Recently, I found myself in unchartered territory.
While with a group of friends who were choosing between swimming in the pool or laying out on the beach, I ventured off to sit in the ocean … by myself. And I was perfectly content.
Maybe you’re thinking, “What’s the big deal??”
You see, I typically find it easier to just follow the crowd. After all, I don’t want to miss out on what everyone else is doing. Besides that, I worry immensely about what people are thinking of me.
But I knew what I wanted to do.
So I did it.
And I loved every second of it.
Having struggled with a lack of confidence in just about every area of my life for years, I couldn’t help but praise God for giving me this newfound freedom.
The journey to arrive at this point of peace involved a few things:
First, I had to recognize that I struggled with my self-worth and I had to grab a hold of truth found in Psalm 139:14-16 (MSG):
“Oh yes, You shaped me first inside, then out;
You formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank You, High God—You’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
You know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something
Like an open book, You watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before You,
The days of my life all prepared
before I’d even lived one day.”
Then, I had to trust God wholeheartedly and rest in the knowledge that He is always with me, helping me, and giving me strength. Jeremiah 17:7-8 (MSG) states:
“But blessed is the man who trusts me, God,
the woman who sticks with God.
They’re like trees replanted in Eden,
putting down roots near the rivers—
Never a worry through the hottest of summers,
never dropping a leaf,
Serene and calm through droughts,
bearing fresh fruit every season.”
Dear Friend, as we each walk through life, may this remind us all to know our intrinsic value to the Lord and to find confidence in Him.
~Joyce
