39. KNOWN. LOVED. From the Inside Out.

He sees you from the inside out, not from the outside in.

“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.
Isaiah 42:1

I am grateful that our Father in heaven truly sees us. In the line of work that I do, I often see surprise or judgement in people’s faces when they see that I look ‘foreign’, after previously speaking to me on the phone and not noticing a ‘foreign accent’. Their image of me in their head was different, which in itself is not a problem. It becomes a problem when that difference causes them to feel uneasy or suspicious or makes them feel the need to carry out a not-so-subtle interrogation of my history, background, and qualifications.

I find myself feeling the need to over-perform or go to conscious efforts to prove my worth and skill to overcome their prejudice. I am qualified and competent – why now, after seeing my brown skin, do you feel the need to question that? It is a hollow victory when I win them over. Because it should not have been necessary, particularly when there was no issue during telephone interactions, with my nice neutral accent. Why are we so afraid of ‘different’? Of ‘other’?

Praise God! The Lord of lords and God who reigns over all, sees me. He does not judge me based on my colour or how I look. He does not form perceptions based on previous prejudices. He sees me for who I am. Plain and simple. Good and bad. But fairly. He sees the truth of who I am. More than I can even see myself!

The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17

It brings me great comfort and joy to know that I am seen, worthy and loved. It gives me a deep sense of peace, despite the white noise. Our human prejudices and ignorant biases, are indications of the flawed and imperfect beings we are. They are sad characteristics which unfortunately can make people’s mindsets more narrow and less open to the richness of life’s variety. Prejudices and wary suspicion and cynicism of ‘difference’ makes people risk missing out on truly experiencing rich depth of culture, intriguing viewpoints and discussion, and overflowing wealth of skills, gifts, talents, arts, and creative thinking which the people of the world have to offer.

I know I am a daughter of the most high King. I know am loved deeply and unconditionally, as I am. Admittedly, people’s prejudices can be a nuisance and may get me down a bit or frustrated, on a bad day. But ultimately, these untrue perceptions do not change the essence of who I am. They do not define me. I know who I am. I know Whose I am.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
1 John 3:1

Do you know who you are? Are you easily swayed and impacted by people’s fickle perceptions of your worth and how they choose to see you? Or do you truly know who you are? To discover who you are, you need to delve into learning about Whose you are. When you seek out God and learn about your Heavenly Father and what He says about you, who He calls you to be and who He knows you to be, then you will be truly rooted and secure. Be rooted in faith. Be rooted in the knowledge that you are a child of God.

Come as you are.

Flawed. Gifted. Unique. Imperfect, but perfectly you. He delights in you. He adores you. He makes His face to shine upon you. You are His. He cherishes you and you are UTTERLY loved by Him. Nothing you could ever do would change that fact. Nothing they could ever think could change that fact. Be filled with joy knowing that you are unconditionally loved and worthy, as YOU!❤️

The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.
Jeremiah 31:3

Love, Abbie x