Believing that we must be more to be loved more, or give more to be accepted more, is an unattainable fallacy. Not only is this a flawed belief system but it’s also a revelation that our self-worth needs work. What we really need to believe and apply in our daily lives is the knowledge that God says we are more than enough and that our worthiness is grounded in Him.

And herein lies the lesson for you and me when shame attempts to drown us and our sin seeks to silence us - our past is meant not to keep us from His love but to propel us toward it. If you’re like me, this is a complete shift of perspective. I had assumed I needed to first earn His love. Then I thought I must perform to keep His love, proving I was worthy.

Mary was a young girl in a confusing situation, and she was trying to move forward in faith and obedience. When she needed support, she ran to a woman she trusted and loved. Elizabeth's excitement, joy, and encouragement about God's purpose for Mary was exactly what she needed in that moment. Do not underestimate the impact a word of encouragement from you can have on someone else.

Past pain, insecurity, and doubt still reside in my brain. Yet when I have moments of weakness, I know that my emotional and physical health is a steady work in progress. Old patterns creep up when I least expect them, but they don’t have to brew in my soul continually.

What if I told you that your heart longs for boundaries? Would you believe it? You may say, “Come on! What my heart longs for is freedom and independence-not boundaries!” Let me point you to three truths to help you embrace the security available to you; so that you can live out of God’s love. These truths will ground and secure for you the identity of belovedness He bestows on you.

How can someone like me with my imperfections or “pencil marks” be used by God? Over my lifetime, I’ve seen God’s sovereign hand and experienced His faithful love in my life. Through my imperfections and weaknesses, He has gently humbled and guided me through His Word and the encouragement of a community of believers.

In our global, interconnected, digital world, everyone is on our path. Caring can lead to cause burnout. It becomes so easy to throw up our hands in the face of it all, believing that we are too small to make any kind of difference by loving others well. Maybe it’s time to think smaller.

God has a calling over your life and it includes your work. God made you with specific skills, personality traits, strengths, and giftings, and when you walk in the fullness of who He made you, you will experience His love. You will feel more connected to Him and blessed in your job.

Maybe you’ve collected some negative labels of your own over the years? All of us have fallen short in various ways, and some of us have experienced trauma not of our own choosing. It can be tempting to allow these things to tell us who we are, but names that keep us stuck and discouraged are not from God.

The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Ephesians explaining that even before the world was created, God had set His eyes on–and chosen–us. Imagine standing in a crowd and having the God of the universe point His finger at you and declare, “I choose you.” This is what He does every day of our lives.

So, my response was to work harder, read more, pray longer. And soon my relationship with God became a legalistic ritual that no longer brought me joy. And that is not God’s intention for the spiritual disciplines of prayer and Bible study. The good news of the gospel is that God’s love doesn’t depend on us.

And suddenly, something happened–all this stress began to melt away. Like ice against the sun, his presence thawed away all the feelings of hopelessness. I started singing with joy as I declared God’s praises. Instead of dread, I was filled with hope.

The hope for new beginnings in parenting mistakes lies in self-reflection. It’s taking those moments apart piece by piece, examining the portions in God’s presence. Once the pieces are all out on the table, we can learn from them.

Our God, an artist and a poet, is always making new things. What if we believed this was true about the daily work happening inside of us? What if we believed there was a canyon being formed by the river of our hearts as well? That in those small subtle moments when we believe we’ll never grow out of the fears that plague us, it is precisely then that God is faithful to come alongside and cultivate the soil of our heart, creating a place that can hold growth, that can sustain change. It is then that God watches as tiny seeds planted in the soil of our hearts begin to grow, seeds we didn’t even know were there.

Hope doesn’t look flashy or beautiful. It’s not something you can simply post about on Instagram, with a filter to make it shiny, especially when it is a hope for something that hasn’t happened yet. Sometimes hope looks like tears, praying that God will make something new. Trusting in His promises, regardless of your current circumstances.

Wandering in the darkness without believing in the light, the light of Christ, can leave us burdened. We might even throw fits ending in meltdowns. But while we have the light of Christ leading us to believe and become sons and daughters of that light, darkness fades. We know where we are going.

Isaiah 42:16 tells us that although we may face the unfamiliar, the dark, and the rocky, God never leaves us. His guidance, presence, and light will always be with us. He promises that we will experience Him in the challenging paths of life.

It can become easy for the Christ-follower to become overwhelmed by an evil agenda or the sin struggles that plague our generation. What if, this advent season, we become overwhelmed by the Light instead? What if we carry our light with such confidence that those in darkness begin to long to experience it, too?

Our world is desperate for light and life. Can you hear it in the political conflicts, relational fallouts, and quest for status? People have an unquenchable desire to be lit up with something that will endure beyond their years, to be fulfilled, to know that they matter. You are carrying what may feel like a measly flame, but it is backed with all of the power and love of the Savior.

God has promised strength and power to those who put their hope in Him. We all grow weary and stumble, but we can be renewed. We all experience times of weakness, but Jesus sympathizes with our weakness. As we choose to place our hope in God and not in ourselves, other people, or particular circumstances and outcomes, we will experience His strength.