<\/p>\n
I\u2019m messed up.<\/p>\n
You are too.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We have weaknesses<\/p>\n
Secrets<\/p>\n
Scars<\/p>\n
Fears<\/p>\n
Blind spots.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
God is aware.<\/p>\n
He accepts us<\/p>\n
in the middle of all our mess.<\/p>\n
He knows us better than we know ourselves.<\/p>\n
And He loves us more than we can comprehend,<\/p>\n
So much so that He sacrificed dearly<\/p>\n
so that He could lead us out of our confusion,<\/p>\n
and into freedom and joy.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When we come to Him we are needy.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve realized we can\u2019t free ourselves from our dark tangle.<\/p>\n
With one word, one costly Word, He erases all of our past wrongs.<\/p>\n
even though we may repeat them (or already have).<\/p>\n
He releases us<\/p>\n
And then He reaches out to step alongside Him.<\/p>\n
Will we accept His strength, His love?<\/p>\n
Or will we turn away,<\/p>\n
shutting our ears to our shouting need?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It isn\u2019t easy to follow His way.<\/p>\n
It takes hard work, persistence, perseverance<\/p>\n
to shed the shackles that have long imprisoned us.<\/p>\n
But we are not alone. And we are not on our own.<\/p>\n
We do this together with Him.<\/p>\n
Guided by Him.<\/p>\n
Empowered by Him.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And the joy, the joy eclipses the pain.<\/p>\n
The joy of belonging. Of being wanted, treasured.<\/p>\n
Of understanding that we have a purpose. And make a difference.<\/p>\n
The joy of knowing, to the depth of our souls<\/p>\n
that we are loved–loved as we have always longed to be.<\/p>\n
That joy is worth everything.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Where are you?<\/p>\n
Are you just starting out?<\/p>\n
Are you stuck in a pit of your own making?<\/p>\n
Have you lost your way?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Right now, wherever you are,<\/p>\n
God is there.<\/p>\n
He knows<\/p>\n
everything.<\/p>\n
His eyes shine with a penetrating love that almost lifts you off your feet.<\/p>\n
His hand reaches out to yours.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He\u2019s made His choice.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What will yours be?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019m messed up. You are too. We have weaknesses Secrets Scars Fears Blind spots. God is aware. He accepts us in the middle of all our mess. He knows us better than we know ourselves. And He loves us more than we can comprehend, So much so that He sacrificed dearly so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[466,13],"tags":[481,6,480,14,492],"class_list":["post-2094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finding-gods-love","category-prayer-and-meditation","tag-belovedlove","tag-gods-love","tag-lydia-floren","tag-prayer-and-meditation","tag-the-choice"],"yoast_head":"\n