Finding Freedom in Jesus

We can spend so much time searching for our self-worth in all the wrong places. Many of us seek it through material things or at the popular table.

Click here to listen to this devotional written and narrated by Susan Davidson.

I sat alone, tears streaming down my face, having lost sight of my friends in the crowded high-school hallway. Anxious, I waited for them to search for me, but no one came. My constant pursuit of belonging was exhausting, so I didn’t go look for them. Sitting alone was easier than trying again.

That disheartened high-school girl is now a distant memory. Gone is the girl who jumped through hoops to be accepted. No longer am I the girl who endured jokes at her expense and the pain of only being included when it fit someone else’s timetable. Gone too is the girl who sought worthiness, acceptance, and love through perfection and masking her flaws. It took me years to realize the freedom that accompanies love and acceptance, and I found it in the least expected place.

We can spend so much time searching for our self-worth in all the wrong places. Many of us seek it through material things or at the popular table. We can pursue it through the love and acceptance of people incapable of giving it. Or we can browse the pages of other people’s success stories until we have worn ourselves out trying to emulate people who God never meant us to be.

We strive for our worth in this broken world when we already have it. God created us for a purpose greater than fitting into a temporal world’s mold. Instead, our Creator designed us to live in eternity with our Heavenly Father, who embraces and loves us more than we can comprehend.

The good news is that we have a great Shepherd who loves us; we belong to His special flock.

He never stops caring for and pursuing us, even when we wander. Scripture reminds us that God never treats one person as less important than others or unworthy of His special attention. He treats us all as equals, all forever cherished. “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?” (Matthew 18:12, NIV). The realization that a holy God left the splendor of heaven to find each of us and sacrificed His life to rescue us is mind-blowing!

The enemy wants nothing more than to thwart our understanding of who we are in Jesus. His relentless pursuit to convince us we will never be adequate or worthy knows no bounds. But when we accept Jesus as our Savior, we become God’s children instantly. The Lord created us with awe-inspiring complexity and uniqueness to be His image bearers, showcasing Jesus’s love to a lost and dying world.

Years spent seeking others’ approval and believing I needed to be perfect to please God ended when the Lord healed my feelings of inadequacy. I found my worth in Jesus and look to Him for love and acceptance. I am still learning the depth of His love that accepts us even when we fall short or fail. Realizing God is forever faithful, His love is constant, and He will never leave or forsake us is life-changing.

Do you know that you can find your worth in Jesus? Have you sought unconditional love elsewhere, only to find disappointment? I invite you to lay down the weight of striving to earn your worth and live in the freedom of being who God created you to be—a cherished daughter of God.

Connect with Susan Davidson

https://ruth216girl.com/

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