As I sat at the table that evening with my five-year-old son, we played with every parent’s favorite toy…Play-Doh. Just like so many times before, he used all of his different tools to make various creations. First, it was a pizza. Next, it was a flower. Then, it was something that I could not recognize. He explained to me that it was a dinosaur. I couldn’t quite see it myself, but I played along anyway. I built him up with praise and admiration. Then we played a little longer before I suggested that we clean-up our mess.

As we swept up and crumbled what seemed like thousands of tiny pieces of broken Play-Doh, my son gave me his Play-Doh dinosaur as a gift. He wanted me to keep it forever. In that moment, the cheap red and green clay mound of this ancient creature became a revelation to me.

I began to think about how God sees us versus how we see ourselves. 

At times, we feel unworthy, undeserving, and inadequate. We have insecurities, doubts and worries about ourselves. We let someone down. We lose our temper. We fall short. We forget. We layer these feelings and hold on to them. The Play-Doh dinosaur reminded me that even when we cannot see our own worth, God sees us as beautiful creations made in His image. 

“Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…”
Genesis 1:26 NIV

We are His prized possession. Our feelings are not who we are. There is not a single thing that we can do that will cause Him to see us any different.

“Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-how well I know it.” 
Psalms 139:14 NLT

I love how the New Living Translation uses the word “complex” in this verse. We are indeed complex, sometimes convoluted, nuanced creatures and God knows it! He knows the mess we can be and loves us completely. When we feel like a mess, He still sees us as wonderfully made. 

It is likely my son will never realize how his messy, Play-Doh dinosaur spoke to me and I pray that it speaks to you. In the moments where we fall short, let’s cling to the good, good Father that loves us just as we are and sees us as perfect…even while He is still molding and shaping us into who we are meant to be!

“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.”
Jeremiah‬ ‭17:7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Is it just me or does it seem like the most brutal questions you’ll ask yourself start popping up about 0.5 seconds before you fall asleep?

As someone who has struggled with confidence and has confronted serious moments of self-doubt, I’m bombarded with the brutal questions fairly often. “Am I good enough? How could I mess that situation up today? How can they really love me? What if this life just goes away?” The two verses immediately before the verse above in Jeremiah mention what we sign up for when we rely too much on ourselves and put all of our trust there. 

“This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land.”
Jeremiah‬ ‭17:5-6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

A few nights ago, I was drifting to sleep and the word “confidence” popped into my head. So, I started praying to God about confidence before the questions could start showing up. Following that up with a swift Google search for scriptures on confidence, I found myself studying these verses as God started speaking to me.

He showed me that if our confidence is misplaced, our potential is stunted. And worse than that, when we put our trust in the wrong thing, we set ourselves up to live in a place of death. You see, confidence issues don’t always present themselves the way you expect them to. They can manifest in your thinking too little of yourself or even thinking too much of yourself. 

Whether it’s self-loathing or self-importance, self-degradation or self-inflation, it’s all self, really. If you don’t think you’re good enough or you think you’re too good for something, it’s all based on what you think. It’s putting your word over the Lord’s. 

Can I share one of the most freeing truths in the world if we could just grasp it? What we think about ourselves pales not only in comparison but also in importance to what God thinks and says about us! 

What God showed me is actually what confidence is centered around. Look at the word:  C-O-N-F-I-D-E-N-C-E.

The middle two letters are ID: your identity. It’s not our confidence that the enemy calls in to question, but our identity. If we base our identity on our own definitions of success or happiness, it can destroy us. And it’s not just based on who we are, but also in what we do. I’m a drummer. If I base my identity and therefore confidence in my ability as a drummer, what happens when someone better comes along? That one stings because I’ve lived it. I’ve put all of my eggs into a basket that just got tipped over. Or, what if someone is a better speaker than you? Or what if someone has this seemingly natural gift to attract friends? Or what if you’ve been serving your heart out for years on the same serve team or at work and someone comes in for what feels like 3 weeks and is thrusted into leadership?

