Diamonds & Pearls

  Psalm 139:14 

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

This was one of the first scriptures I would become acquainted with when I became a believer nine years ago. I remember when I heard it quoted by someone in the church it felt like I'd been jolted by electricity. It was an unusual but amazing feeling to say the least. For someone who'd not too long just come from off the streets of atheism and suffering severely from low self esteem and low self worth, my soul needed to hear that the God I was trying to get to know had put great effort into me. 

This scripture served as a continuous reminder since I would go through what seemed like a never-ending roller coaster of emotions that revolved around how I saw myself. My personal relationships were few because my lifestyle had drastically changed thus my interests had changed as well. Plus a romantic relationship had run me ragged.  I would spend many nights literally naked in front of the mirror crying to God pleading with Him to show me what He saw in me. Because I couldn't see it. I didn't feel beautiful. I didn't feel loved. I didn't feel special. I didn't feel wanted. I didn't feel worthy.

Present day; I'm here delivered from those feelings because God was relentless in His pursuit in me. He refused to let me go. He refused to let me stay in that state! If I ever feel like I'm falling into that mindset again, He snatches me up quickly! If I ever feel like that naked cold babe in Christ I once was, He covers me like a mother picking up her infant child. And it's because of these things I refuse to let Him go! My refusal to let Him go would also assist me in the back to back seasons of piercing encounters with rejection, leading me to this next scripture. 

Ezekial 16:8

Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign LORD, and you became mine.

This blog post today is a different one. It's one of sincere encouragement and uplifting.  So take it in! The love of God is not just reserved for me it's extended to you too! I want you to understand something, God does not care about where you've been, what you've done, how much you think you lack, what you think you should look like, He wants you! He wants to love you! He wants to love on you. He wants to love in you. He wants to love through you.

HE WANTS YOU!

You may be dealing with the consequences of some unfavorable decisions and it's causing you shame.  

Understand that we've all made mistakes out of the places that we were not delivered from which is why God prefers that one of the fruits of the spirit we must continue to harness and nurture is that of long-suffering/patience. Because when we do so we're able to practice compassion and forgiveness on others. Most importantly, we're able to practice compassion and forgiveness on ourselves. 

#Shooketh

You didn't know that you needed to practice these things on yourself? I look at it this way, God's word says that if you can't forgive your siblings in Him, He can't forgive you and His word also commands that you love others as you love yourself. So is it safe to assume that while you're forgiving and loving on others you should also be forgiving and loving on yourself? 

Well isn't that something? 

I don't like to give the world too much credit for anything, but one thing it is somewhat good at is introducing people to self-love. Its version may be a little perverted but the idea of it is beautiful. I honestly don't think most believers have mastered this idea. For some reason it seems as if we confuse self-sacrifice with self-neglect. 

We allow the enemy to torment us using our past selves against us which literally impedes our desire to love ourselves. In some instances, this can be the case for a select group of abused Christians in the church. I know it is in my case. 

I tolerated, put up with, and accepted so much abuse because I did not love myself or treasure myself as God loves and treasures me. The minute we fail to come to the realization that we are the diamonds and pearls of God, we will subsequently invite impostors into our lives that will take advantage and discard us like dirty rocks  OR we ourselves will become impostors. #Yikes 

Last week during bible study at my church, we were warned that there is a war against WORTH going on now and it's causing people to do so many things to be accepted into worthiness. This shouldn't be the narrative for us as believers because God created us in His image. In Him we are worthy. He crafted us in such a way that anything outside of His validation will be a mark-down.

Diamonds are beautiful because of their blemishes caused by extreme pressure and heat. Pearls are beautiful because of their lustrous exteriors that are made up of layers upon layers of coating developed around an irritant caused by bacteria. Catch that please! 

You are beautiful despite your past yet because of your past. Does that make sense? You are beautiful because of the fires and pressures of life that caused blemishes which are actually luminous and attractive to God. You are beautiful because, God was able to take the irritants of your past and turn them into gorgeous iridescent monuments of hope and triumph. 

Psalm 17:7-8

Wondrously show Your lovingkindness, O Savior of those who take refuge at Your right hand From those who rise up against them. Keep me as the apple of the eye; Hide me in the shadow of Your wings

God is beckoning you in this hour to stop running and hiding from your reflection. To stop discounting your opulence and your aura in Him. To stop trying to bury your greatness because of the mistakes of your past. He wants you to believe that you are the apple of His eye. He wants you to see yourself the way He sees you. He desires that you stop picking at yourself. To stop beating yourself up. It's those things that you hate about yourself that God loves immensely. 

Where He wants to take you, will require that your self worth and self esteem be operating at optimum levels since your next assignment will make you more visible. This is why you have to look at your reflection. All of this effort and energy to keep from seeing yourself in God's mirror by staring into the mirrors of those who hurt you or rejected you, or looking at the mirror of the world, is blocking God's hands from working on and developing your self esteem and self worth. Just like a husband-to-be pulls back the veil of his bride-to-be, so does God want to pull back the veil from over you that you may see you in Him, for yourself.