He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. (Ephesians 1:4)
I am so thankful I don’t have to pretend to be someone I am not with God. He wants each one of us to have an authentic relationship with Him, knowing that He sees the real us — our thoughts and the intentions of our hearts — and loves and accepts us as we are.
When I first became a Christian and joined my church, I had no idea what organized religion was like or what was expected of me. I was passionate but did not understand God’s protocols. After being in church for some time, I was called into ministry. As I started to take on more of a role in the church, I tried to be like other women in ministry.
One day the Lord spoke to me with a still small voice and said, “I desire an authentic relationship with you. Do not come into my presence with pretense. You cannot build an authentic relationship with me unless you come to me genuinely. Do not try to change who you are. I knew who you were when I called you.”
Those words changed my life and my perspective of God. It wasn’t that God did not expect me to grow into a mature Christian or take off my old ways. He wanted me to be the new creation He created me to be, genuinely as myself.
Hebrews 13:7 says,
Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.
We are supposed to imitate the faith of those who lead us and have obtained the promises of God. However, this does not mean we are to try to copy them in their lives and personalities or anybody else we think has a better life than we do.
If God wanted everyone to be alike, look alike, and sound alike, He could have easily created us that way.
But He chose instead to make each one of us as unique as our fingerprints.
Romans 12:4-5 says:
For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
When I realized I did not have to be like other women and that in fact, God did not want me to, I gained the freedom to grow into the authentic representation of Christ as the woman God called me to be.
In my book A Call To God’s Daughters to Step Into His L.A.B., we see that Boaz chose Ruth because of who she was, not in spite of who she was.
He knew about her past and he knew they had cultural differences, but he did not let those things distract him from getting to know Ruth’s heart.
He looked at the covenant she entered with her mother-in-law and the Lord. He saw her as God saw her: a beautiful Moabite woman worthy of love and acceptance.
When Ruth asked Boaz why he favored her, he answered her with these words:
It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge. (Ruth 2:10–12)
When Boaz looked at Ruth, he saw a woman with a heart for God. Boaz recognized that God, knowing full well that she was a Moabite, had accepted and favored Ruth.
God did not hold Ruth’s cultural and racial background against her, nor did He hold the idolatry of her past against her. The Lord saw a heart that was willing to leave behind all she had and all she knew to follow Him and care for her mother-in-law.
God looks you and me in this same way. He knows your history and your cultural background. He knows your worldly traditions and your weaknesses. He knows the things you are holding on to and going through right now.
He chose you before you were born. He loved you and accepted you before you ever knew Him. Not in spite of who you are, but because of who you are in Him.
Beloved, never be ashamed of your past, who you are, or what you’re going through. Be confident in who God called you to be. Other women need you to be. This is the heart of the Father toward you.
The Lord uses all of your experiences to mold you into the one He created you to be so that you can be a witness to other women in your generation. So others can relate to you and feel at ease being transparent with you and you can have compassion for them because you can relate to them. So you can lead others who are standing where you’ve been — out of darkness and into God’s light.
This Thanksgiving be thankful for the ones who chose you, be present with them and enjoy them.
If you’ve experienced rejection because of who you are or who someone told you are not if you’ve ever been told you’re not enough or that you’re too much don’t hold it against the ones who rejected you. Set your heart to forgive them. Know that God has people who will accept you and receive you as you are.
P.S. Don’t forget ticket prices for the Called Conference go up December 1, so get your ticket to today and get one for a girlfriend who needs to know how much she is loved and accepted by the God who saw her and called her and chose her.
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