An identity and confidence based on ourselves lashes out or shuts down. But, an identity and confidence in Christ wants to see glory go to God, not to self. A confident heart rooted in a firm foundation of identity in Christ will see people who could replace them as a reason to party, not panic. This truth can change how we serve one another. Basing our identity in how we see ourselves and what we do can crush us when we fail. God won’t fail. When we base our confidence and identity on God and His word, we will be blessed. 

We will thrive. 

“They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.”
Jeremiah‬ ‭17:8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“So now the case is closed. There remains no accusing voice of condemnation against those who are joined in life-union with Jesus, the Anointed One. For the “law” of the Spirit of life flowing through the anointing of Jesus has liberated us from the “law” of sin and death. For God achieved what the law was unable to accomplish, because the law was limited by the weakness of human nature. Yet God sent us his Son in human form to identify with human weakness. Clothed with humanity, God’s Son gave his body to be the sin-offering so that God could once and for all condemn the guilt and power of sin. So now every righteous requirement of the law can be fulfilled through the Anointed One living his life in us. And we are free to live, not according to our flesh, but by the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit!”
Romans 8:1-4 TPT 

Your repentance is valid. 

Have you ever felt a condemning voice coming against you in your life? Maybe it was the last time you lost your temper with your kids, got into a fight with your spouse, broke a promise to yourself or someone else, or went back once again to that same old vice you thought you’d finally given up. 

Your repentance is valid. 

You see, to repent is a sincere sign of remorse. But, it’s also so much more than that. It means to walk away from, to turn, to change direction completely. When you become a Christian, this repentance is validated through the life and death of Christ Jesus. When we ask for forgiveness, it is immediately extended to us by our Father in Heaven. Forgiveness from the Father moves faster than the speed of light. It’s why He’s so insistent that we be forgiving, too. 

But, even after we repent and forgiveness is fully given, we still feel...well, bad. Why is that? What is that feeling that makes us feel yet still distant from God if it’s true that He’s already forgiven us the second we thought about true repentance? We feel separated. 

Therein lies our great cosmic conundrum; the mystery of the human condition. Sin separates us from God in His holiness and Satan uses the tool of shame to drive home the point of our ineptitude and all our failures. As the enemy of our souls, he wants us to be in league with him, separated from our Heavenly Father. Luckily, God knew this is where we would find ourselves, so He left us a few reminders just in case (undoubtedly when) we forget. 

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39 NLT

Maybe it’s because I’ve always had a penchant for justice (somewhere my Mom has a photo of me on career day in Pre-K in which all the other kids were teachers, firefighters…ya’ know, great, normal jobs for a toddler to be thinking about; I was dressed up like Sandra Day O’Conner) but this verse gives me a vision of Satan and his demons like a team of attorneys with the worst losing record in history. It’s as if they spend all their time in the court of heavenly appeals, to no avail.

You see, against me, God’s child, the CASE IS CLOSED. The second you and I decided to live a life of repentance, we won. It’s like the best plea deal in the universe. As soon as we can come to the end of ourselves and realize our helpless spiritual nature without God, we can admit guilt and walk into unfettered freedom, never looking back. The thing that’s trying to condemn and shame us might as well have never happened. The record of our guilt has been expunged, wiped clean, utterly forgotten. 

The enemy has no standing. His grounds for continuation are unsubstantiated. His objections are overruled. Whatever motion to proceed he might consider filing next already has the stamp of denial on it...because JESUS. 

Best of all, God remembers this. We are the ones who forget who we are and what we’ve won in Christ Jesus. Maybe we’re more like the sheep Jesus often compared us to in Scripture than we realize - forgetful creatures that need a shepherd to guide them to safety, community, and shelter. (John 10:11-15, Matthew 18:12-14) 

I see a picture of Jesus, our Great Shepherd, telling us to turn around, repent, decide to turn the other direction from the sin that seeks to bind us. He’s warning us off, “Don’t walk back into the courtroom, child. I’ve already shown up in your place. You don’t even have to show your face here.” 

Don’t give Satan the dignity of condemning yourself when the priceless, precious, holy blood of Jesus has already covered your conviction. The sentence has been served. 

The tool of the enemy is to tempt you into sin, not to stop there, but to shame you. The very second the act is done - as soon as the fit of rage is over, right after you send the text or close your web browser, the moment the words you would give anything to take back escape your lips - he sends in the demonic forces of shame. 

