He Loved First

"You are precious in my sight, and important - for I have loved you, I give men in exchange for you and people in return for your life." - Isaiah 43:4

It's a shame when a really good saying becomes cliché because it seems to lose more and more of it's depth the more it is said. "God loves you," or "Jesus loves you" is a phrase that to me, unfortunately, has become cliché. We read it all the time on bumper stickers and hear it so much that we don't even stop to register what it means.

I'd like you, for this moment in time, to reread this verse and picture Jesus standing in front of you…. Maybe you're sitting down and He 's standing right in front of you with His white robe and His arms ready to hold you. You look up at Him and it's like He's reading all the sorrows and joys of your heart, like He knows you entirely just by looking into your eyes. Stare back at those eyes and listen to Him as He tells you, "you are precious in my eyes and important - for I have loved you. I love you and you're important to me, not because of anything you've done but because I created you. I loved you first without you deserving it, so it doesn't matter what you've done, however terrible, my love covers all of your faults."

It's important to really take this in and don't brush it off or rush through this because it's easy to forget who you are - first and foremost, a child of God before you are anything else. Life gets hard and so busy, remember that He loves you…You are precious to Him… and if you take this in, each day becomes easier, each struggle seems to have it's purpose, and each moment of joy becomes a treasured gift.

Today's Prayer:
Father in Heaven, I call You Father because You really are. Your love for me existed before I could even do anything to please You, and even when I do everything wrong against You. Your love for me is deeper than any love I have ever known. In my sorrow and pain, or any other time in my life, never let me forget how precious I am in Your sight. In Jesus' Name we pray, amen.