Tag Archives: Anxiety

Invested

Oh, how blessed I am.

This has been a focus of my heart lately. I keep getting hit with such great realizations of how deeply I am loved by God. And the funny thing is, the times when I’m reminded of this the most are the times I’m feeling the least worthy of that love. It’s when I’m convicted of my sinfulness that I’m also reminded of His kindness towards me.

There’s so much selfishness in me, and bitterness, and pride. My decisions are often shaped by love for myself before love for others and for God. And yet, over and over again I find God seeking me out and walking alongside me. He’s faithful to me and patient with me, because He loves me.

I become aware of this truth when I see the amazing people and circumstances He’s blessed me with.

Or when He sits beside me through a hard situation, offering me the peace and strength that I would never find on my own.

Or when I look back in my life and see the connections between what God was doing in me then and what He’s calling me to now…when His purpose for me becomes just a little clearer.

Most of all, I recognize God’s desire for me when I read His Word. Whenever I feel him actively drawing my attention to the specific truth that I need in that exact moment, I see His consideration for me.

After all, if He didn’t love me, He wouldn’t bother to teach me in such a gently convicting way. But instead, God’s love is evidenced for me in the ways He intentionally grows me, challenges me, and pursues me. He is truly invested in me – how incredible is that?

But this is not just true in my life; God’s deep, inexhaustible love is for every single one of us. God has a purpose for each of us, if we will let Him work in our lives.

God desires you and is invested in you, and He has a good plan designed for you – do you believe that?

It can be hard at times to let this truth really take hold in our lives. We may feel worthless and unloved, anxious at the future, condemned by our sin, or held back by self-centered pride. Sometimes I lose my sense of joy at what God is doing, especially during the routine moments in my life. But regardless of where our hearts are, God is still our Father, and He is still full of love for us.

When we feel unworthy or unloved by others, we can remember that the holy, all-knowing God knows us fully and loves us fully. He took care to form us in the womb; He knew us before we were ever born. And He knows just who He wants us to become.

When we aren’t sure what’s next in our future, and we’re afraid of making a mistake, we can remember that God has a plan in store for us. He has set out good works for us to do and He will guide our paths; we must simply trust and submit to His will.

When we feel weighed down and controlled by our sin, we can remember that we’re forgiven and loved. Jesus knew every sin we’d ever commit, and He died for us anyway. He’s invested in us enough to not only give us eternal salvation, but to also give the daily grace and power we need to resist temptation and grow in godly character.

And when we fall into the trap of self-righteousness, we can remember the humbling truth that nothing we could ever do would make us worthy of God’s love. It is only because it’s in His very nature to love that we’re loved by Him. He loves each of us – not because of who we are, but because of who He is. And He commands us to cast aside our pride and to love others as unflinchingly as we’ve been loved.

When it’s hard for you to feel God’s love, I encourage you – and myself, while I’m at it – to think back on all the times God’s worked in your life (and to remember that He’s at work even when we don’t recognize it).

Any time He’s protected you from harm, given you the strength to endure a hard time, revealed His character to you through Scripture, blessed you with good, encouraging friends, or convicted you of sin – this is evidence of His love for you! This is proof that He looks at you with fatherly affection, and that He is invested in you.

So walk through today with the confidence of someone that is known and loved by God. Know that God is for you and not against you, and that He has a plan for you.

Related Scripture

Numbers 6:24-26

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.”

Psalm 31:19

“How great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You, which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You, before the sons of men!”

Psalm 34:8

“O taste and see that the Lord is good, how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.”

Psalm 56:9

“…This I know, that God is for me.”

Isaiah 54:10

“‘For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, and My covenant of peace will not be shaken,’ says the Lord who has compassion on you.”

Jeremiah 1:5

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…”

Jeremiah 29:11

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a hope and a future.’”

Matthew 6:26

“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?”

Romans 8:28

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Romans 8:38-39

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us form the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Ephesians 2:4-7

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

Ephesians 2:10

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

1 John 4:19

“We love, because He first loved us.”

Jeremiah 17

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit. (Jeremiah 17:7-8)

The tree described in these verses, which has been planted by a stream of water, has no reason to fear when outside circumstances get difficult. Despite the drought and heat, this tree still has access to what it needs not just to survive, but to thrive. Its leaves are green and healthy, and it doesn’t stop bearing fruit.

In the same way, when we take our root in God, deriving nourishment from and relying completely on Him, we have nothing to fear. During periods of dryness and insecurity, when we’re just trying to make it through, we can still thrive. Even when growth is slow or invisible, if we place our security in God and act faithfully to Him He will certainly work in our lives, yielding fruit from our trusting obedience.

It’s important to note that the tree planted by the water does not avoid the years of heat and drought; rather, it continues to exist in a threatening environment. But because it has abundant access to water, it has no reason to wilt or to become stagnant. This is vital for us to recognize: putting our trust in God is by no means a shortcut to avoid all the pain in the world. We still live in a broken, earthly environment, and we will face hardships that threaten to overturn our peace. But, when our hope is where it should be – in the God who is our life, our nourishment, our refreshment – we have no cause for despair. The weight of our crises is nothing but a fraction of the abundant power of our God.

Seasons of drought will come, but they don’t have to shake us. I believe that God can cause us to grow in spite of, and often because of, these times of insecurity. So, we can rest assured that all we need to survive – and to thrive – is found in the hands of our God.

Related Scripture

Isaiah 41:10

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

Isaiah 43:1-2

“But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you.”

Psalm 9:10

“And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.”

Psalm 56:8-11

“You have taken account of my wanderings; put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call; this I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

Psalm 112:7-8

“He will not fear evil tidings; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is upheld, he will not fear, until he looks with satisfaction on his adversaries.”

Nahum 1:7

“The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him.”

Matthew 6:26-27

“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?”

John 16:33

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Romans 8:18

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

Romans 8:37-39

“But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Philippians 4:6-7

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:19

“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”