Beloved Child

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” – 1 John 3:1

Denise grew up feeling unloved and unwanted. Her mom was a drifter who abandoned the family when Denise was in first grade. Her father, a man already prone to rage, began to drink heavily.

He would scream at her each night when he came home drunk. He pelted her with words that might as well have been stones. Ugly. Worthless. Stupid. Unwanted. Useless.

Though Denise tried hard to please her dad, nothing was ever good enough. When she grew up, she moved to another state. She met a man she loved and married him. They had three kids together.

She and her husband attended church together. Denise even taught a Sunday School class to five-year-olds. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that God was deeply disappointed in her.

Lily, an older woman at church, took Denise under her wing. When Denise shared her fears that God felt let down, Lily said, “Your identity doesn’t come from what your earthly dad said about you. It comes from God the Father, and He sees you as His beloved child.”

Everyone carries baggage. Like Denise, it might be due to an emotionally abusive parent, or maybe it has to do with a friend’s betrayal or an addiction that you can’t seem to shake.

Waiting for someone else to set you free can be exhausting and painful. But God is eager to heal you from every hurt, wound, and heartache that you have experienced in your life.

Sometimes in the middle of your wounded place, Satan whispers the lie that God is disappointed with you. But oh, precious one, this is not true.

Just a father runs to comfort the child who scraped his knee; God is running to you. He is scooping you up in His strong Father arms and whispering, “Daddy’s here. Daddy’s here.”

It is with great tenderness and affection that God sees all your broken pieces. He doesn’t turn away in disgust or anger when He sees your wounds. Instead, He patiently begins the work of stitching you back together again. And it’s all because He loves you.

God, sometimes past wounds make it hard for me to believe who I am. Help me to remember that I am Your beloved child. In Jesus’ name, Amen.