Hey guys! This is my first post of a four week series called "God loves you when". It will take up all of January, and I hope you can read each week to get the full effect! If you read my first blog, I've already talked about this specific topic, but if you've read it or not I think it is important talk about again. God loves you when you feel unworthy. One of my favorite stories that Jesus tells is the parable of the lost sheep. He said if he had 100 sheep and one went astray, he would leave the 99 to save the one. Matthew 18:13 says, "And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray." In any situation, if you find yourself astray from God, you do not need to feel too ashamed to approach God again. He in fact rejoices when He finds you! In Luke 19, Jesus's actions play out the parable of the lost sheep. When Jesus passed through Jericho, he needed a place to stay, so he asked a man named Zacchaeus, known for stealing money as a tax collector, if he could stay with him. The fact that Jesus actually wanted to stay with him caused Zacchaeus to give away his money to the poor, and in verse 9 Jesus says, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost." Jesus proves that he has come to save those who are lost. Instead of calling out Zacchaeus for stealing money and ridiculing him, Jesus chose to be his friend and Jesus's presence helped him. Jesus wants to help you too! That is why God sent him. One of my new favorite verses is Hebrews 4:16 which says to approach the throne of grace with confidence. God already knows every action we commit and every thought we have, and he wants us to bring it to him so he can be our help. (A good relatable song: "Here Again" by Elevation Worship)
One more "Bible Story" I want to add in is the story of God choosing David to be king. Even the strongest Christians can struggle with not knowing if they're qualified for a certain job, whether it's something in ministry, missions, or any type of leader. The story in 1 Samuel 16 of God choosing David, the youngest son of Jesse and a shepherd, to be the next king, shows that God looks in the heart of people (verse 7) when he calls them to something. My senior year of high school I was asked to do a summer internship to be a college intern for a Christian organization. Technically, college interns were supposed to have completed a year of college to apply, but since I had done the high school internship they thought I was ready. I remember being so shocked but also excited, and the only thing holding me back was not knowing if I really was qualified. I was basically going to be the same age of the people I was leading and was afraid I wasn't going to be able to lead them well. In my interview, I told the staff how I was concerned about certain parts of the internship that I thought I wouldn't be best at (probably shouldn't do that in an interview), and I remember them telling me that all my concerns showed how much I care about the job and the people that I would be leading. They gave me the job. Like the staff members who put their faith in me, if God calls you to something, he has complete faith in you because he knows what is in your heart. Taking any type of calling seriously is good and mature, but you will always be qualified, because God is qualified. You serve a God who can turn a shepherd into a king, and likewise he will use you to strengthen his kingdom too.
I hope these verses help you whenever you feel unworthy of God's love or what he's calling you to. No matter how far away from God you go, he will always rejoice when you return. I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your week! Some of y'all might already be starting second semester, so I will pray that is going well for y'all! Next week I will talk about how God loves you even in seasons where he "takes" from you. Like always, you can subscribe by scrolling to the bottom of the homepage and entering your email to get an email of the blog each week! (It might help if you would rather read on your computer.) I'm praying for all of you!
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