Good morning Drawing Near Community! Today on my making space for God Monday, I am addressing the subject of significance and success. Let’s start out together agreeing that we cannot measure our success or significance by how many likes we get on Facebook or Instagram. But if I had to guess, many do. Everyone likes to see a smiley face or heart or thumbs up. This week I observed a child commenting on how they did not get many likes on a picture they posted and I could hear underneath her word: “Guess nobody likes me, or cares, or I am not that special.”
It may not be social media that causes us to feel “less than” but at times in our lives we feel that way. So what do we do about it as believers? How does being a Christian impact our self image? I’m glad you asked! Being a Christ follower should give us a sense of purpose, identity and love as a child of God. But too often the world pulls harder at us and our views and perspectives are lost in a sea of lies. The way back to shore is to find our rudder and allow God’s Word to speak louder to our souls than what others say. And the key to that is to dive deep into Scripture. God’s Word still speaks to us today and the main theme is the love of God and how you are His magnificent creation; His very best creation and that in His eyes you are beautifully, fearfully and wonderfully made in His image.
Three of my grandchildren took sailing lessons this summer. I love the weeks that they are here with me learning to appreciate the coast (some of them live inland) and learning to navigate the sailboats. This is a picture of our relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. The Father sent His very best– His only Son to live on earth and show us the way. He sent His Holy Spirit to lead, guide and speak truth to us. He is our “rudder” and we must learn to allow Him to hoist the sails of our lives and guide us to shore. He is the one who leans over into the wind as we sail and whispers truth in our ears. Don’t go that way, it’s dangerous. Look at the beauty of the ocean. Watch for objects in the water that could obstruct your path. Keep to the left… He leads us safely to shore and all the while He is telling us who we are; speaking destiny into our hearts and blowing wind of purpose into the sails.
It may not be Facebook or Twitter, or Instagram that threatens to destroy your self image. It may be you. Yes, you! You may be speaking lies about yourself to yourself. It’s time to break any agreements you have made that you are insignificant because the truth is that you are more than significant. You are a child of the king of kings! So hoist your sails! Place the rudder into the hands of Jesus and allow His Holy Spirit to guide and direct you and especially listen for the whisper of His voice as He reminds you of who you really are. With time, His voice will grow louder than the voices of the world or even yourself. And when that happens… you will find great pleasure sailing with the wind behind you and the SON on your face. Freedom!
