity in Christ because acceptance is what I already have.

So, I texted Lisa back with my one word that I needed to embrace and believe: accepted.

Lisa’s gift showed up in the mail a week later. It was a wooden ledge with the Scrabble letters A-C-C-E-P-T-E-D glued on it. This is a treasure to me because it is a constant reminder to see what I already have in God rather than seek it in the wrong ways and places.

Lots of us struggle with trusting the truth that we’re acceptable to and accepted by God. We are accepted not because of what we do or don’t do; we are accepted not because of how we succeed or if we’re good. We are accepted not because of who we are, but because of who God is.

God loves us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3) and to as many as receive Him, He gives the power to be sons and daughters of God (John 1:12). Talk about accepted!!

We are not only accepted “in” the beloved, we are accepted “by” the Beloved Himself!

My Scrabble word “accepted” reminds me I already have what I want. When I am feeling less than acceptable, I hold it in my hand, wrap my fingers around it and the truth it represents, and tell myself, “This is what God gave me. This is who I am.”

Can you take that truth in?

If you feel invisible, it may be because, deep down, you never really embraced the truth about yourself — that you are accepted by God, admired by Him and have His full and unconditional love.

Just like Lisa glued the word “accepted” to a Scrabble ledge for me, ask God to glue the word “accepted” to your heart so that, with every heartbeat, this truth is reinforced and becomes woven into the very fiber of your being.

Oh my friend, you are accepted by God. That is your reality.

When you accepted Christ, He accepted you. You may sometimes feel rejected, but how you feel is not who you are! You are acceptable, accepted — no exceptions!

Have a ThirtyOne-deful day!

Nobody is a Nobody

“… In the very place where they were once named Nobody, they will be named God’s Somebody.” Hosea 1:10 (The Message)

She greeted me as I entered the cafeteria on Parents’ Day, with a voice as warm and sweet as hot chocolate. Our eldest son, Clayton, was a college freshman and this was the first time we’d been back to visit him. We’d met faculty members, the dorm resident director and lots of his new friends. So, when this woman greeted me, I politely asked, “Now, tell me who you are?”

The woman hesitated. Her pause made me wonder if I had said something wrong. Maybe she wasn’t accustomed to being asked this question. Maybe, I thought, I should know who she is. I imagine she looked down and saw my white cane and realized I was blind, and that might be why she answered in such a kind tone: “Oh, Ma’am. I’m nobody. I just clean tables.”

I reached toward her and found her hand. “You are not a nobody! You are not just a table cleaner!” I told her. “My name is Jennifer. What’s yours?” She laughed and told me her name.

As I said goodbye and walked with my son to our table, I thought to myself, That woman is not a nobody! Nobody is a nobody!

And it’s true, isn’t it? Nobody is a nobody, and nobody is just a table cleaner. Or, just a mom. Or, just a clerk. Or, just a housekeeper. Or, just a teacher. Or, just an … anything! But we often find ourselves in places or seasons of life where we feel like a nobody. It can be hard to see our own value if we feel constantly overlooked, or when we associate our value with our virtue. You know, if we are good, we are worthy of being acknowledged. If we behave, we merit attention.

There was a woman who lived back in the 8th century B.C. who probably felt like a nobody. Her name was Gomer. I bet if someone asked, “Who are you?” She’d probably shrug and say, “Oh, I’m nobody.” Or, she might say, “I’m a mess. I’ve got a past I’m ashamed of. I was a prostitute. I’m nobody.”

But her answer should be, “I am not a nobody, I am Gomer. I am loved and accepted and, yes, I am prone to wander.”

Gomer had been a prostitute, but she became a prophet’s wife. Her identity changed when she said “I do” to Hosea. When you declared “I do” to Jesus, you received a new identity, too.

You became God’s somebody! When you are in Christ, you are a new creation!

You are not your current failures or your past mistakes. You are not your successes or your virtues. You are not what you do, what you did, what you haven’t done, what you should have done or what you wish you’d done. You are not what you have gone through. You are not what someone else has said about you. You are not a nobody! You are a chosen, loved woman whom God calls His beloved.

His beloved … that is who God sees when He looks at you. Can you begin to accept the you God sees?

Just like Gomer, you are a somebody — a loved, significant somebody. God chose you even when you felt like a nobody. He loved you while you were still a sinner (Romans 5:8). God didn’t choose to love you because you were some spectacular somebody. He didn’t choose to love you because you were already lovely. He loved you and, then, you became lovely. Your value comes from His inherent value.

You’re already loved, so you just need to embrace how God sees you. Yet, how do you do this … especially on those days when you feel like a nobody?

Here’s one sentence — just one little sentence — packed with big truth to help you when you feel like a nobody. Write it down, memorize it and repeat it to yourself: How I feel is not who I am.

Now, say it to yourself out loud! How I feel is not who I am! Good job! Say it over and over. How I feel is not who I am!

From one somebody to another, let’s remember the truth that we are not how we feel! We are God’s somebodies!

Today’s blog came from Jennifer Rothschild and first appeared in Encouragement for Today.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!