“I can’t believe you did that. Who says that? What kind of ‘Christian’ are you anyway? Do you even love God? What would the people at your church say if they saw you right now? Best to not even go back. Just. Give. Up.” 

It’s a shame lie. And he does this all the time. Same story, different day. Same tool, different tactics. This lie is meant to trap you in a pattern of sin and self-loathing. But, all the while, Jesus is reminding us, with love in His eyes, that the price has been paid. Simply ask and your repentance validates your acceptance. You are free to go, child. 

As I see this picture more clearly in my mind, I envision the God of Heaven and Earth standing up from His Heavenly judge’s seat in His celestial courts turning to leave because the evidence is clear, as Satan frantically screams “Just one more thing!” But, Jesus steps between them as He joins His Heavenly Father, walking away our Victor, having won the case again. Satan is thrown out of the court and back into the bellows of hell for his contempt, where you and I will not be joining him. Case closed. 

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
Psalm 121:1-2

---

I recently came across a video clip from a well-known, widely popular news source and in the closing of this particular segment I was watching, the anchor ended with this statement;

“If you believe in one another, and if you do the right thing for yourself and your community, things will get better in this country. You don’t need help from above. It’s within us.”

As I listened to his words, I felt a pang in my chest. Seeing and hearing a statement like this broadcasting through the airwaves in our country gave such a clear representation of the cultural climate we’re living in. As I thought more about it, I realized his soundbite brought to light two things that didn’t sit well within me:

• The blatant disregard of our need for God. 

  As this particular anchor said, “We don’t need help from above,” and proceeded to point upwards, my initial thought was the scripture above from Psalm 121. As Christ-followers, we not only recognize our deep and desperate need for God, but we also place our trust in Him wholeheartedly. We depend on Him in every sense of our being. Our help actually does come from above. Not only is calling on God through prayer the lifeline of the believer, but it is blasphemy to suggest that there is any other reality. 

“And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” 
Matthew 12:32-33

The problem is, this wasn’t just a singular statement from one person’s paradigm. More and more, this is the perspective of a vast population all around the world. One of the greatest lies the enemy tries to convince us of is that we can do this alone, that we are somehow self-sufficient apart from God’s unconditional love, mercy, grace, forgiveness and provision. 

Droves of people have believed the lie that they can get through this life in their own strength and abilities and because of that, sacrificed the blessing of walking in all that God has for them. Instead of living “more-than” lives, they settle for “just enough.” But, because they don’t have an existing relationship with Jesus, many of them don’t recognize the void deep within them that only He can fill. Instead, they attempt to fill that void with anything and everything that makes them happy. 

Isn’t happiness the goal? To do what makes you, as an individual, happy and fulfilled? It doesn’t actually matter how you go about accomplishing that as long as “you do you” and follow your heart, right? That’s the second part of the lie the enemy whispers in our ear. He inundates us with messages of self-love as the pathway to true and lasting happiness. Satan suggests this is the way to “find yourself” and never have to make apologies along the way. But, that message is contrary to the one that Scripture teaches us.

Matthew 16:24 says, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’” This means that all of those selfish desires and ambitions are to be denied if they don’t edify and honor and serve Him. 

We have to be so aware of our complete and utter dependence on Jesus that everything we say and do reflects that. Even when everything we read and watch tells us otherwise, we have a responsibility to call out what is false even if it’s popular because what is popular isn’t always what’s true. 

• The thought that we alone can be the difference.

There is a belief that it is “within us,” as the broadcaster claimed in this anchor tag. You know what is actually in us? Deceitful hearts. Sinful nature. Selfish motives. None of which would bring us any closer to peace if given the chance in our own abilities. We see the chaos of the world currently all because people want to solve issues that are much bigger than themselves by themselves. It doesn’t work. 

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” 
Jeremiah 17:9

What people sometimes miss is that we are all sinners who have fallen short and who have to turn from sin daily. There is no good in us outside of God. You never arrive to a coveted level of sinlessness where you can do no wrong and the entire purpose of your existence is to serve yourself. The world preaches that you are what matters most and therefore you can do it all, have it all and be it all and you don’t need anyone else to do it. As Christians, we know that to be completely untrue and, truth be told, entirely unappealing. I don’t want to do anything apart from God. I know that when the hard times come and the darkness is suffocating, He is the one who will equip me for battle because there is no good in me. 

