In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

I John 4:10

It’s always been interesting to me that God created us as “human beings,” not “human doings.” He loves and accepts us far more than we seem to be able to accept ourselves. Especially if we come from unaccepting homes, the tendency is to figure that we won’t be loved unless we’re able ” to do”. What a setup this is for becoming overachiever. The trouble is that all the doing doesn’t satisfy. The affirmation we receive doesn’t feel like enough, and the standards have to be constantly raised in order for us to feel valuable. We end up saying yes when we mean no. We’re terrified of conflict. We feel used, exhausted, and taken advantage of. We experience little joy in living, and we develop a severe case of ingrown eyeballs-all we can see is ourselves. What’s the way out? With God’s help, we need to pull out of our rat race and acknowledge the emptiness inside of us. Then we need to crawl into God’s lap, so to speak, and get to know how deep His love is for us. We need to find one or two friends who will accept and love us at our lowest point. Most important, we need to come to terms with the truth that we were created not primarily to do, but to be who we are-a beloved child of God.

Prayer:  Lord, thank you for your love. Because I have been loved, I can relax in the security of your love.