Getting Good at Being You
Today’s truth
Luke 13:10-12 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity."
Friend to Friend
A man paid a visit to his local psychologist. When the doctor asked what had prompted the visit, the man replied, “I’m suffering from an inferiority complex!”
Man said, “I’m suffering from an inferiority complex!” For weeks, the doctor ran a battery of tests. When the results had been tabulated, the doctor called the man and asked him to come in for the diagnosis. The doctor reported, “I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that you do not have an inferiority complex. The bad news is that you really are inferior”.
Many of us are just like that man. Someone has convinced us that we are inferior! It’s been said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your permission! But many of us have allowed others to assign an identity to us that is false and untrue, an identity that has paralyzed us! That identity has become our prison.
I have great news for you today, girlfriend!
You can discover who you are!
You can understand why you are here!
You can be all that you were created to be!
God wants you to get good at being you and He illustrates this desire in the life of this woman we find in the book of Luke. Over the next few days, we will explore several truths that, when applied, will empower you to be all God meant you to be.
First step: Realize that Jesus knows you and still loves you!
Luke
Jesus knew this woman – really knew her. He looked past her pain and saw who she really was. “Woman” he said. Jesus certainly knew her name, but instead He chose to call her “woman” and speak to her whole identity. I am certain that this woman had been assigned an identity by her pain, the people around her, her own heart and Satan himself. Can you imagine just how unwanted, how alone and how unloved she must have felt? I can. She was a “nobody” to everyone but the One that really mattered. When Jesus Christ saw her, He spoke her name and she became a “somebody”!
Many of you feel just like that woman, unwanted, unloved, a “nobody”! But just as Jesus knew and loved this woman, He knows you loves you. And He is calling your name. That’s right, friend, you were created by God…for God and He wants a personal relationship with you. No one can take your place in His heart.
Our identity was established in the heart and mind of God before the world began.
Several years ago, I had an elderly friend who was frequently hospitalized for heart problems. When I got a call that Miss Becky had been admitted, I dropped everything to visit her. I knew what she loved the most – a fish sandwich and fries from McDonald’s. I know it wasn’t on her diet, but one meal out of so many wouldn’t hurt – right? I stepped up the visitor’s desk and asked where Becky Sullivan was. The woman behind the desk responded, “She’s in nuclear medicine, but you can’t go in there.” As I walked through the doors of nuclear medicine and asked the nurses where Becky Sullivan was, they responded, “She’s having some tests run down the hall but you can’t go in there”. As I walked to the room where she was having tests run, a guard the size of Goliath appeared and said, “Ma’am, no one is allowed in here.” Although I sometimes complain about being short, this time it was to my advantage! I ducked under his arms, where I came face-to-face with George Herrera, my neighbor, who just happened to be in charge of Nuclear Medicine. He invited me in, sandwich, fries and all, to visit with Miss Becky. All of a sudden, I was important. I was “somebody” because I knew the one in charge.
Before we can understand who we are, we must first understand whose we are because without God, our identity is incomplete. There is a God-shaped hole inside each one of us. We are born in desperation, innately searching for significance, driven by an undeniable need to belong.
We pursue worth in worthless places and seek validation from invalid sources. In short, our very souls ache to be chosen. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, willingly came to earth and became one of us, so that through a personal relationship with Him, we can be chosen, adopted into the family of God.
Oh, how I love that truth! Even if we were never wanted or planned by human heart and mind, we were planned and wanted in the heart and mind of God! His stubborn love displaces thoughts of rejection and banishes feelings of abandonment. We are chosen by God. And that, dear friend, is enough!
Let’s pray
Dear God, I need You to complete me. I need Your unconditional love and complete acceptance. I feel so alone and rejected. I’m so tired of feeling unworthy, unable to measure up to the people in my life. Will you please come into my life, right now? I surrender to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Now it’s your turn
- Make a list of words that describe how you see yourself.
- Make a list of words that describe how you think God sees you.
- Compare the two lists.
- Memorize Matthew
More from the girlfriends
Understanding and accepting who I am in God’s eyes has been and still is one of the greatest struggles in my life. So know that you are not alone, girlfriend. We will be praying for you and would love to hear what God is doing in your life. Blessings!
For more on this topic, see Mary’s CD, Love that Never Fails.
Originally published Monday, 05 March 2007.
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