Beautiful

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. -Psalm 40:2 (NIV)

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. -1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)

It’s easy to let everyday life in this world weigh us down and wear us down.

It’s easy to take on the burdens of work–or lack of work–and home life and all our other demands on your shoulders. It can be so great that you can hardly breathe or move. It can be so great that it drains your energy and spirit to the point of sluggishness and resignation.

It’s easy to believe the lies about who we are, to believe we’re our mistakes. It’s easy to let the dirt of slander, abuse, and sin cake on us, like layers of mud and dirt.

But beneath all that is the light of God’s love that shines in you…and the lightness of His yoke.

What’s easier than all the things we take on as we lose focus on God is the yoke of Christ. The second we feel the burden of pain and sin, or God’s light we reflect being obscured by dirt and shame, it’s time to get on our knees and surrender all of it to God.

You may think you don’t have time…that you need to keep pressing on…but without refocusing on Him and His priorities for you, you will fail alone. And the enemy may even fool you into thinking God hasn’t been with you!

God made in you a beautiful creation He so loved that He died for you! We get farther and farther away from it as we press on our own mistaken paths in our own strength. I implore you to stop and remember the blessed creation He made in you, and to let Him transport all of your burdens so that you may walk with Him in the light–and with the lightness and peace of His yoke. When we remember how God sees us, every burden and pain falls away to reveal the value and beauty He put in us.

Today’s soundtrack

MercyMe’s “Beautiful” reminds us that we are His beautiful works, made for more than what we’re going through now.