Over the years, I have come to realize that the greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity, or power, but self-rejection. Success, popularity, and power can indeed present a great temptation, but their seductive quality often comes from the way they are part of the much larger temptation to self-rejection. When we have come to believe in the voices that call us worthless and unlovable, then success, popularity, and power are easily perceived as attractive solutions. The real trap, however, is self-rejection. As soon as someone accuses me or criticizes me, as soon as I am rejected, left alone, or abandoned, I find myself thinking, “Well, that proves once again that I am a nobody.” … [My dark side says,] I am no good… I deserve to be pushed aside, forgotten, rejected, and abandoned. Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the “Beloved.” Being the Beloved constitutes the core truth of our existence.”
~ Henri J.M. Nouwen
But now thus says the LORD, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in My eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring My sons from afar
and My daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by My name, whom I created for My glory, whom I formed and made.”
~ Him, in Isaiah 43
Oh beloved, it is true.
But we don’t believe it. Not. One. Tiny. Little. Bit. Because, if we did, everything would be different.
Our fear would be Laughter.
Our sadness would be Giddiness.
Our Faith would be adamite.
Our Strength would wax unabated.
Our Freedom would know no bounds.
Our Hope would be sight.
Our doubts would be infinitesimal.
Our disease would be Healed.
Our Sense would be sharp.
Our blindness would be Sight.
It is so hard to see it, because we are often running throughout our lives in some sort of a panic. Or, we are jacked in to some sort electronic gadget. Or, we are looking at anything, but the truth. Because, if we stopped just long enough, this truth would change everything. Absolutely. Everything. About. How. We. Live.
Can we actually see it?
Don’t miss it. Let us not miss it in our false humility…
You are the very prize of G_d. You, beloved brothers, are the only thing that could make the fullest of the Greatest of Hearts – even more full. The very Triune Maker of eternity; The King who has absolutely everything, and Whose creation is but a sparkle of a glint of everything He already was, is and will be – is made even more joyous, by simply knowing: YOU.
Oh, don’t think that this is just some sort of something to make you feel good (though it may do just this). No, knowing you are loved by Love Himself, does something much more than this. Love like this sets guys like us free from our slavery to the lies that we used to listen to. Now, the whining of the world, and the screeching of demons in their temptations, and even the screaming of our flesh, is something we no longer even need listen to.
We are the prize of The Almighty. And He is intent upon showering us with the very fullness of Himself; all the glory, all the joy, all the fellowship, all the Life – forever.
So, are you feeling like you are nothing? Are you constantly cutting yourself down, thinking that this is showing humility? It isn’t. Pride like this is the worst affront to a Lover. Tonight is your night, beloved. Time to let Him Love you as He already does.
Silent solitude makes true speech possible and personal. If I am not in touch with my own belovedness, then I cannot touch the sacredness of others. If I am estranged from myself, I am likewise a stranger to others.
~ Brennan Manning
Excellent