You Are Spoken For

Let that sink in. God is after you. He wants you. Yes, you the perfectionist, the shy one, the one who struggles with anxiety, who is ashamed of your past, who has messed up too many times to count. You, who loses his temper, the doubter, the lover of things, the one who does things in secret that you would never tell anyone about, the one who has had things done to you that has left you feeling helpless, hopeless and undesirable. HE WANTS YOU. ALL OF YOU. He sees you as you are- everything- past, present and future- and wants you. And not only does He want you, but He has given everything up to have you. Desire shown in action love. He is calling your name. He is holding His arms open to you, eyes on you, heart beating for you.

God’s way of pursuing us is by patiently drawing us to Himself. His love letter is laced together with beautiful, soul-stirring evidence that we humans are the object of his affection. He wants us to be his. You think that since you deserve to be punished for something you did that you know broke God’s heart, His response to you should be the same as what a human’s response would be – vengeance, shunning, disgust, anger. But that isn’t how He treats us. Never has been, never will be. The consequences are always there for our choices but God’s arms are always open as He waits for us to return to Him. James 4:8, promises us that if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us.

As believers, we grow up hearing of how much the Lord loves us. We sing the songs at church, we read the verses. We know we are loved. And yet, how many of us actually believe it? Actually let it penetrate our lives, sink into our hearts and change us? How many of us live differently in light of that truth? But it’s one thing to be loved, and another to need that love; to put our hope, fulfillment and identity in their love. People will let us down. They can’t love us unconditionally as Jesus does because we’re imperfect people. We’re all learning what love looks like- and we can only fully know by looking at our Savior.

We have been called out of this world and its value system and invited in to God’s eternal kingdom. We belong to the One who made us, loves us, and knows what’s best for us. That’s why we will only be happy when we fix our hope and affections on his kingdom and all that is eternal. Many times being called involves a deliberate action on our part in which we step away from whatever is holding us back from knowing him more fully. He has called us out of darkness and into light (1 Peter 2:9).

My value is not based on what I do or offer, but it’s based on who He says I am. It’s based on the mere fact that I am an image bearer of Christ. I am His daughter, His bride, His chosen one. My value is based on Jesus. And I am priceless to Him. When we see that our value and worth come from Him alone, we are set free. No longer do we become devastated when things that we do aren’t perfect, or when we have seasons where we have to cut back and not do as much. We don’t have to earn anyone’s favor or approval. We don’t have to fear what others think of us, or try to prove ourselves. We are set free- set free to be who God created us to be. You are of great value. Worthy. Priceless. Whenever you doubt your worth, look to the cross, where Jesus died for you. What else shows you how much He treasures you!? He died for you, sacrificed His Son for you, gave up His life for you because you were worth it.

We aren’t of any great use to God. He can do whatever he wants; he doesn’t need us to be puppets, servants, or envoys to do his work for him. The only way anything happens for his kingdom is when he gives us the power and invites us to come alongside him and to be part of what he is already doing. God can use us, and he does all the time. But in and of ourselves we aren’t of any great use to God. However, we are of great value to him. Being of great value is different from being of great use.

Written By Robin Jones Gunn