Let’s get courage from how we belong to God in day 8 of the courage challenge. I’d also like to apologize for getting behind – traveling for my day job (and recovering from travel) took much more of my time and energy than I expected.Â
Who do we belong to?
First, let’s look at today’s verse – it’s one of my absolute favorite verses.
But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine."
“Belonging” happens to be a buzzword at my 9-5 job recently so it’s been on my mind. But as nice as it is to feel a sense of belonging at work, I need to know that I belong to God. That I am His. That He has claimed me and says, “I have called you by name.”Â
Meditating on this verse, I’m so encouraged by God’s intimate and specific knowledge of me. He knows my fears, my flaws, my failures. But He also knows my hopes, my dreams, my desires. He knows who I am and also who I will become.
And even with all this knowledge, He loves me anyway and claims me as His. Â
Belonging and courage in real life
During my travels, I saw lots of little kids traveling with their parents. Of course, it made me miss my daughter and appreciate her little hugs as soon as I got back. But one of the coolest parts of being a mom is the “yeah, she’s mine” feeling when I look at her.Â
Theologically, I know she belongs to God and He loves her more than I ever could. But I think I get a tiny glimpse of how God sees me when I look at my daughter. I will always say, “yep, she’s mine.” And she will always know, “yep, that’s my mom. She loves me.”Â
And as much courage as she has to leap off the couch and into my arms, because I’m Mom and I’ll catch her, I want to trust God with that same courage.Â
We’re studying courage through Scripture and daily life every day this month. Learn all about how to join me here.Â
