April 27th, 2022

What's Your Name?

Isaiah 63:12 NIV

"They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord; and you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted."

      Growing up, I struggled with having much confidence in myself. Because I wasn't as pretty as the other girls in school, or as athletically gifted as some, I was a loser, a failure, and even unloved. When I became a mom, I spent so many sleepless nights crying-not because the baby wouldn't go to sleep-but because I felt like I was a worthless mom. Like I would never be able to meet my daughter's needs because I wasn't this picture-perfect social media mom who fed her baby kale through a bottle and taught her to count to 100 before she turned one (okay that might have been too much! We don't always have to be so serious). Mentally, these thoughts left me in a world of desolation. Here's the problem with this, though. Back then, I was not only allowing other people and their worldly standards to define who I was, but I was also allowing my deceptive mind to define who I was. As a result, I felt worthless, unloved, depressed and emotionally drained because it looked like I would never be good enough for anyone. This being said, I want to present to you a better way.

      This world seems to set some pretty harsh standards for us to live by, which, may I remind you are unattainable. When we don't live up to these expectations, we call ourselves worthless, undesirable and even unworthy of love. But those are just labels we wear around like a name tag. The good news is that, like a name tag, these can be removed! These names aren't the names Jesus died to give us, and what he calls us is far more valuable than anything any human, or even ourselves can call us. We may feel lost and worthless, but Jesus calls us His Redeemed. We may feel invisible and undervalued, but Jesus calls us Sought After. We may feel empty and hopeless, but Jesus says we are a City No Longer Deserted. It doesn't matter what other people think about us, or even what our mind believes we are. What matters is what Jesus says about us. If you can train your mind to be on the same page as Jesus, vs what people say, then you will find yourself beginning to live more abundantly and joyfully in Jesus Christ.

I encourage you today to start by peeling those ugly name labels off that have clung to you so tightly, and dive into the word to see exactly what Jesus thinks about you. Then, wear those labels proudly!