“For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.”
Romans 7:18

I don't’ know where you are in life right now. I don’t know what your relationship with Jesus looks like. I don’t know if you’ve fully embraced your need for Him. What I do know is that the promises of God are “yes and amen” and that the countenance of God is unchanging. 

He is for you. 

He is with you.

He is your protector.

He is your refuge.

He is your strength.

He is your peace.

He is your friend.

He is the lover of your soul. 

He knows exactly what you need when you need it and He is faithful. He has covered your past, protects your present, and has more than enough grace waiting in your future if you’ll choose Him. 

If there’s one thing I have learned in ministry that I empathize and relate to the most...it’s that a lot of us are walking around with father wounds. Not a week goes by in my role as a Connections Pastor that I don’t have a conversation with someone about depression, anxiety, relationship issues, substance abuse and more roadblocks, especially around the holidays! I’ve often found that the culprit is an unresolved and deep hurt or a complete lack of relationship with their earthly father. That lingering hurt can manifest itself in so many different ways. But, at the root of all of it, we all crave a father that loves us unconditionally. We were created to want a father to tell us he’s proud of us and to accept us even with all of our faults and shortcomings.

I can speak to this because I’m a product of divorce. My parents broke up when I was two years old, so I never was able to see a mom and dad in a loving, healthy marriage (that’s another blog for another day). I went to ten different schools, yes ten, growing up. My mom mostly raised me and my younger brother and we would see my dad about every other weekend. He was a good father, for the most part. He never abused us and was physically around most of the time. 

That’s important to note because most of us understand the ills and trauma that come from having an abusive or absent father. But, I read a book on parenting once that introduced me to a third option, “Anonymous,” and it completely shifted my thinking. While my father wasn’t abusive or absent, he was definitely anonymous. One definition of anonymous is “lacking individuality, unique character, or distinction.” My dad was there physically, but he was never there emotionally. He never said things like “I love you” or “I’m proud of you.” He never showed me how to treat a woman one day. He was truly an anonymous father. Through the years, I have learned I am not alone in having an emotionally absent dad. Many of us have grown up with these types of fathers and experienced this hurt. 

If that’s you, I have good news to share! Whether you grew up with an abusive, absent, anonymous parent or even if you had none of those and your dad was amazing, we all have access to a Heavenly Father that loves us beyond what we can fathom.

William Paul Young, the author of The Shack (amazing book on forgiveness by the way, yet another blog for another day) said the following: “My relationship, for example, with my father -- very difficult, and very painful. It took me 50 years to wipe the face of my father off of the face of God.” 

How many of us continue to do that today? We take our relationship with our father, whether good or bad, and we place his character onto the character of God. But, our earthly fathers, even the great ones, pale in comparison to our Heavenly Father. In fact, you can’t even compare them at all. The Bible says we are all evil compared to God! Jesus gave us a glimpse of this in Matthew Chapter 7. 

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:9-11

The Bible records two times where God speaks directly to Jesus in an audible voice. The first time is in Matthew 3:16-17. God says, “This is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” The second instance is recorded in Matthew 17:5 when Jesus took Peter, James and John to a mountain to speak to God. This time God says, “This is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Sound familiar? God says the exact same thing in two entirely different instances. I personally believe that these weren’t the only two times God said this to Jesus. I believe this is something He would say over and over, because that’s the kind of Father He is. He’s the kind of Father that will constantly give us these three things; acceptance (you’re my son/daughter), adoration (whom I love) and affirmation (I’m well pleased with you). 

So whether your dad was always there for you physically and emotionally, you had an absent father (which sadly applies to 1 in 4 children in our country right now), an abusive father, or anonymous father, know this: You have a Heavenly Father that loves you more than you can ever imagine. He wants to take all your pain and hurt and heal you completely. Why? So that you walk in freedom and purpose. So that you can find other hurting brothers and sisters and lead them to the only Father that can truly give us what our heart longs for.

