“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!"
There are times in our walk with God when we are seeking a breakthrough and we have to ask ourselves some questions. As I continue to yield areas of my heart over to God, He has been faithful to provide His healing touch. I had to ask myself some difficult questions to really get to the heart of the matter.
• Why do I continue to strive to get it all right? • What motivates me to do what I do: fear or love? • What defines my worth?
Have you ever experienced reading God’s Word many times over or even heard it spoken in church and it doesn’t make an impact? Then one day the Holy Spirit brings revelation?
That happened to me while reading Galatians 1:15: “But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by His grace.” I stopped dead in my tracks and thought, What did I just read? It was as if the words had literally jumped off the page: “But when God, who set me apart from birth.” There is something about those words that just grabs at my heart! The Amplified Bible translation says, “But when He, who had chosen and set me apart (even) before I was born and had called me by His grace.”
Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I set you apart.”
And lastly, Isaiah 49:1 says, “Before I was born the Lord called me; from my birth He has made mention of my name.”
I was reading these Scriptures as if I were reading them for the first time, and the impact they made upon my heart was huge!
I continued to meditate over these verses, and I don’t think I can adequately describe to you what took place in my heart. God brought such revelation: He knew me – God set me apart from birth – before He formed me in the womb. He knew me! This means I was of great worth in His eyes, even before I had life! This same powerful truth applies to you as well!
What this truth allows us to see is that God knows you, chooses you, and sets you apart before you were even born. This reveals the great and immeasurable worth and value He has placed upon you even before you were a twinkling in your parents’ eyes. Anything you are carrying from your past or experiencing in the present that is contrary to this truth has no hold over you. He knew you! He knew me! You are of great worth. Allowing this truth to permeate any broken place in your heart or any broken moments in your life will bring healing to your heart. This truth will restore your value and your worth, and it will make the days you are living more purposeful.
What this truth also reveals is that someone else’s expectation of you does not define who you are, nor do our own perceptions of ourselves. Other people’s view of you and your own view of yourself are distorted. Regardless of our failures and circumstances, we need to see ourselves through God’s lens. He doesn’t see you as you are today – He see us whole, restored, and perfect in His eyes. The truth is that God knew me and He knew you, and that, my friend, changes everything! “You are of greater worth than many sparrows” (Luke 12:7 AMP).
Heart response: “He knew me.” Write that upon the slate of your heart and allow that truth to change the perception of who you think you are.
Lynne Bauman is a wife and mother of two. She has been involved in women’s ministries as a leader, teacher, and mentor. She is actively involved in her church, Walnut Hill Community Church, in Bethel, Connecticut.
She is passionate about encouraging women to know who they are in Christ and loves coming alongside them to share in their walk with the Lord and move forward in Him together.
You can find Lynne on Facebook at A Heart to Know Him and on Twitter @LynneBauman and her blog A Timely Word.
She is also the author of A Heart to Know Him: When All You Know to Be True Moves from Your Head to Your Heart available on Amazon.
