Posts Tagged: daughter of the King
Validation
Recently I had pictures a friend took pictures of me. As I was looking at these pictures, I started to pick apart everything I did not like about my body. And it spiraled from there. I did not see the joy on my face from twirling around in my bright yellow dress that billowed out. And I did not see my pretty blue eyes that were passed down from generations before me. I did not see the passion I have to serve others.
I posted a few of the pictures on Facebook. I had encouraging comments made by friends. These comments lifted my self esteem for the time being.
Late on when I was texting a friend, I was reminded I am a daughter of the King. And what He says about me is more important than what I think of myself or what others think of me. We should be going to our Creator first instead of others. And I need to rest in what He says about me. Because He knows everything about me including all my flaws. And if my Creator who sees everything about me still loves me and thinks I am beautiful, how can it get better than that!
While getting encouragement from others is not wrong, it is wrong when I look for validation in people rather than my Creator. Most of the time when we have these moments, it is Satan’s distraction to our purpose that we were created for. If Satan can distract us with thinking about what is wrong with us rather than about our purpose, then Satan has us right where he wants us. Because it is saying that when God created us it was not good enough. Reality is when God created us, He created us exactly how He wants us to be.
God made you for a specific purpose and with out you in this world there would be a piece missing in God’s plan. Some days I think God looks at the world as a puzzle and we are all piece in that puzzle. Each piece of puzzle serves a purpose in a puzzle. So if we do not fulfill the purpose we are created for then a piece will be missing in God’s masterpiece. Let’s celebrate who God created us to be!! And find our identity in our Creator and not in other people.
Photo credit goes to Jennifer Weaver.
Words
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” – The Christian Recorder of March 1862
I remember hearing this saying as a child and I am sure I used it several times myself. But as an adult, I started to think about the meaning and the implication of this saying. Reality is that words can hurt and can be painful. And once said they can not be unsaid.
This week there was a wildfire in Gatlinburg, Tennessee that destroyed many acres of forest, homes and businesses. There was a lot of damage done by this fire and the damage will take a long time to clean up from. While fire is something that can be so beautiful it can be so devastating also. I liken this to our words we say. Words can be used to encourage and build up others or ourselves. But they can also be used to tear down and hurt others. And if words are used to tear down and hurt others, the affects can be there for many years. Sometimes we replay those words ourselves and we still hear them many years later. In many cases healing can take many years. James talks about this very thing.
“A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it! It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue—it’s never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth!” – James 3:3-10
When speaking to others, we should be speak with purpose. This purpose would be to speak in love to others and to point others to our Father.
God thoughts
Ever wonder what God’s thoughts are when He is creating the world? Well I did a little while ago on the way to work. It went like this. “I am going to create to give this woman a compassion for others. So one day she can use that compassion to help those in need and she is going to make an amazing mom. She is going to resilient so she can have the courage to make it through the craziness life sends her way. And I am going to give her a love for football to distress.”
“I am going to place this creek here. Because without it here there would not be enough of water in the area to provide for all the animals and the plants. And this is going to provide a peaceful place for one of my created beings to find rest.”
“I am going to give this dog a desire to protect those he loves but also is gentle with a child. And he is going to love chewing on wood and dig holes for fun!”
“With this man, he is going to love compute numbers and design things. So he can create a bridge that is safe to drive over in his community. And he is going to be silly and goofy so when his little girl wants him to dance; he does it and he doesn’t care how he looks. He just wants to make her happy in that moment!”
“I can’t wait to paint the sunset because I know it’s Marilyn’s favorite time of the day! And it’s her reminder that I love her.”
“This tree is going to be a home for animals but I am going to add these beautiful flowers that are pink with a white center. So someone can come along and enjoy the beauty of this tree in the busyness of life.”
“I am going to put this colorful rainbow in the sky so my daughter and son can smile and find joy in the midst of life’s roughest moments. It is my reminder to them of my promises and that I am sovereign over all on this earth.”
I could go on and on with this and it is fun to think what God’s thoughts might be. It amazes me that God’s creative inspiration doesn’t run dry. Each person, animal, plant, snowflake, sunrise, etc are all different. There is no two created beings or things exactly the same! This thought alone blows my mind let alone the other amazing things God does!
But I also know another thing He created was a redemption plan for mankind. When we deserved spiritual death, God sent Jesus to take our sins so that we may have eternal life and freedom! And all we have to do is accept this gift.
Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”
Marilyn
I took this picture last week while I was on vacation in Cottonwood, Arizona.
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