Beautiful You Devotional ~ May 2021 / Volume 27

Belonging. If you are human, you crave it. To belong is our most base need because God created us for community and family. If you are wounded, you long for it, but run from it at the same time. You need it and fear it both.

I’ve spent a lifetime yearning to feel like I belonged somewhere, and most times I chose anywhere just to fill the ache in my soul. Betraying my own heart and beliefs just to fit in. There were times I even betrayed my own body to belong. Although that was my “old man”, I can still tap into the emptiness of that life of searching and compromise I lived before in order to belong.

You may be able to do the same. But then something happened in that old life. I was called by the Master. Much like Mary in the series THE CHOSEN. (You should check it out). She was demonically oppressed and possessed because of trauma and sin, but when Jesus called her by name and told her that she belonged to Him, her whole life, soul and body was redeemed and transformed!

When I first read this scripture from John 10 verse 28, that none could pluck me out of His hand, I thought, that is too good to be true. Surely my sin or wounds and how I responded to them would cause Jesus to not want to deal with me anymore.

How could I ever belong and be safe if who I was would cause Him to cast me out? Throw me aside or give up on me? I constantly feared that and even now, that fear tries to tempt me. But knowing that His Word abides forever even when all else falls apart, that is where I put my trust. His Word guarantees my belonging. Just look:

Isaiah 43:1-….“Fear not, for I have ; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.”

Romans 8:15- For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

Romans 8: 38-39- “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Isaiah 49: 15-16 “Can a woman forget her nursing child,
And not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Surely they may forget,
Yet I will not forget you.
See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands”…

There are hundreds more beautiful promises in God’s Word that declare and assure that I am His child forever and I belong to Him. Once I realized that My Father would never let me go or abandon me, it brought such healing to my soul. He wasn’t going to use me and throw me away or manipulate me into doing what he wanted.

He is all for MY good. He has MY best interests at heart. When I know this, it changes how I interact with people. I don’t have to be afraid or ashamed of who I am anymore! If God Almighty accepts me and demonstrates His love, then the deep yearning I had before to be accepted by others is dispelled by His immense acceptance and longing for me!

Not only do I trust and believe in His love, but He demonstrates it daily and ultimately in the death of His only Son, Jesus. I still can’t comprehend it all, but what has been revealed by the Holy Spirit, has brought healing to my soul and continues to heal and make me whole!

Journal entries from my healing journey

Don’t be afraid. There’s so much you don’t understand now, but you will later. There’s nothing or no one to fear. You have so many questions and are frustrated and fearful because you can’t find the answers. You’ll never find answers in this natural life. Don’t you realize nothing natural can explain this beautiful life with Jesus! There are no natural words that will ever do. He loves you. He’s Father, Lord, Friend, Jesus and He loves you so! Look to Jesus only. There’s no other truth that exists. When you see Him in His Word or as the Holy Spirit reveals Him, you’ll have all the answers you need for all things. He’s everything. He’s all in all!

Here are your steps for this week. These will be an exercise in self-awareness. 1 John 1:8-10 invites us to a place of confession. To deny we have sinned, is futile because God knows our hearts and our lives.

Like I’ve said before, healing is hard and even harder when we are face to face with the ways we’ve allowed our thirst for belonging to compromise what we know to be righteous. However, there is no fear in the light because Jesus has invited us into the light (John 3: 20-21).

STEP #1- Find a private space and begin to dialogue with the Lord about your struggle with belonging. He knows anyway so ask Him to show you if there are any ways you have betrayed yourself or Him in order to belong. You can write those in your journal if you feel inclined.

STEP #2- Sit with this knowledge, whatever He shows you, and allow the sting of it to impact your heart. I know this is difficult, but it’s necessary to understand the impact your choices have had on your life, heart and relationships.

STEP #3- Repent of these sins and if you have a trusted friend you want to share them with and pray over you, that is a great step to take. But if not, you can sit with the Lord and allow His love to wash over you, receive His forgiveness and inquire of Him about how to move forward.

Healing may come in a one time encounter with God. He is absolutely able and willing. Yet, in my experience, God is a seed planter and gardener who tends to the field of my heart and life within a process of time. He knows what we can deal with and will steward our hearts toward healing as He sees fit. I love this about Him!

[DISCLAIMER: I am not a licensed counselor or therapist of any kind nor is this devotional an attempt to provide those services. The contents and suggestions in this devotional are results of my own personal experience with these issues and are not meant to be professional advice or therapy. This devotional is not a substitute or replacement for regular therapy or the use of mental health resources. If the content here causes triggers, please see your regular mental health professional. Any content applied to your life along with any consequences is of your own volition.]

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