Here’s a worship song to help you enter into God’s presence today and lean on Him to be your Heavenly Father: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHQOcUizZuQ

Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
Psalm 42:5 NIV

In this Psalm, we see the psalmist speaking directly to himself. How odd. 

The more I thought about it though, the more I realized, the psalmist is actually being his own worship leader. He is not waiting for a Sunday morning or a Wednesday night service. He’s not waiting for the “skilled musicians” to bang on the drums or let out some epic notes of praise. This psalmist is writing from a downcast place (seen in Psalm 42:6) but is reminding himself in the middle of it that God refreshes his soul and that only the Lord can satisfy. As the psalmist brings forth his lament, he also reminds himself to place his hope in God, praising him.

Worship in the secret place brought about the breakthrough that this writer in Psalms was so desperately in need of. 

There are plenty of examples of people throughout the Bible who’ve taken the initiative to become the worship leader of their own heart in a time of need. 

Paul reminds us in Thessalonians that God is worthy of praise in all circumstances. There is no better way to stir up your faith than coming before God with thankfulness. 

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thes 5:16-18 

Believe it or not, some of my greatest moments of worship leading happen in my own home. I’ll put a song on full blast and dance around with my daughter declaring the truths of redemption and revival. Or I’ll sit on my bed in the stillness of the evening crying out to God, declaring His goodness even in the stresses of life. 

So, I encourage you today to be your own worship leader!

1. Have a dance party of praise in your kitchen.

2. Sing your heart out in the car.

3. Whisper songs of remembrance at your workplace.

You are your own worship leader! You don’t need to wait for Sunday morning. Everything you need to lavish your love on God is in you. He’s waiting in the secret place to lavish His love on you. All that you need to receive from Him is an open heart.

Consider these scriptures this week and be encouraged as you take the place of worship leader in your own home! 

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. John 4:23-24

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:15-17

May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your faith in him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13 (GNT)

Hope isn’t just wishful thinking -  it’s confident expectation. I don’t know about you but I EXPECT TO SEE THE LORD MOVE this week! I believe the Kingdom of God is still advancing, no matter what happens here on election day or anywhere else. 

Remember, hope comes from the Lord - not from a political candidate, not from policy, and not from anything else for that matter! The Bible says that God is our source of hope. Therefore, I place my hope in Him alone. No matter who wins today, no matter what happens, I expect to continue to see the Kingdom of God advance!

Here are two good signs that your hope is growing in these days: 

1. You are filled with JOY. Joy comes when we delight ourselves in the presence of the Lord. To be filled with joy means it runs over. If we are filled with joy, we can’t contain it. So, others around us will notice it and even be impacted by it. The Bible tells us the joy of the Lord is our strength! Come on! If you are excited about the presence of God today, I bet your hope is growing!

2. You are filled with PEACE. Peace is the ability to rest and fellowship in the middle of a war. It has nothing to do with the absence of a battle and everything to do with trust in God in it. For believers, peace is remembering that the battle isn’t ours, but rather His! And I have good news, He’s never lost a battle. If you find yourself walking in peace during these uncertain times, I bet your hope is growing!

The Bible also tells us that hope deferred makes the heart sick. Feel sick living in days like these? There is hope. Here are three things you need to do today to get your hopes up:

1. Pray: Be honest with God about how you feel. Repent for focusing more on the problem than the Problem Solver. Then ask God, more specifically, Holy Spirit, the source of hope, to fill you with joy and peace. 

2. Worship: Begin to sing worship songs… out loud! Turn the tunes on and begin to love on God. Give Him your undivided attention and watch your hope grow. Put on a song that you love to sing to the Lord. I’m listening to “Get Your Hopes Up” by Josh Baldwin while I’m writing this. 

3. Find a scripture and meditate on it. Try to memorize it. The enemy will plant lies in your mind in an attempt to make you hopeless. The only way to combat a lie is with a truth. His word is the truth! Romans 15:13 is a pretty good one. So is Hebrews 6:19, Jeremiah 29:11, and a whole bunch more! You go take a look for yourself. 

Father, I thank you for being our source of hope today and every day! Holy Spirit, help us to get our HOPES UP, filling us with peace and joy today. No matter what happens, your kingdom shall continue to advance!