No, you’re not THAT important; you’re THIS important.
“Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.” Luke 15:6b
As a fourth-grade class, we were standing in line at the door waiting to be dismissed for the day. I had an intentionally glum expression on my face, and, from twelve feet away, my teacher noticed and asked me about it. I didn’t know what I was doing then but know now that I was doling out emotional blackmail. I said, “I haven’t won anything from our prize box yet.”
Shortly thereafter, of course, I did get to the prize box. I do not remember what I took from the enclosed cardboard treasury. Instead, what I remember to this day is what I felt in the line. Unappreciated. Undervalued. Average.
We all feel overlooked sometimes. We are just a number. Somebody else wins, or, when we do stand in front of the prize box on that very rare occasion, big whoop. We buy into the everyday grind, where, like my fourth-grade class, we wait for some doorkeeper to dismiss us into another part of our lives. Ho hum. Nothing special. Nothing great. Just another day.
But that is not how God sees us. He REJOICES over us. Zephaniah 3:17 says, “For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”
Calming all our fears? Piping out joyful songs? This tells me you’re pretty special. In fact, you’re awesome-ly special. This is the deal we need to be reminded of when we think like the fourth grader I was: the LORD our God is living among us and does rejoice when we are found after we’ve strayed in thought or in action. The LORD our God is the prize to seek at the treasure chest.
God is with you, and God rejoices over you. Know how important you are with this focus: you are not average important; you are incredibly, beautifully, and magnificently important.
PRAYER: Lord, remind me again (or flat out show me) how important I am today. Amen.
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