Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: Made for a Purpose—LOVED: Part I
I do love the conversation about calling/purpose, about serving, gifts, passion…coaching people to clarity. However, God has not only been doing a new thing in my own life, in this past year, He has helped me see and know that His LOVE always comes before our calling and purpose.
For myself and for many, we can give intellectual assent to the statement “God loves me.” We know what His Word says! But, our actual feelings can be very up and down…sometimes day to day…even moment by moment. And, don’t get me started on self-esteem challenges. We often refuse to believe God’s truth about ourselves (we are loved, we are made in His image, etc.). Many of us are still carrying messaging from long ago and perhaps recently about our appearance, our talents. About the value of our contributions. Some of us might have more tendency to compete or compare. We’re so attuned to the opinions of others and to defining ourselves and others by accomplishments. It’s a non-trivial challenge to rest in God and abide in His LOVE FIRST…and let everything else flow from there.
And, for me and I suspect you too, the constant working of the world around us to undermine what we believe about God’s love and our worth continues to be so very unhelpful—really detrimental.
Here’s just a sampling of recent research to that end:
“Advertisers target women's insecurities” - The Minnesota Daily
Research suggests ways to capitalize on women's vulnerable moments targeting our mood and our insecurities.[i]
Feb 27, 2023, Social Media and Body Image
Perfectly curated images on social media platforms…creates unrealistic beauty standards, leading to body dissatisfaction and low self-esteem.[ii]
In “The Top Insecurities in Women and How to Overcome Them”, a licensed clinical psychologist says
we can feel pressured to attain “perfection” (which doesn’t exist)—leaving us feeling inadequate and insecure, leading to poor self-esteem and low confidence.”[iii] We spend too much time comparing ourselves with others…thinking ourselves lacking.[iv]
Her “solutions”—like Develop your inner qualities and Keep a confidence file—leave me wanting more. They’re just a little too boot-strappy—kind of a “so, you feel bad about yourself, well suck it up!”
Take a moment to reflect:
On a piece of paper, respond to this question: On a scale of 1-10 (1 being low and 10 being high), how much do you, right now, truly believe that God loves you?
Now, respond to this: On a scale of 1-10, how much do you love yourself?
What I have both experienced and observed is that our insecurities are rooted in our lack of believing God—not trusting Him nor taking Him at His word. We hear that “God is love,” but we—perhaps due to a lifetime of the world’s messaging to the contrary--do not believe that love extends to us personally.[v]
What if—as we think about our calling and purpose--we focus on changing what we believe about God, about His unfailing love for us, His kindness and goodness toward us, His compassion and mercy for us, AND how we see ourselves? How much you and I love ourselves is DIRECTLY connected to how much we know and believe God loves us.[vi]
The phrase “unfailing love” is used 39 times in the Bible—Two are about our desire for unfailing love. ALL of the remaining 37 are speaking of God alone. NOT ONE refers to humans being unfailingly loving. God, Father-Son-Holy Spirit, is the only One capable of loving you and me with love that never fails. Love that always endures. Love that is unceasing. Here’s just a sampling--[
God’s unfailing love...leads, redeems, and delivers us; provides refuge and strength; watches over, rescues, and saves us; causes us to rejoice; God’s unfailing love enables us to not be shaken; is a source of hope for us; is great, priceless, and trustworthy; God’s unfailing love derives from God’s mercy and compassion; satisfies, comforts, preserves, and comes to us; supports us when we are “slipping,” causes us to be thankful, God’s unfailing love is intertwined with God’s complete faithfulness, and God’s unfailing love produces fruit.
In Isaiah 43 (1-7)—the prophet is talking about The Lord Our Only Savior—and says that the Lord Himself created you…formed you…redeemed you…summoned you by name. You are HIS. In verse 4, Isaiah quotes the Lord saying: you are precious and honored in my sight…I love you,…”
On your piece of paper, write the following: “I am precious and honored in God’s sight.”
And then write “God loves me completely.”]
Take a moment to take this in…Ask the Lord to help you believe these words.
You ARE precious…honored…loved…by the God who knit you together in your mother’s womb. The Isaiah 43 passage continues by saying that we are “called by God’s name” and “created by Him for His glory”. That speaks to purpose—but LOVED by God always comes FIRST.
1 John 3:1 says See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
1 John 4:13-16a tells us that He has given us His Spirit…and sent His Son to save us…And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
Most of us are so very familiar with John 3:16…what about 1 John 3:16: This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.
Did He lay down His life AFTER you did something amazing? AFTER you were born? AFTER you proved your worthiness? No.
No matter what numbers you put on your paper in answer to the two questions asked earlier, in this moment: May you know and embrace God’s GREAT and UNFAILING LOVE for you.[vii]
Continued in the next post: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: Made for a Purpose—LOVED: Part II.
Shirley Giles Davis, author of the God. Gifts. You. Your Unique Calling and Design workbook, Your Unique Design Class Guide, Your Unique Design Facilitator Guide, and Gifts-Calling-Purpose blog, is a consultant, coach, facilitator who has worked with faith-based organizations, nonprofit agencies, and leaders in a diversity of fields for over 30 years. She has also been Equipping Ministries Director at her church since 1999.
Photo © Shirley Giles Davis.
All rights reserved.
[i] Advertisers target women's insecurities - The Minnesota Daily
[ii] Feb 27, 2023, Social Media and Body Image: What's the Link? - Psych Central
[iii] https://poosh.com/the-top-insecurities-in-women-and-how-to-overcome-them/#:~:text=Beauty%20is%20by%20far%20the,all%20means%2C%20go%20for%20it.
[iv] https://poosh.com/the-top-insecurities-in-women-and-how-to-overcome-them/#:~:text=Beauty%20is%20by%20far%20the,all%20means%2C%20go%20for%20it.
[v] Adapted from God’s Affirmations for You, by Shirley Giles Davis
[vi] Adapted from God’s Affirmations for You, by Shirley Giles Davis
[vii] Adapted from God’s Affirmations for You, by Shirley Giles Davis