Wow.

I've been hearing voices telling me
That I can never be what I wanna be
They're binding me with lies
Haunting me at night
And say there's nothing to believe
But somewhere in the quietness
When I'm overcome with lonliness
I hear You call my name
And like a father You are near
And as I listen I can hear You say

"You are a child of Mine
Born of My own design
And you bear the heart of life
No matter where you go
You will always know
You've been made free in Christ
You are a child of Mine."

So I listen as You tell me who I am
And who it is I'm gonna be
And I hang on every word
Knowing I have heard
I am Yours and I am free
When I have a lonely night
That is when I hear the lie
"You'll never be enough"
Though I'm giving into fear
If I listen I can hear You say

"You are a child of Mine
Born of My own design
And you bear the heart of life
No matter where you go
You will always know
You've been made free in Christ
You are a child of Mine."

-Mark Schultz

I absolutely love this song.  It's so incredibly uplifting.  Do you ever think about this?  Do you ever think about the fact that God Himself looks down at you and says, "You are a child of Mine?"  It just blows me away.  I know I say that about stuff like this all the time but it really does.  It leaves me absolutely speechless.  What do you say when the God of Heaven and Earth looks down at you and says, "You are a child of Mine?"

Me?  You want......me?  This wretched, hollow shell?  This selfish, fallen man?  You want this?  Are you sure about this, God?  Look at me!  I'm not worthy to so much as breathe in Your direction, and now you're telling me that You'll make the heavens themselves my inheritance?  That you have crowned me?  What is this??

It's hard to understand, but it's because God does not see us as we see ourselves.  I look in the mirror and frankly I hate what I see.  I see failure, I see a traitor, I see someone who isn't what he should be, I see a man (boy) who just can't get it together and who fights the nagging suspicion that he's just not going to amount to who he should be for God.  I'm sorry, God.  I'm not your man.  I can't do this. 

But God looks at us and sees something completely different.  He sees a warrior or a princess.  He sees a man or a woman who is exactly who He created them to be.  A beautiful, awe-inspiring, living testament to His glory.  And He's not about to let us back down.  No, He says, you ARE my man, and I'm going to prove it to you.  If you let me, I will transform you.  I will make you everything you were made to be and more.  I will take this shattered shell of a human and make it new. 

People thought Jesus was crazy when he picked twelve of Israel's biggest idiots to be his disciples and called them his best friends.  How on earth did this guy think he was going to accomplish anything with those twelve average joes?

And then Jesus took those twelve men, those twelve sub-par, won't-amount-to-much men and changed the world.  Those mediocre men built a church, changed a city, changed a nation, conquered the world's mightiest empire, and changed the course of history.  God called each of them out, said, "You -- you're my man." (literally).  Then he transformed them into completely unrecognizable men of God.  And He wants to do the same for all of us, if only we will allow Him, if only we will heed the call.

But Lord.....I'm so mired in sin!  I'm such a failure!  I've betrayed You!  How can You forgive me yet again?  I've broken so many promises already -- how can You take me seriously?  God knows what's on our minds and on our hearts.  That's been on my heart lately, been in my prayers in the form of a thought that haunts me all day long: How on earth can You trust me anymore?

And then the answer came:  Promise Me again.  But this time, don't promise Me to do your best from now on -- have the courage to promise Me that these things will never, ever again have any place in your life.  Forsake it.  Throw it away for good.  Stop.  Turn.  Run to Me.  Don't let the fear of letting Me down keep you from making this all-or-nothing promise.  When it gets difficult to keep that promise (and it will), promise Me that you will turn to Me and not yourself for the strength to keep it.  Promise Me. 

And so I did.  And you know something?  There is a paradoxical freedom in making a binding contract like that.  It's the freedom that comes from knowing that you are forgiven and that you will never be the same, from knowing that you need not worry about how you're going to keep your promise -- God will give you the strength as you go, because you can't do it on your own and you've admitted that.  It's the freedom that comes from knowing that it truly is in God's hands.

^{You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
-Romans 6:18}

I don't know why I get so personal on here, but for some reason when it comes to things in the area of my relationship with Christ I have no problem about ejecting my thoughts out into cyberspace.  Why?  Because I'm not ashamed of getting personal in that area.  God is doing incredible things in my heart and life right now and I want to share them with anyone who wants to listen.  So I hope that you've gotten something out of this little (long) post.  Don't forget what God sees when He looks at you.