I see her in my mind’s eye: an insecure girl wearing flat shoes and a bright neon shirt. She is sitting at a desk in a crowded classroom holding a Trapper Keeper and hoping someone will notice her sassy new haircut and say she looks cute. Her stomach is in knots, and she wishes she had lost just five more pounds over the summer. She spent hours at the mall trying to find the perfect outfit to match what she saw the beautiful girl wearing in the magazine.
She is trying too hard, and everyone else in the room is looking in another direction. Her mind is racing with ideas about how to fix herself. She longs to be seen, accepted, and invited into the party.
I want to push the pause button on her pain and let my 16-year-old self know she is going to be okay.
You are going to be just fine, girl. You won’t be the prom queen, and you won’t get invited to all the cool parties, but you belong. You are loved. You are special.
Friend, don’t let the enemy of your soul lie to you and tell you that you are not valued or important. You are God’s royal daughter. You are His very own.
Long before you were born, your Heavenly Father chose you. When He was placing each star in the sky and creating the ocean, He decided to add a little something extra to His beautiful masterpiece. He designed you with a twinkle in His loving eye and determined you would be placed on this earth to bear His name and proclaim His virtue and majesty to the watching world.
That party you didn’t get invited to by the coolest girl in the class pales in comparison to the wonderful purpose God has designed for your life. God has bigger plans for you. You might not be in the “in crowd” here on earth, but Christ is preparing a place for you in Heaven. The King of the universe deliberately considers you and takes notice of every detail of your life. At this very moment, your Savior is sitting at the right hand of Almighty God and advocating on your behalf. As part of His royal priesthood, you have full access to the divine ear of the Ruler of all creation.
The Light of the world lives in you, and your little light shines brightly for His glory in this dark world. When you look up and see a star in the sky, remember God sees you. You are loved, favored, and set apart as holy by God Almighty.
You may never wear the coolest clothes, but you can display His kindness, love, and goodness in a dark world. You bear a striking resemblance to the God of redemption. God has singled you out to show this world that no one who confesses Christ as Lord is ever rejected, because Jesus took on flesh to save us all from sin and shame. Salvation is here.
Girl, sit up tall and smile. Jesus has forever set you free from striving to fit into what the world applauds. In Christ, we receive acceptance, and we can experience His fullness of joy and life abundant wherever we stand.
All around you broken people are still lost in the brokenness of sin. God has chosen you to point everyone you meet to the marvelous light of your Savior.
