There are things we know about God—truths we can hear our entire lives long—yet still find hard to internalize, to believe with our hearts.
Both the people of Nineveh and dear Martha struggled to allow their knowledge of God seep from their heads down into their hearts. Both required admonishment and some sharp words of wisdom to jolt them out of their everyday shortsightedness and look more closely at the attributes of God they'd been missing. (Jonah 3:10, Luke 10:41)
We often find ourselves in this same rut—especially when the demands of the world or the burden of sin blind us to the presence of Jesus right in front of us.
Like Martha, we are anxious about many things—but they're usually not the ones that carry eternal impact.
Like the Ninevites, we can admit that sin is bad, but we'd rather not admit when we're at fault; we become trapped in the lie that if we sin, then we at our root, must be bad, too.
And so we hide. Because from the Garden of Eden to the present day, we think that our sin is too big for God to overcome. We think that He will not want to forgive us.
But God has a different message that He wants us to not just hear, but internalize and believe.
You are good, daughter, He reminds us. You are very, very good.
He can't make bad things. And when He created you, He beheld His work with delight and called it—called you—good.
Sin can't change that we were created good and meant to be good. Ever.
But sin, big and small, does drag us away from the fullness of love that of our all-loving, all-knowing Creator wants to lavish upon us.
Unchecked anxiety about the things of the world, big and small, keep us distant from God's peace and grace.
Don't let Satan convince you any longer to hold on to the sin and pain that deflect the rays of God's love. He wants you to ignore that you were created for happiness in Heaven, and he doesn't want you to serve God, following in his fallen steps.
Run, don't walk, to the nearest confessional and lay it all at the feet of Jesus. Then sit in His presence as He reminds you of your infinite worth in Him. His forgiveness and consuming love know no bounds, and He literally died that we might know how ardently He desires to be united in love with us.
Open your eyes and your heart to Him today. He's waiting to show you personally, sister, how dearly He cherishes you.
Megan Hjelmstad is a wife, mom, writer and sometimes soldier whose real passion is equal parts faith and chocolate. You can find out more about her here.
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