Hey you, I don’t know where your mind is right now, or what’s going on in your heart. I don’t know what sins and mistakes are plaguing you, or what aches in the deepest part of your chest. I don’t know what you’re struggling with, or if you’ve almost lost all your fight.

All I want you to know is the truth—your Father loves you.

And before you shake your head, before you doubt the one truth that lives within each and every one of us, I want you to realize that God is yours. He is your master, your friend. He is your confidant, your shoulder, your refuge from whatever storms this life brings. He is your keeper, your savior. He values you, and doesn’t wish for you to live in pain any longer.

See, the truth is, you were born in His image. You were created with His plan already in mind, with His intention already woven into every thread and fabric of your being.

He knew exactly how your life would be, what you would think, the path you would take. He knew you’d fall down and be afraid sometimes; He even knew you’d fall away from Him.

But that didn’t change His love for you.

You were created as His child, as His son, His daughter. He gave His own child for you so that you wouldn’t be alone, so that the pain you’d face wouldn’t be yours to carry.

So that you’d realize there is immeasurable strength and power in His name.

But you fell away from that truth—we all do, from time to time. So I don’t want you to sit here and read this, thinking you’re too far gone. I don’t want you to believe, even for a second, that He doesn’t see you, hear you, care for you and where you’ve been. I don’t want you to get wrapped up in what you’ve done wrong or can’t do right.

Rather, I want you to see yourself through His eyes—imperfectly perfect, and loved just the same.

You have sinned, but that sin doesn’t define you. You are a being who makes mistakes, but you are not those mistakes. You are human, but that is not your identity. He is your identity.

So close your eyes, lean your head back, and understand this truth: You are not meant to walk around in your burdens, in your heartache, in your loneliness, in your failures.

Accept Him into your heart, believe that His son died for you, repent of your sins and past, and open your eyes. Become new. He is waiting.

You don’t have to earn God’s love. You don’t have to work for His praise or attention, fight to be seen, to be heard. You don’t have to run in relentless pursuit of something more. He is everything you will ever need, and He is not leaving.

I hope, in whatever you’re going through, you know you’re not alone. I hope you pray and re-center your spirit in the truths of His name. I hope you slow down, smile at your reflection, and begin to see hope rather than fear.

God loves you—this won’t change. Now stop living in this lie that you must chase, must search, must hope for the passion you’ve already received.

You don’t need to earn what has been, and will forever be yours.
 

Featured Image Credit: Rainier Ridao