Psalm 36: 5-7, Titus 3: 5-7, John 1: 12-13, Deuteronomy 7: 6, Jeremiah 17: 7-8, Galations 2: 20, 1 Peter 2: 24, Luke 12: 7

Rachel Nixon

Psalm 36: 5-7 "Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens...How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings"

It's a famous Bible passage that is so poetically beautiful and a wonderfully true description of God's love. Yet sometimes how easy can it be to 'know' in
our mind that in God's eyes we are loved - It seems easy to say, yet it's so hard to really grasp not only in our minds but our hearts.. I'd like to share a
story with you.

I once knew quite well, a girl who hated pretty much everything about herself. Disliked everything about who she was and the personality she had. She hated
school. Soon after starting high school people grew to know she was the person they could laugh at, criticise and use for joke making in classes. She felt unwelcome and disliked. This soon became the norm and she quite quickly became very quiet, shy and found it hard to have conversation with anyone other than her close friends. Things got worse. Food became an issue and constant binge eating, strict dieting became the norm for her final 3 years at school. It didn't work and only left her feeling worse, both physically and spiritually. By the end of high school, she was left a paranoid, shy, nervous person. Disliked by herself and unloved by the people she most wanted to be recognised
by. Throughout all this God was quietly speaking to her, giving her strength to do things, that she couldn't have done by herself, she 'knew' God loved
her, and he existed- that was a fact, yet she still struggled. She 'knew' but didn't feel in her heart. One day God impacted her life at a moment where she
thought she had nothing to live for. God changed the girl's life and after 7 years she is learning to understand who she is in Jesus.

A disheartening story with a nice ending, you may think but that's not me? Well I think the story has something to challenge us all on. It's all about knowing, and really knowing in our hearts who we are in Jesus' eyes which is:

Totally accepted (Titus 3: 5-7: He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus
Christ our Saviour, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.)

His child (John 1: 12-13: Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God--children born not of
natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.)

Chosen (Deuteronomy 7: 6: For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be His people, His treasured possession.)

Confident (Jeremiah 17: 7-8: "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear
fruit.")

Recreated (Galations 2: 20: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.)

Righteous (1 Peter 2: 24: He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.)

And worth (Luke 12: 7: Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.)

Why not spend time this week really asking God, search for the heart knowledge of Him rather than just head knowledge. Ask God to really challenge you on those
things we hide away and try not to deal with. The girl in the story was me; don't let it take you 7 years until you finally begin to accept who you are in
Jesus. Most of all remember, however hard it is to comprehend, God does love you, more than you can ever imagine. And in His eyes you are totally accepted and totally loved.